Roger Simon Gets It Wrong on the Gates Caller

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[...] about Politico as of July 30, 2009 Roger Simon Gets It Wrong on the Gates Caller – washingtonindependent.com 07/30/2009 This Roger Simon column might not be the silliest thing [...]

Hey thanks, Mr. Weigel. I wondered where the 2 black males reference came from. And thanks for the police report link…

[...] thing I just wrote 1,000 plus words about news organizations needing to fact check opinion columns. Apparently, the guys over at Politico missed [...]

Good point. I don't understand why this is lost on the media. Crowley is very directly calling Lucia Whalen a liar. He insists that she warned him about “two black men with backpacks”. So either Whalen or Crowley are intentionally lying. If Crowley is lying, that means an official police report has been fabricated. That immediately puts in doubt all Crowley's previous arrest reports.

You think police file absolutely truthful documents? You know, where their ass is on the line?

I don't.

So just because there's a document doesn't make it true, and base on m y experience with cops covering their ass, it's Crowley that's lying.

This is a seriously irrelevant post. “Teachable moments” transcend unimportant details, Weigel. Come to think of it, Obama transcends the critical faculties of most Americans. That's why his “teachable moments” are more like photo opportunities for him to hand down Holy Writ from the vain heights of his unwarranted self-regard.

Thanks for that thoughtful response, Mr Perry. I'm going to refer to many of your points when this subject comes up this weekend, as it, unfortunately, surely will.

I saw the Whalen presser and I feel for her. What a horrible feeling to get swept up in a national media cyclone. Reminds me of the Don Delillo play “Valparaiso” (1999). Nevertheless, isn't it possible that Whalen told the 911 operator one thing, and then elaborated on her statement when the officer, Crowley, showed up on the scene? She was obviously observing the situation closely and likely got a better look at Gates and his buddy after she made the call. What I'm saying is that it's possible Crowley's recollection of Whalen mentioning “two black males” is correct. But what do I know?

I don't feel for her at all. No one knew who the hell she was until she came out identifying herself with her press release and press conference. I guess she wants her 15 minutes of fame too.

Only one problem with your version, Whalen never went outside and never talked to Crowley. He falsified his report to cover up what he did. Crowley arrested Gates inside his house and charged him with disturbing the peace (of the public) but only police were present and they don't legally qualify as “public” so the charge was BOGUS. Nor did Crowley advise Gates of his Miranda rights, a warning the greenest rookie knows has to be read in order to prosecute. Then Crowley handcuffed Gates with his hands in front which is in violation of police rules virtually everywhere because it puts officers at risk. Crowley, the police trainer, appears to have totally lost his cool and was viscerally and furiously bent, not on prosecuting an offender, but on revenge by parading Gates in cuffs before his neighbors and throwing the loud black man in the slammer for punishment, not law (thus no Miranda warning). Fortunately somebody downtown realized fairly quickly what was going down and kicked Gates loose.

Thanks for reading it, Mac. Please call me Stephen. My dad is Mr. Perry.

Don't you just wish that you could mouth off at a cop (Gates) or misuse your authority at work (Crowley) and then have the President fly you into town and drink a beer with you?

Where's the line to sign up for that?

Whoa whoa whoa. You lost me when you said that a police officer covered up his actions by falsifying a report.

When you come back to Earth, let's talk about what really happened.

We all know that police officers have a mysterious effect on fleeing criminals. They all seem to drop the necessary evidence for an officer to make an arrest, when the officer chases them. For some reason, maybe it's the low-slung baggy jeans with MULTIPLE HUGE POCKETS, but we've seen the extraordinary tendency of young male drug dealers to be unable to hold on to their inventory, not even when said inventory is the size of a quarter.

We've seen the amazing consistency with which a criminal's actions as noted on a police report just perfectly correspond to the elements of the cause of action (crime) upon which the officer is basing the arrest.

But who in the world has ever heard of a dishonest police officer? Surely you jest.

Sorry, couldn't resist. I went to undergraduate school and law school at the north end of South-Central Los Angeles. I don't have an unbiased opinion of police officers, after observing the tactics employed by the Rampart Division, or experiencing first-hand how readily and unblinkingly cops can and do lie.

I totally agree with everything after your first sentence. I don't know whether Whalen went outside. But if she says she didn't and the report says she did, then in the words of Senator Jeff Sessions, Crowley's “got some 'splainin' to do.”

Good point. If Whalen says she didn't go outside and Crowley says she did, then I believe Whalen. I hate the fact that police get to just make shit up and rarely, if ever, get called on it in a way that makes them think twice about doing it again and again.

If interested, get a transcript from Greater Boston (Emily Rooney) show 2-3 nights ago. Whalen's attorney, Wendy Murphy was on. I'm pretty certain she confirmed that Whalen was briefly questioned by Crowley as he was going into the house to investigate.

Whalen was one of several bystanders outside and all confirmed there was someone yelling inside the house.

This was all on the Greater Boston broadcast either July 26 or 27 (possibly the 28).

I do happen to think Sgt. Crowley probably overreacted and made an unnecessary arrest. But he seems to have been overreacting to someone who was out of control.

Gates lied about the yelling, that's for sure.

Whether Crowley falsified the report is debatable.

I used to have a lot of respect for Professor Gates. I worked for him and thought he was levelheaded, objective, and insightful. I liked his PBS programs etc.

And now I can't help but associate him with this immature crap.

Depending on how he handles himself after this…I'm going to have a hard time getting past this.

A few problems with this; Whalen did NOT mention two black men OR backpacks, either in the 911 call or on the scene to Crowley. She is on record as saying that her only interaction with Crowley on the scene was to identify herself as the 911 caller. It is unknown how the blacks with backpacks detail came to be in his report, but I imagine most of us can guess.

Also she was not a 'neighbor' but worked in one of the nearby buildings owned by Harvard. She had only worked there for two months, much of which Gates had spent overseas. It's not reasonable to expect office workers to recognize the residents of all the houses around their office building – I sure don't.

Your neighbor, on the other hand, was a piece of work.

She did in fact mention suitcases and backpacks. Listen to the 911 call.

She made the call on behalf of a neighbor! So just apply what I said to the neighbor instead of to Whalen, if you like. I still think ANY reasonable, non-racist person who sees two old black men with backpacks, suitcases, and a cane…

who appears perfectly calm and poised on a 911 call where she mentions that she “isn't sure” whether the “gentlemen” “maybe had a problem with their key” IS NOT RESPONDING TO AN EMERGENCY, even in her own opinion.

I don't know everyone who works in the office buildings around mine. I DO know all my neighbors. But if I see someone repeatedly swiping a card to access a nearby building, and they have a lot of stuff they're trying to take INTO the building rather than haul out of it, I'd be a total jackass to call 911 on them. If they're Latino, then I'm sure there would be people who would reasonably argue that I must have a bias against Latinos. Until I argued otherwise, who could blame them?

[...] informed that 50 was the limit. I want to know what Franklin knew and when she knew …   Roger Simon Gets It Wrong on the Gates CallerGive me a break. She mentioned suitcases and backpacks. She knew no one was breaking in. She told [...]