There were several inconsistencies between the official police report[1], and the original 911 caller, Lucia Whalen's, version of events[2]. Notably:
* The police report states that Whalen said "two black men". In reality, Whalen said "two larger men, one looked kind of Hispanic, but I'm not really sure, and the other one entered, and I didn't see what he looked like at all.". The "black" aspect was entirely invented after-the-fact by the police.
* The police report states the responding officer, Sgt. James Crowley, spoke to the Whalen at the scene. According to Whalen, this conversation did not occur.
* Crowley claims that Gates was belligerent and yelling racial epithets. However, Gates had returned from China with a bronchial infection[3], and was unable to yell or raise his voice. This has been confirmed by his physician.
* Gates showed Crowley two forms of identification, his driver's license and Harvard ID. He did not refuse to show identification.
* Gates was arrested on his front doorstep, after following Crowley out of the house. Gates claims this is because he demanded to see Crowley's identification, which he is allowed by law.
I hope this clears up some of the confusion and misinformation being spread regarding the event.
(Note: The above comment was at '1' when I made this reply. So at least 4 people simply don't care that the info given above is a flat out lie as is shown by the actual report that I link to below)
* The conversation is one's word against the other and Whalen is clearly trying to distance herself from the whole incident so she has the more reason to lie
* That's just silly. I had a bronchial infection and I could still yell (albeit with vastly less capacity)
* The report doesn't claim Gates refused to show ID only that he initially did. In fact it says...
. I asked Gates to provide me with photo identification so that I could verify that he resided at Ware Street and so that I could radio my findings to ECC. Gates initially refused, demanding that I show him identification but then did supply me with a Harvard University identification card. Upon learning that Gates was affiliated with Harvard, I radioed and requested the presence of the Harvard University Police.
* Your last claim could be right. No one can tell. But it's at the root of the two claims so the only way you can believe it's a proven fabrication is if you believe Gates without question (since he has as little proof as Crowley does as to what happened)
The police report states that Whalen said "two black men". In reality, Whalen said "two larger men, one looked kind of Hispanic, but I'm not really sure, and the other one entered, and I didn't see what he looked like at all.". The "black" aspect was entirely invented after-the-fact by the police.
During the phone call the caller clearly states "hispanic". The police report says that the officers heard her say "two black men" at the scene of the incident (not during the phone call). We do not have any recording of that conversation. Whalen's lawyer says that she never talked to the police at the scene of the crime. But the lawyer also says that she never mentioned race at all, when she very clearly did: "She never saw their race. ... All she reported was behavior, not skin color." Lots of contradictions all around.
Crowley claims that Gates was belligerent and yelling racial epithets. However, Gates had returned from China with a bronchial infection[3], and was unable to yell or raise his voice. This has been confirmed by his physician.
From my reading of the Gates interview, the physicians report confirms that he had a bronchial infection, not necessarily that he could not yell.
Also, the report of officer Carlos Figueroa, who arrived on the scene after Crowley, confirms the report that Gates was yelling: "As I stepped in, I heard Sgt. Crowley ask for the gentleman's information which he stated, "NO I WILL NOT!" The gentleman was shouting out to the Sgt. that the Sgt was a racist and yelled that "THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO BLACK MEN IN AMERICA!"
Someone is lying. Either Gates is lying, or two police officers are both fabricated their reports. If the police are lying they would have had to actually premeditate the lie and synchronize their stories. That would be very serious, certainly grounds for termination. Maybe I'm just an apologist for the Man, but I think it's unlikely that an otherwise very well regarded police officer ( http://feministx.blogspot.com/2009/07/henry-louis-gates-jr.h... ) would completely fabricate his report. While unlikely, though, I do think that Cambridge city government should investigate the matter further.
* The police report states that Whalen said "two black men". In reality, Whalen said "two larger men, one looked kind of Hispanic, but I'm not really sure, and the other one entered, and I didn't see what he looked like at all.". The "black" aspect was entirely invented after-the-fact by the police.
* The police report states the responding officer, Sgt. James Crowley, spoke to the Whalen at the scene. According to Whalen, this conversation did not occur.
* Crowley claims that Gates was belligerent and yelling racial epithets. However, Gates had returned from China with a bronchial infection[3], and was unable to yell or raise his voice. This has been confirmed by his physician.
* Gates showed Crowley two forms of identification, his driver's license and Harvard ID. He did not refuse to show identification.
* Gates was arrested on his front doorstep, after following Crowley out of the house. Gates claims this is because he demanded to see Crowley's identification, which he is allowed by law.
I hope this clears up some of the confusion and misinformation being spread regarding the event.
[1] http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/CANON8AA683_L...
[2] http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/27/gates.arrest/
[3] http://www.theroot.com/print/19236?page=0%2C0