Quality Policing Podcast and Blog

Baltimore Officer Down

From the Baltimore Sun: Groman and another officer approached the car from the driver’s side and another officer approached from the passenger’s side, police say in charging documents. Officers directed the driver, Tavon Sullivan, to get out of the car, police say, and he sat on the sidewalk. Police say Jones, sitting in the back…
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“Why aren’t more Christians speaking out against Lindsey Blansett?”

Lindsey Blansett killed her 10-year-old son by stabbing him and bashing him a rock so he could “go to heaven” rather than face a life full of “suffering and pains.” I haven’t heard anybody blame Jesus Christ for this woman’s actions. But I’d bet she was driven by her own mistaken perception of Christian ideology.…
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Looking for older posts?

They’re all at my original wesbite, copinthehood.com. This covers all my posts from 2007 to 2023. One day, I’ll figure out how to migrate them here.

“To say it’s all the fault of racist cops is letting the system off the hook”

A quote from me in an interesting article by James Reinl in Al Jazeera. I go on to say: “Some people honestly believe that cops don’t shoot white people and don’t give tickets to white people for minor issues. This view is demonstrably false,” Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore lawman and academic at John Jay…
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Well done NYPD. Well done NYC.

Once again the NYPD shows it can get the job down and keep the city safe. All in all, went off pretty well yesterday. Some protestors were chanting: “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!” And one police officer had his nose broken when he tried to stop a protester…
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LRAD: Long Range Accoustical Device

I was a little too generous in my previous post when I said we don’t know harm this device causes. From a 2012 NYPD briefing on the LRAD (Long Range Acoustical Device), also known as a sound cannon, via the Gothamist. In addition to having “loudspeaker” capabilities, the device can also be used, in a…
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I can’t hear you!

In 2004, the NYPD bought two “long-range acoustic devices” ($35,000 per) and said that during the convention, “they would be used only for announcements, and that their shrill deterrent function would not be employed.” I didn’t believe that would last. Because, as is always the case, if you give cops toys, they will play with…
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“The Police-Community Divide”

Best 22 minutes you’re going to hear about the current state of policing. My colleague David Kennedy on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer show. I can’t thing of anything he said that I don’t agree with.

Recipe for Outrage

If you want to be outraged, I find the lack of more public protest over the police-involved killing of Akai Gurley odd. I mean, if you’re looking for an honest victim killed by police for no reason at all, why not focus on an honest victim killed for no reason at all (instead of say,…
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Policing protests

Just a few examples of effective policing with regards to protesters. From Kriston Capps at Citylab: In essence, Nashville’s police department made a decision to treat the protests like a parade, an event at which the law enforcement role is to provide security, not confront danger.  Police even shut down a highway for the protesters…
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