Kathryn Winkfein was stopped for speeding on Texas Highway 71, going 60 in a 45 mile per hour (mph) zone (for the Canadians, that is nearly 25 kilometers per hour over the speed limit). The police officer, Deputy Chris Bieze, after completing the paper work, asked Mrs. Winkfein to sign the speeding ticket, something which the great grandmother refused to do. Upon refusing, Deputy Bieze then told Winkfein to get out of her vehicle, opening the driver side door, and follow him to the back of the pickup truck where she would be arrested. Instead of following the officer’s instructions, she stops at the side of the road, and demands the Deputy Bieze give her the ticket to sign. It was at this point that the officer raised his voice and shoved Winkfein. The great grandmother then becomes aggressive, threatening Deputy Bieze and begins taunting him. After numerous warnings, the officer then tasers the 72-year-old, turning the routine traffic stop into headline news.
The actions taken by Deputy Bieze do sound extreme, but according to Sergeant Major Gary Griffin, the officer was following police procedure. The Deputy’s decided to use the taser over throwing Winkfein to the ground, and holding her there with his knee while putting the handcuffs on her. If you ask me, that would have been far worse then what we have seen in the dashboard camera footage. Even knowing that, knowing that such action is police procedure, how does this make me feel? Well, I can’t simply say I am outraged by incident, especially since Winkfein is not the sweet old lady many would like to portray her as. If that was my grandmother, you bet I would be infuriated, but I know she wouldn’t become aggressive with a police officer who was simply trying to do his job. The shove by Deputy Bieze, though it appears damning, was for his safety, as well as the safety of Winkfein, as they were both standing far too close to oncoming traffic (accident can happen even on the side of the road). That is what this story boils down to, someone trying to portray themselves as the victim of abuse, while the police reports and dashboard camera footage shows otherwise. In this instance, because of a strong bias which does exist in society against law enforcement, Winkfein’s supporters are willing to ignore the facts, even argue that what was written in the police report was false, even with such strong evidence proving otherwise. Pathetic…
It isn’t that I haven’t dealt with law enforcement before, so do not point the finger at me and say I wouldn’t understand. I have had my own experiences with police officers, and some better were than others. For example, one day a few years ago, my brother and I were driving down Highway 174 heading to Orleans when an officer pulled us over for speeding. He approached the window, asked us to roll it down, and then asked my brother for his driver’s license and vehicle registration, as well as asking us about who owned the vehicle we were driving. Seeing how our mother was the registered owner of the vehicle and not my brother (we are listed as secondary drivers), the officer walked back to his vehicle to do a quick check. He later returned, giving my brother back his license and the vehicle registration, and telling us to drive more carefully. At first I was a little puzzled by his questions about vehicle ownership, especially since I didn’t feel that the two of us fit the description of the stereotypical “Joyriders” or car thieves. Seeing how the news at the time was filled with stories of such incidents, teenagers stealing vehicles, and seeing how young my brother and I could look (we still get carded at casinos and night clubs), it was more than understandable that the police officer would ask such a question. It wasn’t an abuse of power, and because we had been so cooperative, he let us off with a warning. A calm and polite, as well as taser-free, five minute exchange between a driver and a traffic cop, nothing more.
Everyday the men and women of law enforcement put their lives on the line to serve and protect their communities. Sure there are a few “bad apples”, just as with all professions, whether police, firefighters, ambulance drivers, etc but they are the exception, not the norm.
*****
What does this story have to do with anything in the news recently? Examining this incident I believe helps put the recent news into a far more understandable context. Kathryn Winkfein could have been someone else entirely, someone of a different background, whether racial or otherwise, but no matter who that person could be, there is a right and a wrong way to deal with a police officer…
Now I promised someone that I wouldn’t discuss the incident between Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr and Sergeant James Crowley, so I won’t go into this in any serious depth. I will say though that according to the police reports, Crowley was simply following procedure. I will also say, that while I will not get into serious discussion about this, I will point out a few facts that are being ignored purposely by those who wish to pass this off as a case of racial profiling…
One, Sergeant Crowley was well within his rights to enter Gates’ house. Following police procedure, Crowley was investigating a report of a break-in at that address. According to Lucia Wallen, the women who had called 911, two black men carrying backpacks had forced they way into Gates’ house. While Crowley was at first trying to get the professor to step outside the house so that he could assess the situation, because Gates was being uncooperative, he felt it necessary to enter the residence to understand what was going on. As explained by Crowley, it could have been that Gates was being forced by the men Ms. Wallen saw breaking into the house to try and deter the officer from entering the house. This point is backed up by Crowley message to dispatch about having most-likely identified the owner of the house as Gates (though he was only presented with a Harvard identification card), but being confused about how he was behaving. It is more than understandable for Crowley to act this way, especially seeing that a few houses in the area including Gates’, had been broken into recently.
Two, Professor Gates wasn’t arrested for being “black in America”, wasn’t arrested for breaking into his own house, nor was he arrested in his house being verbally abusive to an officer. As was stated in not only Crowley’s report, but also Officer Carlos Figueroa’s report, that Gates followed the officer out onto the porch and continued to accuse him of racism, along with a shouting slew of other offensive remarks, which drew a large crowd on onlookers. After repeated warnings, Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct. This incident was witnessed by a slew of pedestrians and other officers, including Sergeant Leon Lashley, who is himself African-American. If this was racist in anyway, I would assume that Lashley would have said something about it in his interview with CNN’s Don Lemon. He, along with the rest of the Cambridge Police have stated that not only was the arrest of Gates done while following police procedure, but that they support Crowley in this continuing fiasco.
Three, the charges being dropped doesn’t mean that the police themselves are admitting that they were in the wrong. Charges are dropped everyday on a number of incidents, for a number of reasons. Could it be because of political connections? I would believe so. Both the Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick have both made statements supporting Gates in this matter, stating that they believed the arrest was because of racial profiling. Along with having their support, the professor is also backed up by President Obama, who’s statements during last week’s press conference created controversy. Instead of ignoring the most logical reason for the dropped charges, many people have turned this “red herring” into false-proof of police negligence. Upsetting…
If you are looking for a far more balanced view than what is being presented in the media, I recommend you read both Patterico’s post on this, as well as Larry Elder’s article HWB – Home While Black. I agree more with Patterico on this, that Crowley was following police procedure, but I wasn’t there, meaning there is very little else I can say. I can say though that the more I learn about Henry Louis Gates Jr, including listening to past statements he has made on race relations in America, the less likely I willing to believe that his arrest was an overreaction by the police.
This is for you to judge, and you can leave your comments about what I have said below. Much like with Mrs. Winkfein, I do believe that this incident wouldn’t have occurred if someone had simply been more respectful of a police officer simply trying to do his job… Pathetic..
UPDATE: The New York Times has the audio police audio tapes from the Henry Louis Gates Jr arrest, including the 911 call made by Lucia Wallen. While it was stated that the two men were carrying suitcases (not backpacks as a few reports stated), the dispatcher made no reference to skin colour other than the fact that they might be Hispanic. When Sergeant James Crowley approached the house and was greeted by the Harvard professor, who happens to be African-American, this may of led to any confusion on the part of the officer in reference to Gates’ behaviour. Once again, with the audio proof backing up Sergeant Crowley’s statements, and hearing that these recordings made no reference to police racially profiling African-Americans, I will repeat my earlier conclusion, that the officer was simply following police procedure.
I don’t see how anyone could think differently with the facts out in the open… Mind-boggling…
UPDATE: Hot Air has this video up about of CNN’s Don Lemon interviewing Sergeant Crowley’s fellow officers, most notably Leon Lashley and Kelly King, both African-American members of the Cambridge Police. Give it a watch, it is definitely the best piece by Don Lemon to date.
Once again, I will say that Sergeant Crowley was doing his job, following police procedure, not targeting Professor Gates because he was black. If there racial profiling in this case, as Patterico stated, it wasn’t the Cambridge Police doing it.
UPDATE: I have to admit, since this story broke, reading all these articles about how the Gates arrest was racial profiling, I have been feeling like this guy…
I don’t agree with everything he has said, but once again, if there was racial profiling, Sergeant Crowley was not doing it. Also, as I said before, the more I hear about Henry Louis Gates Jr, the more I believe that he was in the wrong. Gateway Pundit has done some digging and found more “enlightened” words about race relations from the Harvard Professor. During an interview in 1994, Gates said…
My mother hated white people… (All her life?) Probably. I didn’t know until — in 1959 we were watching Mike Wallace’s documentary called “The Hate that Hate Produced.” It was about the Nation of Islam and I couldn’t believe — I mean, Malcolm X was talking about the white man was the devil and standing up in white people’s faces and telling them off. It was great. I mean, it’s what black people did behind closed doors, but they would never do it in — I mean, they were too vulnerable to do it, say, where they worked, at the paper mill or downtown, as we would call it. And here was a guy who had the nerve to do that, and I think if I had been a character in a cartoon, my eyes would have gone Doing! — like this. I couldn’t believe it. As I sat cowering in a corner of our living room, I glanced over at Mama and her face was radiant. I mean, this smile — beatific smile started to transform her face. And she said quite quietly, “Amen.” And then she said, “All right now,” and she sat up and she said, “Yes”… And she loved Malcolm X and she loved what the Muslims were doing.
That sounds to me like more proof of Sergeant Crowley’s statements. If, as I stated with reference to Kathryn Winkfein incident, Gates had simply been more cooperative, this wouldn’t have happened. Neither him, nor the great grandmother was willing to allow either police officer to simply do their job. Police have to follow a given procedure, and it doesn’t matter whether or not you are a older white woman or a black man, you mustn’t be uncooperative. Pathetic…
For anyone still not listening to what I have to say, I recommend they watch this segment from the Chris Rock Show, since even he knows what you should and shouldn’t do when approached by the police…
