I’m sure everybody’s already heard everything they need to know about Henry Louis Gates and his run in with “the law” last week. I think most folks agree that Gates was in the wrong for basically being a dick to a guy trying to do his job, and that Officer Crowley should not have arrested him. I can’t say I’m terribly surprised about the arrest, either.
In my limited experience with police officers, I find that they’re humans. They’re good most of the time, and occasionally they are bad. But here’s the thing: they have extraordinary power over citizens, both legally and extralegally. (I don’t mean “illegal;” what I mean is that the aura of power gives them the ability to make people do things, whether they have a legal basis for asking or not. If a cop on the street tells me “Sir, please move out of the way,” I move out of the way without asking her what right she has to ask that. Most people do, I think.) When that power is abused, it needs to be punished.
I also think, and have nothing but anecdotal evidence to back this up, that whatever police say about serving the community and making the world a better place, a big part of the job that they like is the authority. They like bossing people around. When those people resist, even if they have a legal right to do so, cops feel insulted and scared. They also have no problem escalating a situation unnecessarily, which is why some states have had to enact rules preventing police officers from getting involved in lengthy car chases. It also helps explain situations like this.
I don’t think Officer Crowley is racist. In fact, I suspect Professor Gates was the reason race played any role in his arrest. If you have to break into your own home, you have to expect somebody might call the cops. In fact, you want them to call the cops. (I’ve had to break into my house a number of times after forgetting or losing my keys, and not once have the police showed up to see what’s going on. It’s not a very safe feeling.) When the cops show up, you break out the ID, answer a few questions, and wish the officers a nice day. You don’t accuse the police of being racist, and you certainly don’t get into a screaming match with them. Don’t ever give a police officer an excuse to arrest you, because that’s exactly what will happen.
I was once on my way to church, came to a red light, and was turning right. The road I was turning onto had 2 lanes of traffic. No one was in the right lane, so I pulled out into it, but I hadn’t notice that cars were parked in it a little ways down the block. So I put my turn signal on to change lanes to the left. A fellow in a dark car wasn’t in the mood to let me in, but I’m stubborn (and a little aggressive behind the wheel), so I muscled my way in. Then he flipped on his lights.
Being a good citizen, I pulled over. The officer parked and got out, and I realized he was in civilian clothes, probably on the way home from work. He walked up next to the window, which I rolled down, and said, in effect, “Sir, you can’t just pull out into traffic like that.”
I stuttered something about how I was turning into the empty right lane, didn’t notice the parked cars, was trying to make a legal lane change. He cut me off and said, “You can turn right on red, but you still have to wait for traffic to clear.”
I started to say “The traffic was clear in the lane I was turning into,” but realized I was disobeying one of my Prime Rules of Life: never, ever argue with a police officer. So I said, “Yes, officer.”
“You don’t get there any faster if you get into an accident, sir.”
“Yes, officer.”
“Be safe, and have a nice day.”
“Thank you, officer.”
That was the end of that. The officer got to throw his weight around a little bit, I got to make it to choir rehearsal without him calling for uniformed backup to detain and ticket me (or worse). It was win-win. You know what didn’t matter worth a lick? The fact that I’m white and he was black. Our races had absolutely no bearing on the dynamic whatsoever.
I’m not saying to acquiesce to everything cops ask. If they want to search your person, car, or home, say no. Just do it nicely.
