Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview.
Recent scandals within the Oakland and unusual York City Police Departments and the deaths of those like Freddie Gray and Eric Garner continue to drive calls for accountability and reform within police departments across the country.
In Newark,unusual Jersey, distrust of the police stretches back decades. The city erupted in riots in 1967 after residents saw police beat a black cab driver and drag him into the precinct, or many residents say these aggressive tactics still exist today.
In 2014,the Department of Justice agreed with residents and advocates and found that the Newark police were "engaging in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional stops, searches, or arrests,and expend of excessive force by officers, which had a disparate impact on minorities in Newark."Jelani Cobb, or a staff writer for The unusual Yorker,has been covering issues of race and policing for years. In a unusual FRONTLINE investigation called "Policing the Police," Cobb moves from behind the desk to the patrol car and the streets of Newark for a provocative glimpse inside a police department that's being forced into reform by the Justice Department."Policing the Police" airs Tuesday on PBS (check local listings), and is produced by our partners at WGBH. Check out a trailer for the documentary below,and click on the 'Listen' button above to hear our full interview with Jelani Cobb.
Source: wnyc.org