Crowley: Gates and I "Agreed To Disagree"

Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley told reporters following his White House meeting with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Thursday that he and Gates had a "cordial and productive discussion" in which they "agreed to disagree."

Crowley, the officer whose arrest of Gates in his own home set off a racial uproar stoked when President Obama suggested his department had acted "stupidly," said he and the professor had "agreed to move forward."

Crowley said no apologies were offered at the meeting. He described it as "a positive step" and said the two men did not spend time "reliving the events of the past few weeks."

Photos: White House Brew Crew
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He said the two men "have agreed that both perspectives should be addressed" in efforts to turn the incident into a constructive one – a "teachable moment," as the president put it.

"We spent a lot of time discussing the future," he said.

Asked what President Obama brought to the discussion, Crowley deadpanned, "he provided the beer." He added that the president "contributed in a small part, but he wanted to bring two people together."

Crowley said there was "no tension" at the meeting, and that the two men and their families toured the White House together before sitting down for beers.

He told reporters that he and Gates had agreed to meet again, though he did not disclose the location of that meeting. The sergeant signaled that he had become wary of all the attention: Asked what he had learned from the affair, he said he "learned that the media can find you no matter where you live."

Crowley also said he might take a few days off to digest the events of the last few days.

"I'm not really sure this is really happening," he said.