CAMBRIDGE, Mass.  The woman who called 911 to report a possible breaking and entering at the home of Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. told the dispatcher that she had “no idea” if the two men she saw were breaking in and said that, in fact, they might live there.

A recording of the call, released on Monday by the Cambridge Police Department, raised new questions about the case, which ended in the arrest on July 16 of Professor Gates, a prominent Harvard scholar, on a disorderly conduct charge. The charge was later dropped.

The caller, Lucia Whalen, told the dispatcher she was calling on behalf of an older woman who lived on the street and had seen the men  who turned out to be Professor Gates and his cabdriver  forcing their way into the home. Police officials have said the older woman had just moved into the neighborhood. Ms. Whalen, 40, works on the block.

“They kind of had to barge in, and they broke the screen door and they finally got in,” Ms. Whalen said on the recording, adding that she had also seen two suitcases on the porch.