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Miami Police Chief John Timoney was on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today weighing in on the Henry Gates dispute. If you’re not up to speed on the latest media-made controversy, Henry “Skip” Gates is a highly respected Harvard professor. Upon returning from a recent trip, he couldn’t get into his own home so was forced to break in. A way too nosy passerby called police. An officer showed up. Gates initially refused to show him his ID and ended up getting arrested for disorderly conduct, but all charges were later dropped. The president happens to be a friend of Gates’ and gave the story more legs by saying the Cambridge Police “acted stupidly.”
Never mind the fact that we have cases of unquestionable racial profiling that don’t involve upper-class Ivy League intellectuals every day in this country that probably deserve more attention, but hey, let’s all pile on this one.
Timoney said it’s “possible” race really isn’t a part of the story at all. He initially refuses to comment on the president’s remarks but then states he was asked the question at a press conference and he couldn’t ignore it. He also talks about the importance of police chiefs stepping up and taking control of situations that are clearly “turning to doo-doo.”
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