By Noel King, Cherly Corley, Eric Westervelt & Martin Kaste
Morning Edition / NPR (6/12/20)
Since the protests sparked by George Floyd’s killing in police custody, many have called for overhauling police departments and policies. Efforts underway in some cities have had mixed success.
NOEL KING, HOST: Since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, many Americans have called for a dramatic rethinking of policing in this country. There have been some incremental changes over the years. Body cameras are now common. Many police use their firearms far less often than they did even 10 years ago.
But the tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets and the family members of those killed or unjustly arrested say it’s just too slow. Black and brown people are still being killed, harassed and abused by the police. So what would a transformation of policing look like? We asked three NPR correspondents to look at examples of reforms that have been tried and that show promise. Martin Kaste, Eric Westervelt and Cheryl Corley are with me now. ..
Link To Transcript And 8-Minute Audio
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The Link Between Disproportionate Police Brutality And Police Unions
By Stacey Vanek Smith & Cardiff Garcia
All Things Considered / NPR (6/12/20)
Data shows that the police’s disproportionate use of force is associated with the fact that it is hard to prosecute officers for wrongful killings — and one possible reason for that is police unions.