She is not--I repeat NOT--a neighbor:
A witness, 40-year-old Lucia Whalen of Malden, had alerted the cops that a man was "wedging his shoulder into the front door" at Gates' house "as to pry the door open," police reported.
Now, we can all agree that she was not at fault to call the cops. But it is erroneous to say it was "neighbor." It was someone who, apparently, works in the neighborhood.
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Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues. He is the author of The Beautiful Struggle, Between the World and Me, and We Were Eight Years in Power.