Report: Harvard Scholar Gates' Arrest Avoidable
"Certain Degree of Fear" Between Black Scholar, White Cop Led to Arrest that Fueled Debate on Race Relations, Panel Says
In this photo taken by a neighbor July 16, 2009. Henry Louis Gates Jr. center, the director of Harvard University's W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research, is arrested at his home in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Demotix Images, B. Carter)
PHOTO ESSAYHenry Louis Gates Jr.
Accusations of racial profiling in the arrest of the Harvard professor have stirred controversy
The independent review said "misunderstandings and failed communications" and a "certain degree of fear" each man had for the other led to the six-minute dispute that ended with the renowned black scholar being placed in handcuffs by the veteran white Cambridge police sergeant.
Read the full report
Sgt. James Crowley arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr. for disorderly conduct at his Cambridge home July 16 while investigating a possible burglary. Gates alleged he was a victim of racial profiling. Charges were later dropped.
Photo Essay: Henry Louis Gates Jr.
The conflict sparked a national debate on race relations, and President Barack Obama invited both men to the White House for a "beer summit," where Obama and Vice President Joe Biden sat down with the two men for a drink at a table on a White House lawn.
Watch: The July 2009 Beer Summit
The situation at Gates' home quickly escalated when it shouldn't have, according to the review put together by a 12-member panel assembled in September. The panel was made up of law enforcement personnel, academics, and experts on race relations and conflict resolution, none of whom had direct ties to the Cambridge Police Department.
The report suggests that Crowley could have more clearly explained what he was doing and why he was doing it, especially after being shown Gates' license and university ID. For his part, Gates could have used a more respectful tone to address the officer.
Neither man, in interviews with the panel, said he would have acted differently.
The incident was a "textbook example of how a police officer and a member of the community can clash
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