The Stream

US police under pressure to reform

When the public demands police accountability, how do officers respond?

Over the past two years, US police killings of African Americans have fueled the most vocal calls for law enforcement reform in decades. Video footage of racial profiling and fatal shootings, along with the sustained wave of protest they have helped generate, have shone a spotlight on marginalised communities’ long-held grievances with the criminal justice system.

 

The outcry has forced the federal government to respond with measures including a White House task force and increased Justice Department oversight of local law enforcement agencies. But recent police killings and revelations in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights, Baltimore, Chicago and Milwaukee just last week, coupled with the deadly attacks on officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, underscore that much more needs to be done.

 

On this episode of The Stream, we hear from a roundtable of current and former officers on how they answer the calls for police reform. We’ll discuss the unprecedented wave of protest over police conduct, the day-to-day challenges of being an officer, and efforts to change the system from within.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:  
 

Graham Weatherspoon
Retired detective, New York City Police Department

Derick Waller
Detective, New York City Police Department

Betty Taylor @tay2500
Criminal justice professor, Chief of police, City of Winfield, Missouri 
 

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