Gates 911 Caller: Glad "The Truth is Out"

(CBS/AP)  The woman who called police to report a possible break-in at the home of prominent black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. said Wednesday she was pained to be wrongly labeled a racist based on words she never said and hoped the recently released recording of the call would put the controversy to rest.

With a trembling voice, Lucia Whalen, 40, said she was out walking to lunch in Gates' Cambridge neighborhood near Harvard University when an elderly woman without a cell phone stopped her because she was concerned there was a possible burglary in progress.

Whalen was vilified as a racist on blogs after a police report said she described the possible burglars as "two black males with backpacks."

Tapes of the call released earlier this week revealed that Whalen did not mention race. When pressed by a dispatcher on whether the men were white, black or Hispanic, she said one of them might have been Hispanic.

"Now that the tapes are out, I hope people can see that I tried to be careful and honest with my words," Whalen said. "It never occurred to me that the way I reported what I saw be analyzed by an entire nation."

Listen to the 911 call.

Whalen said she does not judge people "on anything other than character" and that she "tried to be careful and honest" with her words.

She said she respects the professor and police and is glad "the truth is out."

Cambridge police Commissioner Robert Haas acknowledged that the police report contains a reference to race, but said the report is merely a summary of events. The arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, has said his information on the race of the suspects came during a brief encounter with Whalen outside Gates' house; she contradicted that Thursday, saying she made no such description.

The arrest of Gates for disorderly conduct in his own home by a white police officer sparked a national debate over racial profiling and police conduct. The controversy intensified when President Obama said police "acted stupidly" when they arrested Gates, his friend.

Gates has said he was outraged and has demanded an apology from Crowley; Crowley said he followed protocol and responded to Gates' "tumultuous behavior" appropriately.

Whalen, a Harvard alumni magazine employee who is a first-generation Portuguese-American, said she lived in fear during the immediate aftermath of the arrest when she was dogged for comment and maligned based on the information attributed to her in the police report.

"The criticism at first was so painful I was frankly afraid to say anything. People called me racist. Some even said threatening things that made me fear for my safety," said Whalen, whose husband, Paul, put his hand on her shoulder in comfort her as she spoke. "I knew the truth, but I didn't speak up right away because I did not want to add to the controversy."

She said she felt more comfortable speaking publicly after the tapes were released. She refused to answer any questions about the police report or what she saw that day.

"I am proud to have been raised by two loving parents who instilled in me values including love one another, be kind to strangers and do not judge people based on race, ethnicity or any other feature than their character," she said.

Obama, the first black president, has said he chose his words badly when he reacted to his friend's arrest, and he has invited Crowley and Gates to meet with him at the White House for a beer on Thursday evening.

Whalen's attorney, Wendy Murphy, said the three men - Gates, Crowley and Obama - all overreacted, while Whalen kept her cool.

"The three highly trained guys who reacted badly are getting together for a beer," Murphy said. "The one person whose actions have been exemplary will be at work tomorrow in Cambridge. I don't know - maybe it's a guy thing. She doesn't like beer anyway."

Whalen said she has worked in Cambridge for 15 years and hopes that the community's reputation would be restored. She also said she respected both Gates and the Cambridge police department and hoped her decision to finally speak out would not add to the controversy.

"I was called racist and I was a target of scorn and ridicule because of the things I never said," she said. "The criticism hurt me as a person, but it also hurt the community of Cambridge."

[quickly101]

I think whites should start putting their ancentry after their name and be proud of their ancestry as are blacks, hispanics, orientals and others. It is obvious that minorites refuse to be called simply Americans and wish to retain their link to their mother country downthrough the generations they and their descendants live in this country. A Welsh-Dutch American and very proud of it.

[Illuminated1]

If in any posts I have accused the 911 caller of being the person to originate racism into the Gates arrest, I apologize.

I only drew from the report that the call was made that way...
As I see it now,
I stand by my previous post in that it is the residents that run the neighborhood, and the police are only there to "protect and serve".
I feel the cambridge police overstep authority in ways that manipulate the rules of conduct.
The fact the officer called Gates "uncooperative" and to "keep the cars rolling" shows to me to be the smoking gun.

[erasmus111]

by dkhorse11 July 29, 2009 6:20 PM EDT
And if people were in the house and murdered and the criminals got away, that would be OK?


Oops, I'm sorry. We don't have burglars breaking into our homes to kill people here, so that thought never entered my mind. : )

[dkhorse11]

From your response, I guess you don't!

[babooph]

Clearly the court system is putting way too much faith in the "police reports".

[cyclingpete]

It's people like Gates that keep this race issues an issue. This happens all the time. I get students in my job that dont get what they want and they say things like "It's becasue Im black" or "He doesn't give us better grades becasue Im black" or "He's a racist" and these things that are said have absolutely nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with not turning in acceptable homework. PERIOD! So this "black" thing is really getting old.

[mcv57]

As the Bible states: The evil one will be revealed. You white racist should read the Bible. Perhaps this world would be a better place to live in.

This incident also acknowledges the creditability of law enforcement establish - shoot, beat, and taser first; then lie later. Local government protects these wicked beast, and the terror continues with minorities and blacks.

[shawshank22]

It is really very simple.Pass legislation allowing white cops to choose the neighborhood they will respond to calls from.If blacks are so paranoid and hate them,let black officers respond.If it takes 1/2 hour or so,at least there will be no accusations of racism and no opportunity for race baiting professors to act their nonsense out at the risk of an officers career being ruined

[erasmus111]

Just because a person has to push on the door a bit to open it, means that they must be breaking in? I could see maybe if they were slamming their shoulder into it, busting down the door, or breaking a window.

So she takes the word of an old lady that they were breaking in?

I think that I would have waited to see if they came out with stuff first, before I phoned 911. The cops have enough to do without having to take the time to go to a house where they THINK it's being broken into.

I think this woman should be charged for not minding her own business. She's caused a lot of problems for NOTHING.

: )

[dkhorse11]

And if people were in the house and murdered and the criminals got away, that would be OK? So what if he owns the house, if he shows ID and cooperates with police, no problems. Better to catch criminals (or possible criminals) in the act then to let them get away.

[robbyr2]

According to Sgt. Crowley's official report, she told him at the scene that it was two black men.

Seems like an interesting point to me, but then I'm not a journalist I guess.

[Snowhare]

OK folks! Before this discussion gets out of hand lets try to prevent the next hype of false "news"!

We have a witness who called police and did not mention race (only "maybe hispanic" after being explicitly asked).
We have a cop who probably overreacted in arresting the guy who had "broken" into his own house.
We have a professor who said a few stupid things about being suspected for racist reasons.
We have a president who reacted stupidly but made up for it gracefully.

What causes the heat of the discussion is
a) the fact that the professor accuses or at least accused the police officer of racial profiling and somewhat racist action.
b) the accused police officer is an expert on race sensitivity and the professor is an academic expert on racism and is himself an African American.
c) the professor is quite well known and additionally a friend of the - also black - president.

Now, assuming the officer did not do anything bad at first and the professor did indeed accuse him of racism at once,
it goes to show how black people (and perhaps especially someone who thinks of racism all day because that's his job) are sensitive on that part.
There is a reason for being so sensitive: bad experiences.
What ohters have written here about calmly complying is ok in its way. But isn't it a natural reaction to go over the top if you think you're done for because you have been in such a situation before?

The officer, fed-up with this talk about racism overreacted, as well.

On a personal level, the situation is already solved and will find a very nice end over a beer in the white house.

It is a good thing, however, that the story came up and is now discussed: thus it contributes to a discussion which has changed but was in no way rendered unnecessary by the election of a president with a Kenyan father who goes by the strange name of Barack Hussein Obama.