First, let me offer this....in the history of the city I work for, it has always been said it is a microcosm for the entire US and an excellent test market for products.

I mention this to offer the background that I feel comfortable like other like places, we have a taste of about everything to be able to make a sort of reasoned opinion.

Our black population is also at around 24 percent.

With these, I can't count how many times myself (a white male) or my co-workers have been accused of doing things simply because the person we encounter is a person of color. (Heck, one time at night when I could not even see who was in a vehicle, some white male accused me of stopping him because he was white and had a black girlfriend in the vehicle with him).

On one call, a black aunt had told her neighbors she did not want any of her young relatives at her home when she was not there. One day when a neighbor knew the elderly aunt was not home, she called the police when she saw a cluster of young black men on the aunt's front stoop. When I arrived, the first things out of the young black males' mouths was I was only there because of their color. This stuff goes on every day and focusing on the silly BS only takes away from the true instances of racist behavior.

Here is a link to the police reports involving Gates and the police officer.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

After reading the original report and the supplemental report from an additional officer (an apparent Hispanic officer it seems), I think it is clear that Gates had what we call was a "huge case of the ass."

From the start it appears Gates was offended that a white male entered his home and questioned him, even though that officer had plenty of reasonable means to do so.

Someone made an excellent point in that, when Gates arrived home, he probably was angry all ready because of his stuck door. Still, from the police report, it is clear, Gates became the antagonizer and talked himself into his own arrest. Not only that, from the police report, it is clear Gates would not listen to reason.

I can't express my disappointment in Obama enough. When he admitted he did not know all the facts, he should have stopped there. With his idiotic statements and follow up statements, he has only made policing much harder, especially for those white officers who are not the way he has portrayed them to be.

Lastly, Obama makes mention of Gates being elderly and with a cane and discounts any threat he may have been. Well, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't the man who just shot a doctor at his church older than 58? My point in this is that because of the human condition and behavior, the most safe police officers know you can't let your guard down at any time. Never. We deal with the mentally ill, substance abusers, unpredictable and folks who just simply hate us and letting your guard down with a man with a cane is not to be done.