A City Divided: Race, Fear and the Law in Police Confrontations

Description

The story of Jordan Miles vs Pittsburgh Police When a high school honours student emerges from a police confrontation outside his home bruised and beaten, and facing serious criminal charges, an American city erupts in protests. A long quest for justice begins. A City Divided uncovers what happened and examines if race, fear and police conduct answer key questions that have become all too familiar. What goes wrong in these police confrontations and why? Can the courts find justice? And how can we prevent these tragedies in the future? 'Telling real stories about justice and fairness is essential to creating a better and more just society for everyone. In A City Divided, David Harris tells the story of an incident of police/citizen violence that shows us how things go wrong on the street, and how racial bias fear poison our investigations and legal process. This book demands the attention of police, of government officials, and of every citizen who believes that justice is something our country can't do without.' - Lynn Novick, Emmy and Peabody Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker; Director of College Behind Bars; and Codirector of The Vietnam War (with Ken Burns) 'A City Divided helps us understand how race and fear have poisoned the vital relationship between police and the communities they serve. This story of a violent clash between an African American high school student and three police officers makes a compelling case for policing that respects all people while reducing crime. David Harris lays out not just what's wrong, but how to fix it.' - Matthew Horace, CNN and WSJ contributor, 28-Year law enforcement veteran, and author of The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism and Injustice in America's Law Enforcement 'A City Divided shows us what happens when police and those they serve lose sight of each other, and fear takes over.' - Miriam Aroni Krinsky, former Prosecutor and Executive Director, Fair and Just Prosecution

David A. Harris, leading expert on racial profiling in the United States, is the Sally Ann Semenko Chair at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, USA. His work on police, public safety and the law includes his books Failed Evidence: Why Law Enforcement Resists Science (2012), Good Cops: The Case for Preventive Policing (2005) and Profiles in Injustice: Why Racial Profiling Cannot Work (2002).

David Harris's interview about the book launch event on Pittsburgh's NPR An article about the A City Divided book launch event on 14 January 2020 published in Pittsburgh Post Gazette "Telling real stories about justice and fairness is essential to creating a better and more just society for everyone. In A City Divided, David Harris tells the story of an incident of police/citizen violence that shows us how things go wrong on the street, and how racial bias fear poison our investigations and legal process. This book demands the attention of police, of government officials, and of every citizen who believes that justice is something our country can't do without." -Lynn Novick, Emmy and Peabody Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker; Director of College Behind Bars; and Co-director of The Vietnam War (with Ken Burns) "A City Divided helps us understand how race and fear have poisoned the vital relationship between police and the communities they serve. This story of a violent clash between an African American high school student and three police officers makes a compelling case for policing that respects all people while reducing crime. David Harris lays out not just what's wrong, but how to fix it." -Matthew Horace, CNN and WSJ Contributor, 28-Year Law Enforcement Veteran, and Author of The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism and Injustice in America's Law Enforcement "A City Divided shows us what happens when police and those they serve lose sight of each other, and fear takes over." -Miriam Aroni Krinsky, Former Prosecutor and Executive Director, Fair and Just Prosecution "The story of Jordan Miles's arrest in Pittsburgh is a microcosm of our ongoing national dilemma of race and policing, and Harris tells it to great effect." -Jack Glaser, Professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Author of Suspect Race: Causes and Consequences of Racial Profiling A City Divided is an important look into one of the main issues facing criminal justice today. The author does an excellent job of walking the tightrope between blanket criticism of police as being uncompromisingly racist, but instead, takes a dispassionate approach to explore the issues that shape how police officers do their job, how they are trained, and how things like the "warrior mentality" create problems. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in a better understanding of the complicated issues related to race, crime, and policing today. - Brandon T. Jett, Professor of History, Florida SouthWestern State College.