This chapter explores the origins of the NYPD and highlights the historical narrative of police brutality through the lens of a civil rights organizer's experience with arrest during peaceful protests. It recounts the harrowing tale of Miss Brown, a victim of kidnapping aided by law enforcement, and illustrates the corrupt practices of early policing as exemplified by constable Tobias Boudinot. As the story unfolds, it reveals the struggles of marginalized communities against a backdrop of systemic injustice and lays the groundwork for emerging resistance in the Black community of New York.
The police tell us they are here to protect us. But what if their original purpose was something else altogether? Peabody Award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika takes listeners on a journey to uncover the hidden history of the largest police force in the world – from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step of the way. As our society debates where policing is going, Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD explores where the police came from.
From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.