Mass. Police Unions Want Apology From Obama

But don't forget about racial profiling

(NEWSER) - The beer meeting at the White House has come and gone, but Henry Louis Gates offers a postscript: "I thank God that I live in a country in which police officers put their lives at risk to protect us every day," he writes in the Root, where he is editor in chief. The Harvard professor also thanks President Obama for bringing him and Sgt. Crowley together. "Our country is blessed to have such a leader," he writes. More»

But prez should get the facts on Gates bust first

(NEWSER) - Asked if he blamed President Obama for saying he’d “acted stupidly” in arresting Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley took the high road, the Boston Globe reports. He told a radio show today it was “regrettable” that anyone would speak without knowing the “whole story,” but declined to criticize Obama directly, even when the host declared, “the president of the United States owes you an apology.” More»

Harvard prof kidded Cambridge cop at White House

(AP) - A black Harvard scholar said today he has been able to joke about his arrest by a white police officer that led to a national debate on race, despite receiving death threats and bomb threats. In his first public appearance since meeting with Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley at the White House, Henry Louis Gates said he and the officer found some humor in the incident and have since discussed going out to eat or taking in a Boston Red Sox or Celtics game. More»

(NEWSER) - Henry Louis Gates and Barack Obama have been “very publicly slapped down for speaking up and speaking out about police misbehavior,” but African-Americans “need to roar out their anger at such treatment,” Bob Herbert writes in the New York Times. Gates, not the officer who arrested him, is in the right, and we need to “focus a spotlight on such outrages and the urgent need to stop them.” More»

(NEWSER) - Turns out the president was right: the beer summit was pretty boring. In fact, it wasn't even the first time Skip Gates and Officer Crowley had gotten together after the arrest. "Even before we sat down for the beer, I learned that the two gentlemen spent some time together listening to one another, which is a testament to them," said Obama in a statement. Crowley called today's meeting "cordial and productive" and said that while he and Gates "agreed to disagree," they also plan to talk again, the Boston Globe reports. More»