Posted by
Patrick Baldwin on Thursday, July 23, 2009 11:00:00 PM
During this press conference last night, President Obama commented on a situation in Cambridge, Massachusetts involving the police and an african american professor. While first saying that he did not know all the facts, he went on to state that the police had acted stupidly. Okay, someone acted stupidly but it wasn't the police officer, it was our brilliant President, who inserted himself in something where he had a lack of information and a bias due to his personal friendship with the professor.
Having read the police report on the incident, and watched the video of the incident, I feel the President was way off base in his comments. I will admit that as a former police officer, I have my own bias. However, looking at this as objectively as possible, it seems clear, considering the facts, the President's comments reflect ignorance and arrogance.
This police officer, Sergeant Crowley, was dispatched to a possible crime in progress involving a home being broken into. Upon his arrival he speaks with the complainant, then approaches the home. When he makes contact with Mr. Gates, he requests identification so that he can verify that Mr. Gates does belong there. This has to be done, whether Mr. Gates was black, white, asian, etc.. Mr. Gates, rather than being appreciative that someone was keeping an eye on his home, and that the police responded promptly to a possible problem, reacts in the manner of the activist that he is. Mr. Gates berates Sergeant Crowley and accuses him of racism. Mr. Gates was uncooperative and verbally abusive, and continued to escalate his offensive behavior. Sergeant Crowley responded with professionalism, and even after placing Mr. Gates under arrest, continued to treat him with far more courtesy than Mr. Gates was showing the police. If this was your home, wouldn't you want the police to make sure that the person in the house belonged there? This wasn't about race, this was about a home with the front door broken in, people in the house and needing to know if they belonged there.
Sergeant Crowley is a veteran police officer, with a distinguished record and no history of racial behavior. On the contrary, he was selected to teach a course at the police academy that dealt with racial profiling and how officers should avoid that type of practice. Years ago, it was James Crowley who responed to fallen Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis and attempted to revive him by performing CPR. People who know Sergeant Crowley relate that to this day, he still comments on how he wishes he had been able to save Lewis's life. A plethora of people, of differing races, have come forward to defend Sergeant Lewis and paint a picture of a professional and caring officer. This officer is not a racist and did nothing wrong, and yet, with the comments made in support of Mr. Gates, President Obama has damaged Sergeant Crowley's reputation and good name.
Police officers have a difficult job, even on the best of days. There is no normal, no routine. People complain that there is never a cop around when you need one, and then complain when a patrol car is in their rear view mirror. Police officers risk their lives every day and believe me, its not for the money, which is not nearly enough, it is because, for the most part, they want to make a difference, make our lives safer and maybe even save a life. Yes, there are bad apples out there, as you find in any occupation, but they are not the majority. We can all "monday morning quarterback", and many of us cops and ex-cops probably have more than most, and see ways in which we might have dealt with this differently. But, we weren't there, we didn't have to make the decision at that moment, Sergeant Crowley did, and I, for one, will give him the benefit of the doubt.