Jul 23, 2009 4:35 pm US/Eastern
Gates' Arresting Cop Is Racial Profiling Expert
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
-
-
Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley speaks to WBZ Radio July 23, 2009.
WBZ
-
-
Henry Louis Gates Jr. mug shot from Cambridge Police.
Cambridge Police/WBZ
The white police sergeant accused of racism after he
arrested renowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his own home is a police academy expert on racial profiling.
Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class on racial profiling for five years at the Lowell Police Academy after being hand picked by for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black, said Academy Director Thomas Fleming.
"I have nothing but the highest respect for him as a police officer. He is very professional and he is a good role model for the young recruits in the police academy," Fleming told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The course, called "Racial Profiling," teaches about different cultures that officers could encounter in their community "and how you don't want to single people out because of their ethnic background or the culture they come from," Fleming said. The academy trains cadets for cities across the region.
President Barack Obama has said the Cambridge officers "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates last week when they responded to his house after a woman reported a suspected break-in.
Crowley, 42, has maintained he did nothing wrong and has refused to apologize, as Gates has demanded.
Crowley responded to Gates' home near Harvard University last week to investigate a report of a burglary and demanded Gates show him identification. Police say Gates at first refused, flew into a rage and accused the officer of racism.
Gates was charged with disorderly conduct. The charge was dropped Tuesday.
Gates' supporters maintain his arrest was a case of racial profiling. Officers were called to the home by a woman who said she saw "two black males with backpacks" trying to break in the front door. Gates has said he arrived home from an overseas trip and the door was jammed.
Obama was asked about the arrest of Gates, who is his friend, at the end of a nationally televised news conference on health care Wednesday night.
"I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And No. 3 -- what I think we know separate and apart from this incident -- is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."
RACISM CLAIMS 'UNFORTUNATE'
So what does Crowley think about Gates' claim that he's a racist?
"It almost doesn't even warrant a comment it's so ridiculous. My friends, my family, my colleagues, those people (whose) opinions mean the most to me, they know who I am. They know what I am and what I am not."
"It's an unfortunate thing that the professor or other people have even mentioned that."
'APOLOGY WON'T COME FROM ME'
Crowley said he won't apologize. And his union has expressed "full and unqualified" support for him.
"The apology wont come from me. I've done nothing wrong," he told WBZ.
REGGIE LEWIS CONNECTION
Fellow officers, black and white, say he is well-liked and respected on the force. Crowley was a campus police officer at Brandeis University in July 1993 when he administered CPR trying to save the life of former Boston Celtics player Reggie Lewis.
Lewis, who was black, collapsed and died during an off-season workout.
SUPPORT FOR BOTH SIDES
Gates' supporters maintain his arrest was a case of racial profiling.
Supporters of the Cambridge police were stunned the incident came up at the White House news conference.
"We were shocked to hear the president weigh in on this during a prime time news conference. They are a model police department; true professionals. It's a shame that they are being nationally targeted like this," Harold MacGilvray of the Massachusetts Municipal Police Coalition said in a statement.
Crowley said he wouldn't do anything different if he had the chance to do things over.
"If a similar call came in tomorrow, I wouldn't shy away from responding and I would do what I have to do."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments