Obama Stands By Criticism Of Cambridge Police

By WBUR News & Wire Services
Jul 24, 2009, 8:16 AM
2 Comments

President Obama is defending himself against criticism over his comments that Cambridge police acted “stupidly” in arresting Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after Gates showed he was in his own home.

The president was asked about his remarks in an interview with ABC on Thursday night. He said he was surprised that his remarks sparked such a controversy.

“I think it was a pretty straightforward commentary that you probably don’t need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane, who’s in his own home,” Obama said.

He said “cooler heads should have prevailed” in the encounter. But he did not retract his initial statement that he thought police had “acted stupidly” and said such incidents “get elevated in ways that probably don’t make much sense.”

The White House has since qualified Mr. Obama’s initial remarks, saying the president was not calling the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, stupid.

Cambridge police union officials are planning to ask for an apology from the president for his remarks on Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Gates has demanded an apology from Sgt. Crowley.

Please follow our community rules when engaging in comment discussion on wbur.org.

rozz

Sgt. Crowley, don’t go see them, you will loose your spine and your credibility if you yuk it up with these Black Activists..
http://Roadrunner.com Lawrence C. Wells

I feel that if I’m asked a question,I should able to state my bliefs, values, and principles. I shouldn’t have to retract how I feel about the Professor Louis case with cambridge police.
They did act stupidly,because they showed no compassion for the victim. They treated this recongize man (PBS star and African American Historian) as a villian,and continued to violate him in his own home. A man his age and appearance could not have been a threat in any way,compare to a scrapy well conditioned police officer. All of Professor Louis Harvey photos prove that he doesn’t appear to be a threat in any way. People are mean and hateful,they only want to discredit our lead (President Obama)because he shared his OPION!!!based on his experience with such issues and personel experiences as a Black Leader.