Anguille
Bane of the Urbane
- Mar 8, 2008
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Gates showed his ID. There was no question of his identity and that he was in his own home.I agree that Gates had the right to refuse to show ID. That he did anyway is to his credit. I would have treated the matter differently and made a formal complaint. But nothing that Gates did warranted arrest. It's clear that the officer knew Gates was who he said he was. A complete waste of tax payer money.In the given situation I would agree that Gates could have been more co operative.
He is not obligated however, to be co operative with unreasonable request. He is required to give his name and address. That's it. If the cop is still suspicious, he can go do his cop work and gather some evidence that would give him a reason to believe the man is not who he says he is. Until then he has a reason to think otherwise, it's just a cop taking the easy way out rather than obeying the law and observing the man's rights. Sure, Gates could have appeased the cop, but he was under no obligation to. So, the cop used force in order to find out that there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. .....what's that you say? It required force to figure out that everyhting was OK? that is what betrays the officers conduct.
Have you read the report?
Now, I could be wrong, but I believe if you refuse to show your id to the cops, they have the right to arrest you until they discover your identity. Plus, he had a call about a break in, if Gates refused to show his id, the cop had every right to arrest him until his identity could be determined, that's the cops job. Do you really think that if someone sees you break into your own home and calls the cops that you have the right to refuse to show id and you won't get arrested?
Gates keep YELLING at the cop. He was beligerant and he refused to back down. His conduct was disorderly and that's why he was arrested. Had he not been a Harvard prof with friends in high places, he'd most likely still be in jail.