Crowley Lost Control of the Situation

Since everybody else is weighing in on this, let me put in mine. Even with facts in dispute, such as when and how many times Crowley was asked his name and badge number, we can agree that this mess could have been avoided. And, without saying that Professor Gates is beyond reproach, it was up to the person who was most in control to do that. The person in control was Sergeant Crowley. Once Crowley was finished doing his job, he should have gotten the hell out of there.

But I don't want to make assumptions about the facts either. The arrest would have been proper if Gates had in any way interfered with Crowley's departure, such as blocking his way. If, for instance, he stood in front of the door until he got an apology. Or else, if he laid his hands on him, or threatened him physically. But the news reports don't even hint that this happened.

It would also have been improper for Gates to interfere with an ongoing police investigation. I give Crowley the benefit of the doubt on this. If he still had questions in his own mind about the alleged break-in, it would be proper for him to stay until they were answered. But again, the news reports seem to say that Crowley had concluded there was no break-in, and that Gates had every right to be there, in his own home.

Should Crowley have then apologized, and then left? The apology question is irrelevant to me, although Gates certainly has a case for one. No, Crowley was wrong because he had passed the point where he had a legitimate professional reason to remain. Whether Gates was overreacting by calling the officer a racist did not give Crowley any reason to engage in an angry debate. Gates was probably getting angrier, and louder, every time Crowley answered him. At that point, it didn't matter who had the best talking (or yelling) points, the situation could only get worse.

And it did. But the arrest -- while improper in itself -- only resulted from Crowley's first mistake of not leaving when he had finished doing his job.