What one never-ending night of discomfort taught me about the quick slide into despair and desperation.
Category: Blue Notes
More on this project highlighting examples of police misconduct.
Phil Waller and John Blanks live in the Grays Ferry neighborhood of South Philadelphia. While celebrating a neighbor on his way to college at their block party, a series of events unfolded that led to an excessive showcase of police power. Early Experiences: Phil and John had different formative experiences and beliefs about police. … Continue reading Phil and John
In addition to the night of his neighborhood block party, Phil has had other negative experiences with police. Hear those stories now. Fit the Profile: Phil is stopped by police in Center City Philadelphia looking for a suspect who is nothing like him, except that they both have dark skin. Followed: In high school, Phil … Continue reading Phil Waller
Rob, who wished to be anonymous for this project, grew up in North Philadelphia, in a Latino family. From stories he heard from his family members, he learned to be wary of the otherwise friendly presentation of police that he was learning in school. Soon, his own experiences would confirm his family's warnings. Early Experiences: … Continue reading Rob
Recently, an article by Ronald G. Fryer found no statistical differences between White, Black,or Hispanic individuals in the use of lethal force by police. Fryer, an Economics Professor at Harvard, based most findings on 4 sources of data: Information from New York City's Stop, Question, and Frisk Program The Police-Public Contact Survey Police reporting in … Continue reading James Buehler: Data and Disparity
Jovan lives in Pennsylvania's Delaware County, right outside Philadelphia. He grew up in the state of Delaware and attended Cab Calloway High School, a school for the performing arts. On his way home from school one afternoon, he was asked by a police officer to get off the bus because he fit the description of … Continue reading Jovan Dwight
Robert Kane is a Criminology professor at Drexel University. Recently, Kane and his two study partners conducted an experiment to research a person's ability to process information after being tased. If a person has reduced cognitive function, they may not properly understand their Miranda rights, which has implications for private citizens, and for our legal … Continue reading Robert Kane: Tased and Confused
Amy is a health care professional who lives in North Philadelphia. One morning, her neighbor was rushed to the hospital after suffering from convulsions. Amy learned that, while being treated, she had been arrested. She went with her neighbor's mother to the hospital, to see if her medical background could help this family get answers. … Continue reading Amy Liao
The information in this article came from a recent interview with Candace McKinley, the Executive Director of Roots of Justice, and a legal rights advisor with Up Against the Law. Part one outlined the basic rights a person has when interacting with police officers. This article contains some basic advice for protesting and also for recording police … Continue reading Candace McKinley: Know Your Rights pt. 2