Why Cops Don’t Change

Notes from America with Kai Wright

WNYC Studios

News Commentary, Politics, History, News

4.4 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 19 April 2021

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A retired NYPD detective says the force’s stubborn, insular culture was built to last. And Elie Mystal explains a 1989 Supreme Court ruling that made killing “reasonable.” Armed with the lessons from a 20-year-long career in law enforcement, retired NYPD Detective Marq Claxton talks about the police mindset and how a badge never shielded him from the fear that so many Black Americans carry everyday. Elie Mystal, justice correspondent at The Nation, grounds the conversation in the history of American policing and how the Supreme Court enabled their impunity. And we check in with a couple of our listeners as they grappled with their own feelings around police in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder last year. Companion listening for this episode: 'I Did Not Watch the Video' (5/21/20) In the aftermath of Ahmaud Arbery’s killing, Kai calls up "Friday Black" author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah to reflect on love, loss... and American zombies. Revisiting Caught: 'I Just Want You to Come Home' (7/30/20) What happens once we decide a child is a criminal? We return to Caught as the nation continues to grapple with long-standing systemic racism in our policing and justice systems. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the United States of Anxiety, a show about the unfinished business of our history and its grip on our future.
0:07.0	I'm not saying I don't like police. I'm not saying that. I'm saying I'm just scared of them.
0:12.0	Doesn't wrong with that.
0:13.2	Sometimes we want to call them too.
0:15.0	Where I'm from, seeing cop cars drive down the street
0:17.7	feels a lot like low-flying planes in New York City.
0:20.3	I am terrified of them.
0:21.8	And if I'm scared of to them imagine how the average like
0:24.7	17 year old black kid feels. I never wanted to take it into the person.
0:29.2	Of course I realize it isn't working, but we're the police and this is what we do.
0:36.0	Can I shoot this guy, you know?
0:38.0	Legally, can I?
0:39.0	I have to.
0:40.0	If I don't, he will kill me if he gets to me.
0:42.0	I can't imagine having the need to call someone for help knowing that it could
0:46.8	ultimately turn into your worst nightmare. Safety, safeguarded by violence is
0:52.3	not really safety.
0:56.7	Welcome to the show, I'm Kay Wright.
0:58.8	Last fall, after months of people
1:01.5	marching in the streets in the name of Black Lives Matter, we asked
1:04.2	our podcast listeners to email us stories about moments in which their desire to
1:09.3	see real change were tested. And this week as Derek Chauvin's trial comes to a close, as we react to yet more death in Minnesota and Chicago, I was reminded of one of the emails we received. It came from a couple in St Paul,
	...

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