( CNN ) -- President Obama said that police in Cambridge , Massachusetts , `` acted stupidly '' in arresting a prominent black Harvard professor last week after a confrontation at the man 's home . Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. talks Wednesday about his ordeal with Cambridge police . `` I do n't know , not having been there and not seeing all the facts , what role race played , '' Obama said Wednesday night while taking questions after a White House news conference . Cambridge authorities dropped disorderly conduct charges against Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Tuesday . Obama defended Gates on Wednesday night , while admitting that he may be `` a little biased , '' because Gates is a friend . `` But I think it 's fair to say , No . 1 , any of us would be pretty angry ; No . 2 , that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home ; and , No . 3 ... that there 's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately . '' The incident , Obama said , shows `` how race remains a factor in this society . '' Watch the president address the incident » . The mayor of Cambridge said she is going to meet with the city 's police chief to make sure the scenario that caused Gates ' arrest does not happen again . `` This suggests that something happened that should not have happened , '' Mayor E. Denise Simmons said on CNN 's `` American Morning . '' `` The situation is certainly unfortunate . This ca n't happen again in Cambridge . '' Watch how the mayor plans to handle the situation » . Gates said Simmons called him to apologize . He told CNN on Wednesday that although charges had been dropped , he will keep the issue alive . `` This is not about me ; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America , '' Gates told CNN 's Soledad O'Brien . Have race relations improved since Obama 's election ? Gates said he 'd be prepared to forgive the arresting officer `` if he told the truth '' about what the director of Harvard 's W.E.B . Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research said were `` fabrications '' in the police report . The officer , Sgt . James Crowley , told CNN affiliate WCVB earlier Wednesday that he will not apologize . `` There are not many certainties in life , but it is for certain that Sgt . Crowley will not be apologizing , '' he said . Gates said the mayor of Cambridge , Massachusetts , called him to apologize about the incident , in which he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct . Watch Gates talk about his arrest » . CNN could not confirm Wednesday night that an apology was made . Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons did not respond to requests by CNN for comment . Crowley wrote in the Cambridge police report that Gates refused to step outside to speak with him , the police report said , and when Crowley told Gates that he was investigating a possible break-in , Gates opened the front door and exclaimed , `` Why , because I 'm a black man in America ? '' the report said . Was the professor profiled ? » . The report said Gates initially refused to show the officer identification , but eventually produced a Harvard identification card , prompting Crowley to radio for Harvard University Police . `` While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence , I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me , '' Crowley said , according to the report . Gates was arrested for `` loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space '' and was released from police custody after spending four hours at the police station . He said Wednesday that he and his lawyers were considering further actions , not excluding a lawsuit . Gates said that although the ordeal had upset him , `` I would do the same thing exactly again . '' Earlier this week , a prosecutor dropped the charge against Gates and the city 's police department recommended that the matter not be pursued .
Washington : Mayor : Incident shows ` ` how race remains a factor in this society '' Boston : Mayor Bloomberg : ` ` This ' n't happen again in Cambridge . '' Harvard 's Henry Louis Gates Jr. says he intends to keep the issue alive . Arresting officer : ` ` It is for certain that [ I ] will not be arrested ''