Quote:
Originally Posted by SydneyK
Here's the thing:
If a neighbor didn't recognize me as the owner of my home, and said neighbor saw me force my way into my home, I wouldn't give the cops grief when they responded to the call. I think I might even be grateful that they came to check out the situation.
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I think I'd react the same way and I'd ask the officer what information he needed to resolved the situation, like a photo ID with my address or whatever.
But if I were a member of a group who got hassled by the cops a lot, and I was just entering my own home, I'm sure I'd probably be really angry and maybe react differently.
I think Gates overreacted if we're trying to use some objective standard for the policeman responding to the complaint, but I think that the officer made a pretty grave error arresting Gates. It doesn't seem to me that overreacting, being angry, and attempting to professionally threaten a guy reacting to call are actually crimes, and the officer should have tried really hard not to compound the situation. The police escalated the situation and it's hard not to see that alone as a pretty serious error, even if the policeman responding isn't guilty of the racist conduct that Gates assumed he was. I also think the the cop getting Gates to go outside was pretty cheap because it just set Gates up to be arrested for doing something publicly that wasn't actionable inside the house.
I think we're seeing a clash of egos more than we're seeing a great example of racist police behavior.