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Bill Bratton On Fixing Broken Windows And American Policing

William Bratton (C), former Police Commissioner of New York City attends Dermot Shea's swearing in ceremony as the new NYPD Police Commissioner in New York City.
William Bratton (C), former Police Commissioner of New York City attends Dermot Shea's swearing in ceremony as the new NYPD Police Commissioner in New York City.

Bill Bratton does not object to being called America’s top cop.

Few are as experienced. For more than three decades, Bratton ran police departments in Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles.

Bratton says trust in police has eroded “in all directions.”

Writing for The Washington Post, the former police commissioner points to history, particularly those parts that intertwine with America’s legacy of race-based oppression. He says recent outrage over several high-profile incidents is more than justified,

“Some of those incidents, such as the murder of George Floyd, deserve that outrage. Others do not. But they all deserve scrutiny,” he wrote.

His new book chronicles his long police career and lays out a path to restoring lost trust. He is co-author, with Peter Knobler, of “The Profession: A Memoir of Community, Race and the Arc of Policing in America.”

Copyright 2021 WAMU 88.5

Rupert Allman