A note on police reports, witnesses, calls, etc.

[Prism]

Combing through them in the hopes some vital clue or inconsistency will lead to an epiphanic reveal that results in Angela Lansbury and Raymond Burr doing it in the jury box is generally a bad idea. Mining through minute by minute witness statements, police reports, etc. in the quest for the proper placement of the Finger of Condemnation is only going to lead to a city of blind alleys.

I speak from personal experience here. There are going to be tons of inconsistencies.

My personal favorite experience in the strange wonderland of 911 operators, witnesses, and cops on the radio involved someone tripping and putting their hand through a plate glass window. A lot of superficial cuts, a lot of blood, a lot of panic, a quick 911 call.

Then about ten squad cars and two firetrucks showed up.

Somehow "hand through a plate glass window" became "baby thrown through a picture window". The police reports and witness statements were a lot of fun.

That's an extreme example, of course, but differences in various reporting on the ground doesn't mean conspiracy, lying, or some nerfarious undermotive reaching up from the sewers.

(Crowley still an asshole, though)

[DefenseLawyer]

1. A note on your note.

I'm not sure what your personal experience is, and undoubtedly you are correct that errors are often made; however, speaking from my own experience, make no mistake- police officers routinely lie to make cases. No, I'm not talking about planting evidence or framing someone (although there are plenty of documented cases of that) I'm talking about adding details, changing the sequence of events or simply lying in order to justify a stop, a search or an arrest. It happens all the time.

[Prism]

4. Don't doubt that in the slightest

But I think the narrative of the Gates incident is fairly uniform, and Sherlock Holmesing it to death doesn't seem to serve any productive purpose. My comment is more in response to seeing multiple arguments breaking out over differences as slight as word placement.

I should note I am in no way defending Crowley's behavior or decision to arrest Professor Gates.

Simply that pounding the hell out of every piece of minutae to prove or disprove mental verdicts reached last week isn't worth the fighting.

[JTFrog]

2. There is audio tape of all the calls between dispatch and the officer.

At no time were either black men nor backpacks mentioned.

Also, the witness listed on the police report has stated emphatically that she did not speak personally with the officer as stated in his report.

[MADem]

3. It is not nitpicking when a witness, named in a police report,

is quoted as saying things she insists she never said, and is quoted as saying things at complete variance with what she said to the dispatcher only moments before.

Crowley lied in that document.