Police Brutality: An Anthology

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant and Necessary Work
Review: In the wake of such extreme incidents of police brutality in the cases of Amadou Diallo and Abner Louima in New York City, and general heightened awareness of police misconduct nationwide, it is an understatement to simply say that this book is timely. However, beyond being timely, this work provides a brilliant historical overview of police brutality that the more recent victims and protestors need in order to connect them to the larger struggle that individuals like myself have been battling for decades. Along with connecting the young to the old, probably the most powerful element of Nelson's work is how it connects police brutality to the overriding issue of institutionalized racism in America.

Not only is this book a must read, it's a must study for anyone concerned with equality for all.

Rating:
Summary: Police Brutality An Anthology Edited By Jill Nelson
Review: Outstanding! People who say this book is one sided must be living on the comfortable side; therefore, they have trouble seeing the truth. I have been out of the police business for several years, and I guess I had sort of fallen into a "read no evil, see no evil" trance. This book, along with Blue VS Black by John L. Burris, has given me a jolt back to reality. You can bet I will be doing more reading on this subject! There is police brutality in this country, Folks, and it is more frequent and involves more officers than we want to believe. Even the ones not swinging the sticks or spraying the pepper spray (among the many possibilities) are usually watching or walking away without taking any actions to prevent it. And yes, the brutality is being brought to bear upon Blacks and Hispanics far more frequently than to others. Just spend several years in a police locker room, as I did, and you will come to know the depth of the problem. Not only is racism carried out against people of color on the streets, it is carried out against police officers of color as well. I am the author of Blackjack and Jive-Five, a book about INTERNAL police racism. I lived the story. I know!

Rating:
Summary: Too one-sided for a serious and important subject
Review: The book has a certain slant to it and that slant is definitely in the direction of those who already do NOT like the Police. This book is not a review of cases of Police brutality. For those people looking for an HONEST look at this issue, this is not the book either. The basic information regarding the incidents are sometimes incomplete, incorrect, and uninformitive. It is as if the authors expect you to already know each of the cases cited in detail, and then they put forth their own explanations and fabrications as to why they occured. I would of liked more complete, and CORRECT information regarding the cases before being fed a bunch of sermons regarding black vs white and "us" vs "them" mentalities. That way I could of come to my own conclusions and viewed my thoughts as they related to the author. This book does nothing to help the problem of Police Brutality, it gives no solutions or answers, it just screams how badly some races feel they have being treated all the way back to the civil war. Get over it and lets get on with solving the problem instead of bitching about it and in one mans words, "Can't we all just get along!"

Rating:
Summary: Total Failure to Make the Grade
Review: This book completely fails to seriously and correctly address the issue of police brutality. Instead of analyzing the situation from an objective standpoint, the editor has already clearly made her decision about the police. By taking the handful cases of blatant racial profiling, she then makes blanket assumptions and assertions about all police officers everywhere. The information in the lesser known cases are often incomplete and clearly slanted for dramatic effect. There is no clear aim on the editor's part to report factually and objectively on the situation. Lastly, the book does not readily address the problem of brutality...it just complains about how ALL cops are racist and all white people are in on it.

Rating:
Summary: Required Reading
Review: This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the quality of justice in our society. Nelson and the contributing authors make their case in compelling fashion, and with the undeniable ring of truth. Incisive, well-written, and carefully measured, Nelson has compiled a devastating critique of U.S. police brutality towards blacks, and an equally powerful critique of the white complacency that allows it to happen. This isn't a rant. It is tightly controlled writing, and the collective work of the authors never sacrifices it justifiable dismay for loose indignation. Nelson's contributors also have thoughtful, pracitical suggestions for pulling ourselves out of this condition.

From the introduction: "Essays examine the roots of the police presence in African-American communities from the era of slavery until today, as well as the ways in which race and crime are framed and how the racialization of crime justifies and perpetuates racial brutality."

I'd love to see her next book examine the brutalities of the Texas prison system.

Rating:
Summary: Too one-sided for a serious and important subject
Review: This is an important and serious social problem that is not helped by one-sided accounts such as this. Most of the chapters cite very few or no sources for their information, and most of those that are cited are from newspaper articles, not empirical data sources. That there is an agenda here is obvious from the carefully edited opening quote in chapter 1 by James Baldwin. Instead of the entire quote in which Baldwin describes a dilemma that is neither entirely the fault of one side or the other, it is edited to make it appear to fit the agenda.

If you already have your mind made up that you don't like police and the problem is as simple as "police are bad and everyone is a victim," then by all means you should buy this book. If you would rather read an objective view of a serious problem that needs to be addressed, however, there are plenty of others out there.

Rating:
Summary: Reality Hits Home
Review: This is Efrem B. Martin I am the author of It's Time To Come Correct, An African American Perspective on the Juvenile Justice System, Economics and African American Boys. Thank you Jill Nelson you come correct and you come hard with this book about the reality of criminals in blue. Society better wake and start addressing these criminals, dirty cops which I believe are 90% of all law enforcement agencies don't care or represent any interest in the Black community. Peace Jill Nelson, for knowledge is power!