Gates, Cambridge Cop: Sure, We'll Have That Beer

Prez: I could have 'calibrated' remarks on Gates arrest differently

(NEWSER) - President Obama today backpedaled from his comment that the Massachusetts police who arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr. “acted stupidly,” the New York Times reports. In an unannounced appearance at the daily White House briefing, Obama said he “could have calibrated” his words more carefully in speaking on the incident, adding that he’d expressed his regrets in a call to Sgt. James Crowley earlier today. More»

Sgt. James Crowley's class instructs recruits not to 'single people out because of ethnic background'

(AP) - The white police sergeant criticized by President Barack Obama for arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his Massachusetts home is a police-academy expert on racial profiling. Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class on racial profiling for 5 years at the Lowell Police Academy after being hand-picked for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black, the academy's director says. 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»

(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»

(NEWSER) - It's happy hour at the White House. President Obama, Joe Biden, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and James Crowley are clinking beer glasses in the White House Rose Garden, but alas, the media isn't invited to listen in. Earlier, the president sought to tamp down expectations, noting that he's "fascinated with the fascination with this evening." (CNN has no fewer than five cameras in place.) He even objected to the term Beer Summit. More»