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Police Drop Disorderly Conduct Charges Against Henry Louis Gates
Cambridge, MA (AHN) – Police have dropped charges of disorderly conduct against noted African-American historian and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, who was arrested last week for shouting at a police officer investigating a reported break-in at the Gates home.
The arrest was “regrettable and unfortunate,” the city and police department of Cambridge said in a joint statement released Tuesday. “This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of Professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department. All parties agree that this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances,” the two-paragraph statement concluded.
Police came to Gates’ home July 16 after receiving a report that two black men were breaking in. Gates had just returned from China and found his front door jammed, according to a statement issued by Gates’ friend and attorney Charles Ogletree. Gates asked his driver to help him force the door open.
A police officer arrived after Gates had entered the house and asked for identification, according to police. Gates showed identification but then became “very uncooperative,” the report said, and in the ensuing confrontation Gates shouted at the officer and accused him of being racist.
Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct and taken to jail, where he was released about four hours later after paying a $40 bond.
The 58-year-old Gates was named one of America’s most influential persons by Time magazine in 1997. He is director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard.
Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7015855809#ixzz0LwrzrMNJ
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