Channel 4 reports; doesn't say if Gates and Crowley had a beer as they talked at River Gods for an hour.

Charles Hayes is an Alaska denizen, former Dallas police officer, and author of some very thoughtful books about adult learning and lifespan development. His commentary on the Gates-Crowley incident is perhaps the most insightful I've read. Hayes ultimately concludes that Crowley erred and Gates likely committed no crime, but he does so with a calm voice. You don't have to agree with his conclusion to draw understanding from his observations. Here are some snippets, but the short essay is worth reading in its entirety:

Transcript of Police Commissioner Ed Davis's statement at a news conference today on Justin Barrett's e-mail to Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham:

The Boston Police Department is committed to a standard of excellence. Our community rightly has high expectations for us. It is a standard that the community deserves and we are required to meet. Officer Barrett's actions do not comply with those expectations.

Barrett's email was racist and inflammatory. These racist opinions and feelings have no place in this department or in our society and will not be tolerated.

Barrett's comments were directed at Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates. I regret the direct insult toward Professor Gates and have personally reached out to him to apologize for this offense and inform him of the Department's immediate efforts to make this officer accountable. ...

Cambridge Police only acknowledge that after the woman's been dragged through the mud for a week - and after the woman's lawyer has a chat with the Globe.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Via Kisrael.com

Also, further proof of just how wonderful the Interwebs are comes when you look at how quickly somebody registered a domain name based on the incident.

So why is bostonherald.com like a good pillow?

It's down.

Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas said this afternoon the city is setting up a panel of "independent notable professionals" to study what happened between Henry Louis Gates and Sgt. James Crowley last Thursday at Gates's Ware Street home.

Haas emphasized, however, that he stands behind Crowley and that nothing he has seen has convinced him that Crowley acted in anything less than a professional manner when he responded to a report of a possible housebreak.

"I do not believe in any way that his interactions were racially motivated," he said. He said every incident can be a learning experience and that the panel would be given full access to department records to come up with recommendations on how to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Also, the department takes great pride in its professionalism in a multiculti city and so was "deeply hurt" by Obama's comments about how stupidly it acted.

The Globe has a favorable portrait of CPD Sgt. James Crowley, reported by three staffers.

Note: Thursday's issue of the Globe seemed to be already up on their Web site before 1am.

Sgt. Crowley tells Channel 5 he's not apologizing. And so it goes.