In the Dark

October 27, 2023 8:46 AM

Deeply Divided: What's Next for the BRPD? The final story of a five-part series about the Baton Rouge Police Department, published by the independent Verite News and Louisiana Illuminator and supported by the Pulitzer Center.
posted by box (4 comments total)

One of the captains who worked under Paul came to his defense. He said that Paul was an honorable guy who wanted to do the right thing. The captain said the new chief was trying to do his best to restore order in the department and make it fair for the people who work there. Not just that, he added, but fair for the people that they police.

That assessment infuriated some in the anti-Paul camp.

“When did you start drinking the Kool-Aid?” one man shouted, rising to his feet. “I thought you were with us?”

Then he asked the question that sent fists flying: “Since when did you become a n***er lover?”

This seems like an example of both the police reforming them themselves from within far more than I would think possible and a solid example of why I don’t believe in police reform from within.
posted by Artw at 8:53 AM on October 27, 2023 [5 favorites]

Don't worry; Hellboy is on the case!
posted by banshee at 10:46 AM on October 27, 2023 [14 favorites]

Hellboy is on the case!

Yes, I too misread this as BPRD.
posted by SPrintF at 11:10 AM on October 27, 2023 [8 favorites]

Plenty of people have tried to reform departments from within. It never ends well, even when it is the boss trying to do the reforming. When it's the person in charge, they get fired with a golden parachute. When it's someone lower down, they at best get busted back to patrol and find that calls for backup are somehow never answered and that command is always up their ass about everything.
posted by wierdo at 6:00 PM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]