It is my opinion that the crime he actually committed was one not found in any Penal Code. A crime committed by individuals that, although usually done unknowingly, can result in their immediate arrest. That crime is “Failing the Attitude Test.”

As a criminal defense attorney, I see it often. The most common scenario is someone gets into an argument with a police officer and is charged with public intoxication. For example, a recent client, a young woman, called police to report her concern over threats made by an ex-boyfriend. The ex had threatened her and her new boyfriend that evening, and she was afraid he might come to her home. When police showed up to investigate, sure enough, the ex-boyfriend drove by. Police stopped and questioned him. When the decision was made to not pursue the matter any further my client became angry and walked out to the street to let the officers know how displeased she was. Moments later she was charged with public intoxication and arrested.

I believe what happened with Professor Gates was a similar situation. He was angry and responded in a not-so-pleasant manner. This upset the police and they arrested him. Everyone is focusing on the fact that he is black and calling it a race issue, and to some degree it is. It is not hard to imagine how things could get ugly when someone like Gates, a black Harvard professor, acutely aware of how race can come into play when dealing with authority, finds himself being interrogated in his own home. Black authority figure confronts white authority figure and the person with the power to arrest wins. So race added fuel to the fire, but race isn’t a mandatory ingredient for a situation like this to occur. Just ask former candidate for Travis County District Attorney, Mindy Montford. After the car she was riding in was stopped by police, she got out to advise the driver of his rights. When told by police to get back into the car she complied, but the damage was done. She was charged and arrested for public intoxication. It seems the only mandatory ingredient for a public intoxication arrest is an attitude perceived as confrontational by the police.

In all of these incidents charges were later dismissed, but of course by then, the punishment had already been exacted. And it’s not right. Police officers are professionals when it comes to confrontational situations and as such, should remain above the fray. Their duty is to de-escalate a potentially dangerous situation, not add to it. Citizens can get nervous, say distasteful things, and over-react. Police officers must stay calm, not over-react, and never take a situation personally. It’s the professional thing to do. It’s the safe thing to do. It’s the right thing to do.

So what I hope we learn from the "teaching moment" at the “beer summit” between President Obama, Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley together is how to prevent some of these confrontations in the future. But you know, we can always find something to fight about. Already breweries are arguing over which beer should be served. As Gilda Radner from Saturday Night Live episodes of long ago would say…“it’s always something.”

Labels: abuse of power, beer, president obama, professor henry louis gates, public intoxication, rights, the attitude test

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