This article I just read on Harvard Professor Louis Gates Jr in Cambridge, MA, gives the final review of his arrest, and what could have been done to prevent it from happening.
While it says that "both contributed" to the escalation that resulted in arrest, I think it's pretty clear that the officer was just doing his job in asking Gates to come outside, present his I.D. for the officer to rread, and answer some basic questions to verify there was not a burglary, as the officer had been called to investigate.
But Gates was a jerk and copped an attitude of "you're harassing me because I'm black", whereas many blacks would be belligerent to an officer that way, most other citizens would just comply. I've been in that exact situation. TWICE. I cooperated, they verified I didn't do anything wrong, and just continued my walk home.
I think blacks more often have a problem is that they take an attitude and are belligerent and uncooperative with an officer, preventing them from doing their job, or the officer even being unsure of their own safety.
Refer back to Chris Rock's safety video:
How Not to get your ass kicked by the police
