Cambridge Police Department Commissioner Robert C. Haas announced at a
press conference this afternoon that the Department would be assembling
a panel of "independent notable professionals" in coming days to review
and analyze the controversial arrest of black Harvard Professor Henry
Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. at his own home last Thursday.
Haas said the
panel would attempt to "look at the situation in its totality," try to
provide a factual basis for what transpired, and give recommendations
for improvements within the department when faced with similar
circumstances in the future.
Nevertheless, Haas said that the
Department had been "deeply pained" by recent criticism of the police's
handling of the incident—including from President Barack Obama—and
added that the department took its professionalism seriously. He said
that such attention is "not the kind of notoriety we want to come to
this city," and maintained that Sergeant James Crowley, the officer who
made the arrest, had done nothing wrong in his handling of the incident.
"I believe that Sergeant Crowley acted in a way that is consistent with
his training at the Department, consistent with national standards of
law enforcement protocol," he said. "I do not believe that his actions
were in any way racially motivated." Instead, Haas said that Crowley
had "assessed the situation, tried to de-escalate the situation, and
made a determination that the only way to stop the situation was to
make an arrest."
Haas said that the Department would provide the
review panel with all necessary records, documentation, and police
staff, and that the final report would be available for public review.
"I believe that there is always a better way of doing things in the future," he said.
Haas also revealed new information at the press conference today,
noting that Gates' home had previously been broken into, before the
arrest, while the professor was away. He said that he was not exactly
sure when the break-in took place, and that it had been investigated by
Harvard University Police Department.
Last Thursday's incident had
transpired when a woman reported to police that she saw two men
apparently trying to pry open the front door to Gates' home. But the
men entering were likely Gates, who had returned to Cambridge after a
trip to China, and his car driver, who was helping him force his way
through a jammed front door. When officers arrived to investigate,
tensions flared as Gates, who had by then entered the home, angrily and
loudly accused the officer of targeting him because he was black,
according to police reports.
But Gates and his lawyer have said
that the professor cooperated fully, providing both his Harvard
identification and a drivers license to prove he lived in the home.
They said the officer refused to identify himself and lured Gates out
of the home to arrest him.
Haas said that the incident was less a
matter of providing proper identification, however, and that Crowley
made the arrest "as a last resort" after unsuccessfully trying to
de-escalate the tension at the scene.
Earlier Thursday, President
Obama said he was "surprised" by the controversy that had erupted over
his comments at a press conference last night, where he had said that
the Cambridge Police acted "stupidly" in arresting Gates. Haas said at
the conference that his officers took the comments to heart and were
"stunned" and "deflated."
Haas said that the City and police
decided on Tuesday to drop the disorderly conduct charge filed against
Gates because "we basically felt this was a situation that we needed to
move on from."
"We didn't want this to be a prolonged situation,
[and we] needed to focus back on what we do in terms of providing
safety and protection for this community," Haas said.
He said that
the decision to drop the charges had been made in consultation with the
Cambridge City Council, Manager, and Solicitor, and said that the
Department had been approached by Gates' attorney first.
While
Gates called the officer who arrested him a "rogue cop," Haas said that
Crowley was a "stellar member of this Department" and that he relied on
Crowley's judgment everyday. Nevertheless, he said that the Department
regretted that the incident took place, and said that "nobody's happy
about this situation."
—Staff writer Maxwell L. Child can be reached at mchild@fas.harvard.edu
—Staff writer Peter F. Zhu can be reached at pzhu@fas.harvard.edu
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