Policing Ferguson, Policing America: What Really Happened . . . and What the Country Can Learn from It

by Thomas Jackson Narrated by Todd McLaren

Overview

Following the fatal shooting in broad daylight of unarmed African American Michael Brown by a white cop in August 2014, Ferguson, Missouri, became the scene of protests that pitted law enforcement against locals and Black Lives matter activists. The media firestorm has not waned, and, in fact, has grown stronger in light of all the recent violence by and against police officers nationwide. According to Ferguson's former police chief Tom Jackson, the uninformed media actually fans the flames of unrest and exploits the situation: infotainment optics have become more important than truth, while social media spreads the news without providing context. Policing Ferguson, Policing America is the book that finally tells the inside story of what happened in Ferguson, and how good guys became the bad guys through media and political distortion.



Pressure is at a boiling point. In 2016, America has been rocked by heart-wrenching fatal shootings of African Americans by police officers in Louisiana and in Minnesota, and by the shootings of police officers in Dallas, Baton Rouge, and Kansas City that left eleven officers dead and a dozen more wounded. To many Americans, the central theme of this continuing bloody story is one of racial injustice and out-of-control policing.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

07/17/2017
Former Ferguson police chief Jackson adds little clarity to discourse around the controversial 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American, by Darren Wilson, a white cop, which ultimately led to Jackson’s resignation. He firmly believes that his department was defamed by the unruly media and a biased federal investigation. Although the FBI concluded that the shooting was justified, the Justice Department’s review of the Ferguson police force under Jackson’s leadership found a pattern of unconstitutional conduct aimed at the city’s African-American population. While Jackson acknowledges some mistakes in handling the unrest that followed Brown’s death—for example, when police dogs were deployed as a means of crowd control—he dismisses such choices as bad optics, rather than substantive misjudgments: “Whether or not the canines legitimately or appropriately served the goal of public safety, the simple image... conjured up memories of Selma and Little Rock and Bull Connor, and provided the first piece of ammunition for anyone who wanted to paint the police out to be the dangerous aggressors.” Jackson noticeably passes on an opportunity to specifically rebut the critical report, stating that, while he was familiar with some of the incidents it cited, he did not have the time or space to address any of them in this book. His analysis reads more like a defense of himself and his department than a civic-minded reflection on lessons to be learned from a national tragedy. (July)

From the Publisher

"To understand what happened in Ferguson for real, Policing Ferguson is a must read!” ---Kevin Jackson, bestselling author, FOX News contributor

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"To understand what happened in Ferguson for real, Policing Ferguson is a must read! —Kevin Jackson, bestselling author, FOX News contributor

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170691227
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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