SHOCK: Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard Professor, Pre-Eminent African-American Scholar, Arrested Outside Home, Was This Racial Profiling?

UPDATE

Charges have been dropped against Professor Gates. The city of Cambridge issued a statement saying the arrest "was regrettable and unfortunate" and police and Gates agreed that dropping the charge was a just resolution.

"This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department," the statement said.

SHOCK: Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., 58, one of the United States' pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested last Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. Was this a case of racial profiling? Some members of the Harvard faculty seems to think so. Police reportedly arrived at Gates's Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates said that he had locked himself out of his house and was trying to get inside. According to the Cambridge police log, he was booked for disorderly conduct after exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior. I wonder, if this were a white professor trying to get back into his home, would he have been arrested as well? Sorry, too many blacks in this country have been in this situation before and have been deliberately profiled.

Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver's license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody for several hours last Thursday, they said. The arrest of such a prominent scholar under what some described as dubious circumstances shook some members of the black Harvard community.

S. Allen Counter, a Harvard Medical School professor said he has faced a similar situation himself. The well-known neuroscience professor, who is also black, was stopped by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect as he crossed Harvard Yard. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.

This is very disturbing that this could happen to anyone, and not just to a person of such distinction, Counter said. He was just shocked that this had happened, at 12:44 in the afternoon, in broad daylight. It brings up the question of whether black males are being targeted by Cambridge police for harassment. Source: Boston.com

The Cambridge police would not comment on the arrest, citing an investigation into the incident by Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. Gates is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 26 and said the office could not provide details on the arrest until that time. Gates is being represented by Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, who has taken on previous cases with racial implications. If this is a case of racial profiling, it is appalling and deplorable, but not unheard of in the black community.

There is a slightly different version of this story on The Huffington Post, which states that the police said they were called to the home Thursday afternoon after a woman reported seeing a man try to pry open the front door. They say that they ordered the man to identify himself and that Gates refused. According to a police report, Gates then called the officer a racist and said, "This is what happens to black men in America." If that's true, then he should have identified himself. I find it very hard to believe that this man would have been so unruly and uncooperative, knowing what the implications are. I would love to hear his side of the story.

TO READ THE POLICE REPORT, CLICK HERE.