Harvard Prof Gates Arrested Trying to Enter Own Home; Ogletree to Defend
Updated: Harvard University’s Henry Louis Gates Jr. is facing a disorderly conduct charge, after being arrested by Cambridge police on Thursday while trying to enter his own locked home near the campus, according to Bloomberg and the Associated Press.
Gates, 58, is the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. Police say they were called by a neighbor who reported seeing a man try to pry open the locked door of the home. When ordered to identify himself, Gates allegedly refused, called the officer a racist, and said “This is what happens to black men in America,” the AP recounts.
A report on the police department’s website says Gates was “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” reports Bloomberg. However, police officials declined to comment further, saying the case is under investigation by the Middlesex District Attorney, whose office didn’t immediately return the news agency’s phone calls.
Gates also declined to comment, referring calls to his legal counsel, Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree Jr., the AP reports. Ogletree didn’t immediately respond to the news agency’s request for comment.
The Harvard Crimson broke the story.
As discussed in a subsequent ABAJournal.com post, authorities have announced that the case against Gates will be dropped.
Updated on May 21 to reference subsequent ABAJournal.com post.
