I hear a lot of people with very strong opinions try and tell me and others about a place they’ve never been and a job they’ve never worked. I wrote about police the drug corner, places like where Freddie Gray was arrested and died in police custody. The next few posts will be exerts from the chapter in Cop in…
Batts says he’d reform the police department if only it weren’t for all those pesky police officers.
Batts doubles down against the rank and file. I’m not quite certain whom Batts is trying to win over with his op-ed in the Sun. It seems like maybe he should have thought twice before pressing the send button. The first half of Batts’ article is spent recounting how bad the police department used to be, before Batts showed up…
The math of American racism: blacks are outnumbered by racists
This is one of the few things that really stuck with me from my grad-school days. A simple mathematical analysis of racism in America. It was in a class with Professor Orlando Patterson. I think of this math when people say we should be post-racial. Or say that we need to condemn anti-white racists as strongly as we do anti-black…
In memory of those killed at the New Hope A.M.E. Church
A few times, if I was working late enough or some church started extra early enough, I would go to church to say hello. Personally I’m a non-believing Greek Orthodox. But there’s something about a good black church that can’t be matched. Some Sunday mornings I would just sit outside, just to provide a little security. (And also to enjoy…
Cops shoot and kill unarmed man
No real point here. Except it happens. And you won’t hear this (except in Des Moines) because there’s no racial element to the story. Does that make the shooting any better or worse? I don’t think so. Apparently there was a protest of one.
Race, drugs, arrests, and hospital admissions
I recently got some interesting data over the email transom. Here’s the thing: It’s largely assumed that white and black illegal drug use is about the same. And that’s based on legit sources. The kind of drug people take varies by race. For instance crack is still disproportionately black. Meth and LSD still mostly white. Generally. But those who point…
Yeah, but they’re foreigners!
What can we learn from them? I know. Nothing. Because this is America. Exceptionalism and all that. I’m not saying we could go to this model overnight, damnit! But we could still learn from it. We could learn a lot from other countries, if we got around to looking. If we start looking at police in other countries, next thing…
“Daily Measurables”
My long-standing question related to Freddie Gray — no doubt tops on everyone’s list — has always been, “Why the hell were officers doing much of anything at 8:45 on a Sunday morning?!” The Baltimore Sun reports: About three weeks before Freddie Gray was chased … the office of prosecutor Marilyn Mosby asked police to target the intersection with “enhanced”…
Problems are the reason for your job
But still, this is getting a little crazy. Click to embiggen. Before the riots, there were 0.58 homicides per day in Charm City. Since April 27, there have been 1.44 homicides per day. That’s an increase of 150 percent! (148%, to be precise) And the increase happened literally overnight. I don’t think that has happened before. Anywhere. Ever. Well, “it’s…
“Kalief Browder, Held at Rikers Island for 3 Years Without Trial, Commits Suicide”
Meanwhile, with people too busy complaining about cops, I think we’re missing the big picture. We really need to prioritize a bit here. In 2010 a 16-year-old boy was accused of stealing/robbing a backpack. He spent 3 years in a Rikers Island jail. Three years. He could have gotten out earlier, but he would have had to take a guilty…