US | Henry Louis Gates Jr Gates: I Can Joke About Arrest Now Harvard prof kidded Cambridge cop at White House By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Aug 2, 2009 5:24 PM CDT Copied President Barack Obama has a beer with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., left and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley, right, in the Rose Garden of the White House. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) A black Harvard scholar said today he has been able to joke about his arrest by a white police officer that led to a national debate on race, despite receiving death threats and bomb threats. In his first public appearance since meeting with Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley at the White House, Henry Louis Gates said he and the officer found some humor in the incident and have since discussed going out to eat or taking in a Boston Red Sox or Celtics game. He said when their two families met in Washington, "Everyone looked like a deer caught in headlights." Crowley seemed very relieved when he shook his hand, he said. "I said to him, 'I would have sworn you were 6-feet-8 inches tall,'" Gates said. "He said, 'I used to be, but I've lost 2 to 3 feet over the last two weeks.'" Read These Next "Admiral Piett" of the Star Wars universe died from COVID. Shooter opens fire on Texas Border Patrol Trump voter who supported mass deportations could be deported herself. Rescuer in floods gets a poignant question. Report an error