It is not relevant whether Gates was a jerk or not. This was not his arena. This occurred in the Police arena, investigating a crime reportedly in progress. The important questions are:
1) Why was it really necessary to enter the house? The door was open. Gates, an old man with a limp and a cane, in clear sight. A simple, "Excuse me." or a couple taps on the door frame would have sufficed. Gates response (run or limp forward) would have gone a long way toward answering any questions. What citizen would not be alarmed, angry and afraid to see uninvited Police strolling into their house?Once ID was clear, the police should have said, “Thank you”, briefly explained the situation and walked away, ignoring any insults. They are the professionals and should be above getting suckered into a Mouth Brawl, even if Gates did act badly, as citizens are prone to do when police barge into their homes. Didn't some colonial sorts actually organize a rebellion over this sort of police behavior some 250 years ago?
2) After Gates provided ID, why did Crowley instruct him to come outside unless it was to arrest him for Disturbing the Peace, which he could not do inside the house? Why didn’t the police just leave? Their business was done there.
3) Gates conduct, if actually loud and obnoxious, does not even come close to the Massachusetts standard for Disturbing the Peace, which essentially calls for behavior likely to cause a riot or civil disturbance. Being rude and yelling at a bunch of armed police on a University residential street does not meet the standard.
4) Massachusetts Police are provided business cards and required by law to provide their name and badge number if asked. Where was the card?
Crowley had the opportunity to act like a professional, be the bigger man and walk away. He blew it. Instead, he clearly decided to issue a citation for Failure to Kowtow. If Gates had not been a prominent figure this charge would have remained on his record forever, causing no end of difficulty.
But, this is not mostly about race. Only Crowley can second guess what he might have done if Gates was an Old White Guy with a cane. Underlying all this is the real situation in the USA. Anyone, regardless of race, who interacts with a police officer and does not behave in a sufficiently deferential way has a pretty good chance of being charged with something, or at least be inconveniently detained. Gates apparently is not aware this is no longer only a Black thing. It stopped being a Black thing about the time police uniforms transitioned from Deputy Dawg Official into Storm Trooper Meets Faluja. We’re now all equally subject to the mood swings of Police when we fall within their hailing distance. When was the last time you saw a policeman on the side of the road and did not got through a silent inventory of speed, seat-belt, license and insurance? This is not a step forward for our society.
Finally, the President, himself, probably wishes he had chosen a more adult word than stupid. But, it happens to all of us sooner or later....We make a mistake. The simple way out of a mistake is to apologize, make amends where possible, extend our hand in friendship and try our best not to make the same mistake again.
Bye the way, I forgot, what else was covered in the press conference? Anything important?
A final note and Update....After this was written it was announced that the President has invited Gates and Crowley to the White House for a beer. Good on 'em
But before the beer..............Gates should have to ride around Roxbury for a night and see what police really have to deal with every day.
Crowley should have to sit around with a bunch of old black farts like Gates and hear what they experienced in Roxbury in the 60’s and what they never forget.
By that time they may both be ready for a beer.
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