Racial profiling and talking without the facts
First, anyone who claims that police don't do racial profiling is dreaming.  And yes, believe it or not, I have seen that stated recently.

Second, one of the things I learned very, very quickly when I became involved in the criminal justice system was to be leery of accepting at face value any one side of events, no matter how much it fits with my personal beliefs.   Some years ago, a newspaper with wide circulation in my state published an "investigative report" on racial discrimination by the police.  I have never questioned (and have in fact argued in support of the argument) that the court system has a significant disparate impact on people of different races.  In fact, there is an bias built in specifically based on a person's  race by law in some instances.

But the example given in that newspaper as proof of racial bias....was that a Native American man was driving down the street and was stopped, hassled and arrested despite having no moving violations.  Sounds damning, no?  Only thing is....I knew the people involved.  What I heard was this:  The man arrested had appeared in court the day before the incident on a DWI charge, plead guilty, and had his driver's license revoked by the judge on the DWI.  And the cop who arrested him for driving the next day?  Just happened to have been in the  courtroom when the judge revoked the man's license.   And you know what?  Given the people and the size of the community involved, that's entirely believable.   I also heard that the newspaper never bothered to contact the cops or the clerk of court to inquire about the facts. 

The point of this is that any lawyer -- including our illustrious president -- should know that you need to hear more than one side before making public statements regarding an arrest.  And so, before taking at face value the statements from Obama or anyone else about complaints regarding the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., I invite you to look at the police report.  Having read many reports over the years, i suspect it's a bit sanitized.  But it's interesting reading.  And people might also want to consider that police, upon receiving an eyewitness report of a burglary in progress and if  they are going to do a thorough and professional job, will investigate who else is in the home.  They will also attempt to speak to the homeowner outside the home to verify that there's not somebody with a gun hanging out behind him after having told him to do whatever is necessary to get rid of the cop.  Because....you know...people of color are often crime victims, and cops have a duty to protect and serve people, including people who are rude to them.  Just food for thought.