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Colin Powell: Gates Shouldn't Have Argued With Cop
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 29, 2009
Modified Jul 29, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 29, 2009
Modified Jul 29, 2009
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Because the brouhaha over Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s arrest will never end, it's time for former Secretary of State Colin Powell to weigh in. While on Larry King Live last night, Powell, who said Gates is a longtime friend, said, "When you're faced with an officer trying to do his job and get to the bottom of something, this is not the time to get in an argument with him...I was taught that as a child. You don't argue with a police officer." He did suggest Gates was tired from his flight from China through NY and also wondered about the Cambridge police, "Once they felt they had to bring Dr. Gates out of the house and to handcuff him, I would have thought at that point some adult supervision would have stepped in and said, OK, look, it is his house. Come on. Let's not -- let's not take this any further. Take the handcuffs off. Goodnight, Dr. Gates." [Here's a transcript and video is after the jump.] Powell also discussed being racially profiled a few years ago—"You just suck it up"—and endorsed Mayor Bloomberg—"I think Mike Bloomberg should be given a third term. And yes, I would say, reelect Mike Bloomberg."
Tagged
colin powell
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Larry King Live
race matters
racial profiling
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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