Voting Station

Sergeant James Crowley

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Crime Fighter

The Resume

    Resident of Natick, Massachusetts
    Officer who arrested Henry Louis Gates for disorderly conduct outside his home (July 16, 2009)
    Later engaged in a publicized meeting with Gates and President Obama in the White House Rose Garden - informally known as 'the Beer Summit'

Why he might be annoying:

    He was accused of racially profiling a Harvard professor for entering his own home.
    He accused Gates of repeatedly insulting his mother, which the Professor denied.
    President Obama was criticized after alleging that he and the Cambridge police 'acted stupidly.'
    Gates threatened to sue the Cambridge police, saying: 'What this made me realize was how vulnerable all black men are to capricious forces like a rogue policeman.'
    His 'summit' meeting with Gates and the President was almost universally panned for coming off as an insincere photo op that did nothing to move the race-relations discussion forward.
    He gifted Gates the handcuffs he used to arrest him with (the Prof. expressed his intention to donate them to the Smithsonian).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was vocally defended by friends and colleagues from accusations of racism.
    He was hand-picked by a black police commissioner to teach recruits about avoiding racial profiling.
    He repeatedly warned Gates to calm down or risk arrest as the confrontation escalated.
    When he explained that he was investigating reports of a break-in on the property, Gates answered: 'Why, because I'm a black man in America?'
    He characterized his meeting with Gates and Obama as 'cordial and productive.'
    Gates pledged to work with him to 'foster greater sympathy among the American public for the daily perils of policing on the one hand, and for the genuine fears of racial profiling on the other hand.'
    He and Gates were later revealed to be distant cousins who share a common Irish ancestor via a DNA test.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 12.50% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying