Description:
The horrific images of the Rodney King beating by the LAPD and the torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima by New York cops are the most blatant reminders of police brutality against blacks in the United States. But as Oakland-based civil rights attorney John L. Burris (who represented King) and co-writer Catherine Whitney remind us in this disturbing book, the problem is more widespread than most white Americans are willing to admit. "Our nation practices a selective blindness," they argue. "In this great and strong nation, we have all become unwitting accomplices to the continuation of the conflict." Along with alarming statistical data, Burris and Whitney chronicle several nightmarish incidents of law-abiding African Americans at the mercy of police officers, including an Oakland community leader who raised his children to respect the police--and was then beaten senseless in front of their eyes. The authors also examine the closed "blue wall of silence" mentality that pervades police culture, reinforcing an "us against them" point of view. But, offering more than a catalog of well-justified complaints, they present a good 10-point "Blueprint for Police Reform" that includes "a dual training focus of force and communication" to supplement nonviolent procedures, as well as the denial of career advancement to officers who have racked up numerous citizen complaints. "If law enforcement is to abandon the culture that supports misconduct, silence, heavy-handedness, and disrespect," they write, "a new scaffold must be erected to replace the old." --Eugene Holley Jr.
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