Now the answer to that burning question is obviously yes but, to many in both the media and police departments all over the country, the answer is no!
Joseph Thomas Jr (a black man) Chief of police at the southern field police department, was interviewed on KPBS The news hour with Jim Leher. His take was simply a matter of “Lack of training” Well i beg to differ Mr Thomas it wasn’t the lack of training that led to this incident, it was the lack of common sense that was the problem here. Common sense should have prevailed in this matter, sometimes what we are trained to do and, what we actually do in the field are always two different do’s.
Common sense goes further then any amount of training, you will ever receive in you life. We need to get away from the one size fits all approach to police work because, one size doesn’t fit all situations. Police officer’s all across the country receive months of training before hitting the streets but, the one thing they never seem to to learn is…HOW TO THINK!…Professor Gates should have never been arrested under those circumstances, it’s as simple as that!
Something tells me the police officer never gave Mr Gates, a chance to prove he lived in that house, call me stupid but thats what i think happened here. James Crowley the officer i question, heard a black man trying to break into a house on his radio and, it was on from there!
This is Boston Massachusetts we’re talking about here, the home of racial tension between black people and whites, and it has been that way for year’s and year’s…Lease we forget the case back in the 90’s, where a white women was murdered by her husband and, a black man was charged for her death. The police department went out of they’re way, to profile every black man in the city as a potential murderer.
James Crowley is an expert on racial profiling, he knows exactly how to profile black people when he approaches them, and he instructs his student’s to do the same.
Crowley:Hello sir can you tell me whats going on here?
We received a call that two black man, were trying to break into this house.
Mr Gates is already inside the house.
Gates: Oh no officer no one is trying to break in, that was me trying to get in, the door was jammed so i forced it open, this is my house here is my ID with the address to this house.
Crowley: ok sir let me take a look at that.
mean while Crowley can speak to the women who called the incident in, to verify Mr Gates was who she saw at the door trying to break into the home.
Crowley: Ok sir everything checks out we have no other evidence, that any other person was at this door and, since you are the legal resident of this house, you are free to go.
Crowley: Yeah dispatch everything is ok here, the person was the owner trying to get into his house. His ID confirms it his door was jammed so, he had to force his way way in. I’m code 4!
Thats the way it should have happened but, unfortunately it didn’t, when police officer’s in Bean town approach black people, they are suspects and nothing else. No matter what the facts are nor, how simple the case should be black people are guilty until proven innocent…and then we are still guilty.
