I am writing a second blog post today because of the President's comments about the Professor Gates incident in Cambridge. Following is my communication I sent to the White House today.
As a retired police chief I am dismayed and annoyed at the President's rush to judgment in the Gates arrest. Even after acknowledging he did not have all the facts, he stated the police "acted stupidly" in their actions. No one can know what police officers go through each day to be able to go home at night unless they have been on the job. One step outside of procedure can result in injury or death. Unless Sgt. Crowley personally knew Dr. Gates, his actions as stated so far, were by the book. Doesn't it strike anyone as odd that this pre-eminent scholar on all things racial, said as his first words when asked for ID, "Why, because I am a black man in America?"
It is not a stretch to think that a man who has spent his life studying racial bias and profiling would have this hypersensitivity (and perhaps a chip on this shoulder) about any interaction that could remotely be construed as racially biased. In other words, could he be looking for some scintilla of bias to jump on?
The President's words did nothing to advance the cause of less race-based police actions. So much as been done in the policing business to reduce any kind of racial profiling; not enough clearly, but now he has set our efforts back many, many years by his shots from the hip.
Although I am generally a Conservative I became a tepid Obama supporter about halfway through the campaign, and then increased my support as he rolled out his plans for America. My support and warm-fuzzy feelings took a huge hit when he made this intemperate comment. I hope he moves to heal the wounds with police officers across this country, beyond the platitudes about how hard their jobs are, and how they put their lives on the line each day, yada, yada. We all know that. He needs to apologize for his damning comment that reflects on all cops.
There is certainly racial profiling by cops occurring in America's cities. Chiefs everywhere are working to decrease these sometimes blatant actions. These Chiefs need help from the top and not crude responses. I will wait to see how it plays out to see if the President can admit he made a mistake, even if an investigation shows some racial bias occurred in the Gates incident. If that happens, he can resurrect his "stupid" comment if he likes and I would support it. But we are a long way from there today.
1 comment:
I've been curious lately on your thoughts about both the "incident" and the Obama comment on it. This post essentially confirms what I expected your feelings to be. What you might find surprising is that I feel the same way! I happened to hear the comment (by Obama) live and was shocked. Even if he had had all of the facts, it was a comment that never should have been made, especially by the President of the United States.
I recently heard a comment that was made about me that I found VERY offensive (in this case it was made by a doctor who had no idea what my situation was). When confronted, he denied that he was talking about me, but it was very obvious he had been. My contention is that whether he was referring to me or not, it was a comment that should not have been made AT ALL.
Some people just can't seem to think before they speak.
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