gates arrest tapes

Mass. police to release 911 call in Gates arrest

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Cambridge police are preparing to release a copy of the 911 call and radio dispatches made during the controversial arrest last week of black Harvard scholar Henry Louise Gates Jr.

The 911 call led to the arrest of Gates on a disorderly conduct charge, and a resulting national debate about racial profiling.

Gates' supporters called his arrest on July 16 by Sgt. James Crowley an outrageous act of racial profiling. Crowley's supporters say Gates was belligerent and race was not a factor in his arrest.
Police Commissioner Robert Haas said at a news conference Monday that the "tapes will speak for themselves," when asked if police should have done anything differently.

The charge against Gates was dropped, but interest in the case intensified when President Barack Obama said at a White House news conference that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates.

Obama later sought to tamp down the uproar and invited both Gates and Crowley to the White House for a beer.

Cambridge officials on Monday announced details of a committee being formed to both study the incident itself and develop recommendations for police to handle similar incidents in the future.
City Manager Robert Healy said the committee will not conduct an internal investigation into Gates' arrest or make a judgment about the actions of any police officers. "I am committed to making sure our city is not defined by that day. Today is the day to move forward," Healy said.