Welcome back to the Ten Blocks podcast. This is Brian Anderson, the editor of City Journal.

On today's episode, recording in two segments, is a longtime friend of the magazine, William Bratton.

As I'm sure many of our listeners know, Commissioner Bratton's career in law enforcement spans four decades,

and he served or advised urban police departments around the world.

He was most recently the commissioner of the New York City Police Department for a second stint

as the city's top cop before his retirement in 2016. He's also served as commissioner of the LAPD

from 2002 to 2009 and earlier served in Boston.

Commissioner Bratton has written almost a dozen pieces for City Journal since the mid-90s,

and we've hosted him on the podcast two years ago this month,

back in the days when we were recording inside our office studio, something

we hope to be able to do again soon. We write a lot about policing in the pages of

City Journal and on our website, and we talk about it here on the podcast a lot, and much of it

is influenced by the man who I'll be speaking with shortly. The national debate over the police and the

criminal justice system is angrier and hotter now than perhaps at any other point in our lifetimes,

and I'm happy that Commissioner Bratton would join us to talk about it. And now for my

interview with Commissioner William Bratton.

There's obviously a lot to talk about when it comes to policing today, but we can start with the recent unrest that was sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis

in the custody of the city's police department, which

provoked protests and even riots and looting and vandalism and other kinds of violence in cities

across the country. To start with, Commissioner, could you give us your view of that arrest

from the standpoint of somebody who's worked in law enforcement

for his entire life. And secondly, what's been your reaction to what has happened in New York

...