Police Unions Call on President Obama, Governor Deval Patrick to Apologize for Comments about CPD, Sgt. James Crowley in Arrest of Henry L. Gates, Jr.

The fallout from from Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates's arrest is taking an ugly turn. Police union officials appeared at a Cambridge hotel today calling on President Barack Obama and Governor Deval Patrick to reconsider their “misguided” comments in the arrest of a Harvard scholar and issue an apology. There should be apologies on all sides, not just from the president and governor. To add insult to injury, during a White House press conference earlier today, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "I think the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed McCain," referring to Obama's Republican opponent in the 2008 election. "If I'm not mistaken." He dismissed a suggestion that the backlash from police groups could be distressing to the White House, considering the fact that the president has enjoyed a positive relationship with law enforcement. He was then reminded that the president had won the support of the Policemen's Benevolent Association, then he conceded: "We got some." This cannot help President Obama's position and the fact that he wishes this would go away. He should not have openly criticized the Cambridge Police Department. Clearly, this had nothing to do with the White House and he should have found a way to stay out of this dogfight.

“I deeply resent the suggestion” cops acted improperly in the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr., said Dennis O’Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association. Members of city and Bay State cop unions called on President Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick to apologize to officer Sgt. James Crowley.

Crowley arrested Gates July 16 on the porch of the professor’s Harvard Square home. Gates was charged with disorderly conduct. That charge has since been dropped, but the charges of racial profiling swirling around the arrest have yet to soften. The president said at a primetime press conference Wednesday that Cambridge police “acted stupidly” in arresting Gates.

The governor called the arrest of Gates “every black man’s nightmare” and said Gates should have been able to raise his voice in his own house. Both the president and governor, however, admitted they don’t know all the facts in the case. O’Connor said he hopes Patrick and Obama - both “admitted friends” of Gates - will “reflect upon their past comments” and apologize to Cambridge police.

“President Obama said that the actions of the CPD were stupid and linked the event to a history of racial profiling in America. ... The president used the right adjective but directed it to the wrong party,” he said. “His remarks were obviously misdirected but made worse yet by its suggestion that somehow, this case should remind us of a history of racial abuse by law enforcement.”

He said Cambridge police “deeply resent the implication and reject any suggestion that in this case, or any other case, that they have allowed a person’s race to direct their activities. “We hope that they they will reflect upon their past comments and apologize to the men and women of the Cambridge police department,” he added. Source: Boston Herald

For what it is worth, if anything, this has brought the issue of racial profiling front and center. I was very reluctant to label this police officer as a racist and I still stand by that reluctance, since it has not been substantiated. I am sure that Professor Gates "mouthed off" to the cops, but did that arise to the level of disorderly conduct, since he was in his own home. Why was he lured to the porch, where he could have been arrested? This is an unfortunate situation and I am deeply troubled that President Obama got involved in this matter, but was aloof and not very forthcoming about the Jena Six case, which was clearly racially motivated.

All the parties involved need to take a step back and revisit the situation. Sgt. Crowley needs to apologize if he made Professor Gates feel threatened and denigrated. Professor Gates needs to apologize for pulling the race card so readily and President Obama needs to end his involvement in this controversy by saying he spoke too quickly or he did not mean to infer that the CPD "acted stupidly" in the arrest of Mr. Gates. This is clearly not the way for us to engage in constructive dialog about racial profiling. This case is pitting black against white for all the wrong reasons. President Obama needs to worry about the health care overhaul that seems to be hanging on by a thread. He needs to focus on the ailing economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, Honduras, the failing education system in America, the rising foreclosure rates, etc.
The fallout continues to develop. More to follow.....

Boston's Franklin Park Zoo, Stone Zoo May be Forced to Close Due to Budget Shortfall, Some Animals may be Euthanized, Gov. Patric Takes Offense

Boston's Franklin Park Zoo might be forced to close its doors and possibly euthanize some of its animals due to deep budget cuts imposed by Governor Deval Patrick. Zoo officials have said that they will run out of money by October and have to close both the Franklin Park Zoo and its smaller counterpart the Stone Zoo. They would lay off most of their 165 employees and attempt to find new homes for more than 1,000 animals. They said they would be unlikely to find homes for at least 20 percent of these animals, which would lead to euthanization or the care of the animals in perpetuity. According to media reports, the Legislature had originally provided $6.5 million to the zoos, which accounts for more than half of their budget, but Governor Deval Patrick, using a line-item veto, cut the state funding to $2.5 million. Now Gov. Patrick has taken offense to the zoo's statement saying they are engaging in scare tactics. He is absolutely right.

The zoos, which are run by Zoo New England and reportedly attracted nearly 570,000 visitors over the past year, are operated through a public-private partnership that is funded by taxpayers and revenues from visitors. If the partnership dissolves, as it would in October if it runs out of money, the custody of the zoos would be turned over to state officials, according to state law. Zoo officials estimate that it would take three years and cost at least $9 million to completely shut down the zoos, and they said the state would be in charge of that process.

The Franklin Park Zoo, which was founded in 1913, has faced closure numerous times in the past because of a lack of funding, most recently in 2002 when House lawmakers cut its funding from $6 million to $3.5 million. The total operations budget for the zoos last year was $11 million, about 60 percent of which came from state funding. The remainder came through admissions, food and gift shop sales, memberships, and fund-raising. They have pulled this euthanization scare tactic before in prior fights against state budget cuts. They were faced with similar funding reductions in the early 1990s that forced the closure of the Stone Zoo, officials initially said many of those animals would have to be euthanized. None were and most were instead moved to the Franklin Park Zoo until 1994, when the Stone Zoo was reopened.

It would be a real shame if these zoos were to close. What's sad is that these animals were taken out of the wild and brought to zoos all across the world and it's just not fair to euthanize them when the going gets tough. According to the Boston Globe, the two zoos have 1,300 animals of 260 species, including gorillas, tigers, capybaras, and peacocks. It employs 165 full-time employees, 65 teen employees, and 25 interns.

The bottom line is that Zoo New England does bear some responsibility in finding a way to stay open, instead of blaming the governor for his actions. The zoo reportedly receives about 40 percent of its total funding last year from admissions, memberships, donations, and other private sources. Sadly we are in a recession and the unemployment rates keep climbing, but they need to become more innovative and help themselves, as the ordinary person is forced to do, instead of waiting for a bailout from the state. Sorry, trying to bully your way to more money just won't cut it this time around. The governor has said that no animals will be euthanized.