You make some cogent points about the responsibility of police officers in keeping their own emotions out of these situations, and de-escalating those of the civilians involved. I don't think you go far enough, however--the officer and his colleagues entirely failed to live up to this part of their job. Gates was upset, by his own admission; however, the officer failed to give him any space to cool down, and according to Gates's account there were about half a dozen officers on hand by the time the actual arrest occurred. There can't have been any reason to believe that any of the officers were in danger. Sure, I wasn't there, but I can read between the lines; they had decided that this guy didn't belong there, so they removed him.
I also think your response doesn't take into account the fact that the incident was race-based before the officer was even on site; the 911 caller reported that two big black men were trying to break in with backpacks on. I don't know what the caller's vantage point was, but both men were wearing suits and neither was wearing a backpack. She saw what she was afraid of--big black men committing a crime in her neighborhood. The police responded in kind--two black criminals are in this nice upscale neighborhood. Assumptions were made before Gates and the officer exchanged a single word. For that reason alone, the incident went forward with the taint of racism at work.
I also think your response doesn't take into account the fact that the incident was race-based before the officer was even on site; the 911 caller reported that two big black men were trying to break in with backpacks on. I don't know what the caller's vantage point was, but both men were wearing suits and neither was wearing a backpack. She saw what she was afraid of--big black men committing a crime in her neighborhood. The police responded in kind--two black criminals are in this nice upscale neighborhood. Assumptions were made before Gates and the officer exchanged a single word. For that reason alone, the incident went forward with the taint of racism at work.
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