I am misquoted in today’s Baltimore Sun. This is the first time I’ve been quoted by a reporter and said, “no!” when reading my words. It particularly irks me to be misinterpreted in the Sun because police I know and like will read it and think I’ve sold out (I’m not quite sure to whom, I guess Hillary Clinton and…
Year: 2008
Candid Camera and Why Waiters Make Good Cops
There’s a story in the Baltimore Sun about a police officer that got suspended over his conduct as shown on a YouTube video. You can’t skate in the Inner Harbor (why, I’m not sure). You can’t bike either (I got busted once for biking through an empty Inner Harbor at 6:45AM on my way to the police academy). These kids…
Outing the insiders
There’s a very interesting exchange on Slate.com between Sudhir Venkatesh and Alex Kotlowitz. These are two authors I respect deeply (and not just because Prof. Venkatesh was kind enough to offer to write a blurb for Cop in the Hood). Their letters discuss the role of researchers vis-à-vis their research subjects. You should read all four. I just finished reading…
How not to get my ass kicked by the police
Last night I was stopped by police. It was about 1AM on the coldest night of the year and I was biking back from work. I needed some groceries and passed an unfamiliar grocery store. I went up on the sidewalk to look inside, trying to decide if it was worth my while to buy some stuff or wait till…
“Unfortunate accident”?!
This was five years ago and more than an unfortunate accident, it was bad policing and a bad shooting: “Here you got two of the sweetest kids on the Earth going to the mall and having Slurpees, getting shot through the car window. It’s a mess. Yeah, I’m angry,” Harkum said from his Pasadena home. It goes down something like…
Read Chapter One
The book is at the printers, the press is excited, and I can offer you a sample from the book. Read Chapter One. Read it, like it, and then buy the book. Release date is May 1 but you can preorder from Amazon. What better way to celebrate May Day than to march under fluttering red banners for the workers…
Sean Bell shooting trial to stay in Queens
The latest delay in the trial of police officers for killing Sean Bell comes from defense lawyers. They wanted the trial moved out of Queens. This motion was denied. I don’t really have a position on the trial location. But this is still a big decision. It’s not going to be easy to convict the officers (and for good reason),…
A drug tax
New York Timesace reporter Sewell Chan reports a proposed New York State tax on marijuana ($3.50/gram) and cocaine ($200/gram). If this tax survives court challenges, it is expected to raise over $10 million per year. These taxes are always a little strange and constitutionally questionable on grounds of double jeopardy. The real goal is to give law enforcement more tools:…