Lawyer For Gates 911 Caller Claims She Never Used The Term "Black"

Lucia Whalen, the woman who made the 911 call, is claiming she never identified any of the parties allegedly breaking into Professor Gates residence as black.

Her attorney Wendy Murphy said:

Let me be clear: She never had a conversation with Sgt. Crowley at the scene. And she never said to any police officer or to anybody 'two black men.' She never used the word 'black.' Period." I'm not sure what the police explanation will be. Frankly, I don't care. Her only goal is to make it clear she never described them as black. She never saw their race. ... All she reported was behavior, not skin color.

She just wants to clear her name. She doesn't want to create more controversy. She falls outside the plain lines of race, and I think she wanted people to know that.

Clearly, the liberal media is still trying to discredit Sgt. Crowley.

There are two issues here.

There is a dispute as to whether Ms. Whalen had a conversation with Sgt. Crowley.

There is a dispute as to whether Ms. Whalen identified the alleged assailants as black.

Well, if Sgt. Crowley didn't talk with Ms. Whalen then who did? If Sgt. Crowley didn't get his information from Ms. Whalen then with whom did he speak at the scene?

I cannot help but think that Ms. Whalen might be getting a lot of heat from her neighbors and co-workers at Harvard for having made the 911 call and now trying to distance herself from it. Believe me I know what attitudes are like in the People's Republic of Cambridge. Of course, there could be something else in play altogether.

But here's what I don't get. Why does Ms. Whalen feel the need to clear her name? What was it that she did wrong? Let's suppose she did, in fact, tell Sgt. Crowley or one of the other officers on the scene that she saw two black people trying to enter Professor Gates home. I hardly think describing what one sees as being a crime much less racist.

But even if Ms. Whalen never described the alleged assailants as black, Sgt. Crowley still had to ascertain if there was a break in taking place at the residence. Sgt. Crowley determined Professor Gates was in fact in his home. That should have been the end of it. But then Professor Gates escalated the situation and we all know what happened next.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, effect this has on the meeting scheduled between Sgt. Crowley and Professor Gates at the White House with President Obama later this week. It will be interesting to see if President Obama does an about face and postpones the meeting indefinitely.