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Gates, a preeminent scholar of African and African-American studies at the prestigious Harvard University, was arrested by Cambridge police while attempting to get into his own home.
The well-known academic, a friend of Obama's, was reportedly trying to unstick his jammed front door when a neighbor called the police, believing the house was being robbed.
The situation escalated when police arrived on the scene. After police demanded identification and Gates demanded the same, he was arrested for disorderly conduct, a charge that has since been dropped.
Asked about the case Wednesday, Obama acknowledged "not having been there, and not seeing all the facts."
"But, I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry. Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home," Obama said.
The media frenzy over the story, and Obama's decision to weigh in, appear as a sign of how tense race relations in the United States remain, despite the election of Obama, the nation's first black president.
James Crowley, the white police officer who arrested Gates, said he would "never apologize" for the arrest, according to CNN, adding that he was disappointed by Obama's comments and believed the president was mistaken.
Crowley denied the arrest was motivated by racism and said Gates was arrested after being disrespectful and disorderly.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs defended the president's comments on Thursday, which came during a news conference on health care but appear to have overshadowed the key legislation being championed by Obama.
"He did say he didn't have all the facts," Gibbs said in comments that seemed intended to tamp down the controversy.
"I think what the president ultimately talked about was, obviously there was a point at which... both parties involved... (realized) that the situation originally responded to wasn't actually happening, in terms of a crime being committed," he said.
"At that point, cooler heads on all sides should have prevailed. I think that's what the president was denoting."
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The well-known academic, a friend of Obama's, was reportedly trying to unstick his jammed front door when a neighbor called the police, believing the house was being robbed.
The situation escalated when police arrived on the scene. After police demanded identification and Gates demanded the same, he was arrested for disorderly conduct, a charge that has since been dropped.
Asked about the case Wednesday, Obama acknowledged "not having been there, and not seeing all the facts."
"But, I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry. Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home," Obama said.
The media frenzy over the story, and Obama's decision to weigh in, appear as a sign of how tense race relations in the United States remain, despite the election of Obama, the nation's first black president.
James Crowley, the white police officer who arrested Gates, said he would "never apologize" for the arrest, according to CNN, adding that he was disappointed by Obama's comments and believed the president was mistaken.
Crowley denied the arrest was motivated by racism and said Gates was arrested after being disrespectful and disorderly.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs defended the president's comments on Thursday, which came during a news conference on health care but appear to have overshadowed the key legislation being championed by Obama.
"He did say he didn't have all the facts," Gibbs said in comments that seemed intended to tamp down the controversy.
"I think what the president ultimately talked about was, obviously there was a point at which... both parties involved... (realized) that the situation originally responded to wasn't actually happening, in terms of a crime being committed," he said.
"At that point, cooler heads on all sides should have prevailed. I think that's what the president was denoting."
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