00:04>> The country is on fire
00:06and their anger is directed
00:07at law enforcement officers.
00:08>> NARRATOR: A national
00:10>> NARRATOR: And one
00:11police force trying to change.
00:13>> Can this be done in a
00:14way that still respects people's
00:16>> NARRATOR: New Yorker
00:17writer Jelani Cobb investigates.
00:19>> The war on our police
00:22>> What people really want is
00:23they don't want to be murdered
00:24running from, at a traffic stop
00:26or their neck stood on
00:27because of a twenty dollar bill.
00:28They don't want to be murdered.
00:30FRONTLINE, "Policing the
00:39Please, I can't breathe!
00:41>> Get up, get in the car!
00:43>> I been waitin' the whole day!
00:45>> Just get up and get in the
00:48>> Get up and get in the car
00:52(video continues on computer)
00:55>> JELANI COBB: The Minneapolis
00:56Police had responded to a call
00:58that a man had tried to use a
01:00fake $20 bill at a corner store.
01:03>> You're stopping his
01:04breathing right now, bro, you
01:06>> COBB: They pulled him from
01:08Put a knee on his neck.
01:11>> He's not even resisting
01:12arrest right now, bro.
01:13>> COBB: Some eight minutes
01:14later, George Floyd was dead.
01:16>> Is he breathing right now?
01:17>> I'm not gonna have this
01:22>> COBB: I watched the video at
01:28>> COBB: I watched the unrest in
01:31...the outbursts of violence...
01:35...and the president send in
01:38>> I am your president of law
01:42>> COBB: All in the midst of a
01:43pandemic in which Black people
01:45have died at more than twice the
01:48>> Black lives matter!
01:52>> COBB: The angry tableau in
01:53the streets is a reckoning with
01:54the fact that, in this country,
01:56race is a shorthand for a set
01:58of life probabilities.
02:06>> COBB: The odds are different
02:15>> COBB: Of being incarcerated.
02:18Of being abused-- or even
02:20killed-- by the police.
02:35>> COBB: Six years ago, when I
02:36was covering the last uproar
02:38over police brutality for "The
02:40People have been out here now
02:42for, you know, ten nights, 11
02:44...in Ferguson and Baltimore...
02:46I've talked with young people
02:48here, there seemed to have been,
02:49you know, really entrenched
02:51distrust for the police before.
02:52...and at the dawn of the Black
02:53Lives Matter movement.
02:55If you're simply relying on the
02:56mechanisms of kind of
02:58bureaucracy to function on your
03:00behalf, it's not going to
03:02I teamed up with FRONTLINE
03:03to report on what it would take
03:04for policing to ever be
03:08I went to a place with a
03:08history of deep distrust between
03:11Americans: Newark, New Jersey--
03:15a city that still bore the
03:18scars of a violent rebellion in
03:191967, after a white cop beat up
03:24>> Race riots rocked New
03:25Jersey's largest city, Newark,
03:27for five consecutive days and
03:30At least 24 persons are killed.
03:33>> COBB: Five decades later, the
03:36When I arrived, the city had
03:37just been singled out by the
03:38Department of Justice for
03:40abusive and discriminatory
03:41policing-- for routinely
03:43violating people's civil rights.
03:45>> Racial profiling...
03:47>> Unconstitutional stops...
03:48>> Stop and frisk, excessive
03:50>> COBB: Particularly Black
03:54But Newark was also becoming a
03:55laboratory for ways to improve
03:58The Justice Department had begun
04:00to mandate changes, and
04:02residents had recently elected a
04:04mayor who was a longtime
04:06advocate for police reform.
04:08He was also an old friend of
04:13We'd gone to college together.
04:14We'd been activists together.
04:17I wanted to know how he planned
04:18on changing things around here.
04:22Hi, Mrs. Baraka, how are you?
04:24His mother, Amina, answered the
04:25door on this visit in November
04:29I've been coming over here, and
04:30sitting around and reading
04:32y'all's books, and eating your
04:34I had visited the Baraka house
04:35many times over the years,
04:37first as a friend and classmate,
04:39and then later as a young
04:41historian to interview his
04:42father, Amiri Baraka, who was a
04:44legendary poet and leader in the
04:46Black Power movement.
04:48>> Here comes the mayor, on
04:50>> COBB: That is amazing!
04:52>> COBB: Mayor Baraka.
04:55We'd seen each other
04:56occasionally over the years...
04:57We can sit down and start
04:59...but decades had passed since
05:03>> COBB: It was the start of a
05:05series of conversations we had
05:06about transforming policing.
05:10We began with a shared memory.
05:12I'm pretty sure you remember
05:14In 1991, you, me, four other
05:18people, we were in Cortlandt,
05:20New York, to have an activist
05:23We decided we were going to go
05:24hike up this mountain.
05:25And, um, six of us walking down
05:27this road, and there's a police
05:30They want us up against the
05:32cars, and that experience, in
05:34some ways, it was formative.
05:35Like, this is the function...
05:37>> COBB: Of the police.
05:40I remember I didn't go back
05:42That was... it's crazy.
05:43That was just a crazy situation.
05:46But all of those kinds of
05:47incidents, you know, growing up
05:48as a Black boy in Newark, you
05:49get thrown on the wall, you get
05:51searched, you get put on the
05:53Those kinds of things I went
05:55As a kid, you think their job is
05:56to come and disrupt and cause,
05:59um, you know, havoc, almost.
06:03And the real dichotomy of that
06:05is that we still thought that
06:07they should be doing their job
06:09in the community at the same
06:12If something happened, you call
06:16So it's like you're stuck.
06:19>> COBB: We've talked about
06:20those formative experiences
06:21that, that we had as young
06:24And then you come home and
06:25become involved in politics.
06:27Was there an idea that policing
06:30That this was something that
06:32there was a means of changing
06:35>> What the police's function is
06:36in the community, how they
06:37relate to the community.
06:38All of those things I think can
06:41It's difficult and it's, like, a
06:44heavy lift, but I would rather
06:48be involved in a process of
06:49doing that than sitting around
06:51being the victim of it.
06:55>> COBB: Baraka had only been in
06:56power for a short time, but he
06:57was already taking big steps to
06:59transform the relationship
07:01between the police and the
07:07>> COBB: For years...
07:08>> Welcome to the Newark
07:09Municipal Council's public
07:10>> COBB: ...people in Newark had
07:11been calling for civilian
07:12oversight of the police.
07:13>> I been robbed by the cops, I
07:14done been assaulted by the
07:16>> I've been a victim of them
07:18I've been a victim of
07:19retaliation after reporting
07:22>> COBB: And in 2016...
07:22>> Motion to close the public
07:25>> COBB: ...Baraka helped push
07:25the idea through the city
07:28>> Unanimously, yes.
07:29(cheers and applause)
07:31>> COBB: ...creating a uniquely
07:32powerful civilian review board
07:33with the power to subpoena
07:34and recommend discipline.
07:37But that vote was just a first
07:40And at the time, there was
07:42concern and opposition among the
07:44police rank-and-file.
07:49I wanted to understand their
07:52To see firsthand what policing
07:54looked like in a poor city, long
07:56plagued by violence...
07:57>> Details this morning in a
07:58double shooting in New Jersey.
07:59>> A string of murders in
08:01Ten of them in as many days.
08:02>> And violent crime in general
08:04has risen to more than 3,000
08:06>> COBB: ...and to see for
08:07myself what the mayor and
08:08Justice Department were trying
08:11>> We had a gun robbery at 12:30
08:16The victim, Mr. Stokes,
08:17previously classified G-Shine,
08:20Fairview Homes, we will ride by
08:22and monitor that location.
08:23>> COBB: I went out with the
08:24gang unit-- back then, one of
08:26the department's most
08:27problematic divisions.
08:28They were notorious for their
08:30aggressive tactics trying to get
08:31guns off the street.
08:33In Newark, most of the victims
08:36and perpetrators were Black and
08:39>> Good to see you, man.
08:42>> COBB: So were most of the
08:45(car alarm chirping)
08:49>> COBB: One night, I rode with
08:50Ricardo Reillo, a former truck
08:51driver, and Wilberto Ruiz, an
09:02>> Where's he at, you see him?
09:05>> Isn't he out right there?
09:10>> COBB: The officers said they
09:11were out there hunting for guns,
09:12drugs, and intelligence about
09:15>> You guys don't know anything
09:16about the shootings going on
09:19>> COBB: They were conducting
09:20what they called "field
09:25Got something in your pants,
09:27>> So then why are you shaking
09:29>> COBB: Basically stopping and
09:31(chatter, radio chatter)
09:38So what I'm trying to understand
09:39is, how does the decision get
09:41made to say, "Okay, we need to
09:42stop that person," or "We need
09:43to do a field inquiry with that
09:45>> You as an officer, you
09:46eventually build certain skills.
09:50You start learning how to read
09:51people, their body language.
09:53If one person doesn't want to
09:54take his hands out of his
09:55pockets, starts pulling away
09:57Obviously, if he starts running,
09:59>> You know more or less, when
10:00you pass them and they give you
10:01that look, you know.
10:07>> COBB: Police are supposed to
10:08have what's called reasonable
10:09suspicion to stop someone, not
10:13There's room for discretion.
10:16>> We just wanna make sure
10:19>> COBB: But in its report on
10:20Newark, the Justice Department
10:21had found that police were
10:22stopping people without legal
10:23justification roughly 75% of the
10:27>> He's only ten years old,
10:29He's my little brother, yo.
10:30>> Relax, little man.
10:33>> All right, so what you...
10:36That's what we have to deal with
10:37in the city of Newark.
10:3913-year-olds talking back to
10:42>> COBB: Do you think he was
10:42justified to be worried about
10:45But he sees who we are.
10:48He shouldn't be afraid of
10:55>> Spread your feet apart.
10:59>> COBB: As troubling
11:00as all this appeared to me...
11:01>> Right there, right there.
11:11>> COBB: ...almost every night
11:12that we were out with the gang
11:13unit, they got a gun off the
11:15>> Welcome to the FBI, pal.
11:19>> COBB: At the end of one
11:20night, I talked to Officers Ruiz
11:22and Reillo about what I'd been
11:24I'm just going to ask you
11:26Is it possible to make the
11:28communities that we're talking
11:30about safe while respecting
11:32people's constitutional rights?
11:37We go out there every night.
11:38>> COBB: But the D.O.J. doesn't
11:39feel like that's what's happened
11:41>> That's an opinion.
11:42I mean, we go out there.
11:44It's not any disrespect to
11:46It's not about race, you know,
11:47or violating their rights.
11:49It has nothing to do with that.
11:50We have a job to do.
11:51We live in this city.
11:52We care about this city.
11:54>> COBB: I have to tell you
11:55something, though, right?
11:56So, I grew up in Queens, right?
12:02My first experience with the
12:04police was that I was thrown up
12:05against a mailbox just like
12:08I was coming home from a
12:09baseball game, had my uniform
12:10on, was carrying a bat and a
12:12The guy said it was a crime that
12:13was committed, and so on, and I
12:14was kind of, like, "I'm coming
12:17The next experience I had was a
12:21I was walking with a group of
12:22friends of mine, and a cop
12:23pulled a gun on us, and told us
12:24to get on the sidewalk.
12:26>> You can point your weapon
12:27at somebody and give them
12:30Once you feel like the threat's
12:31neutralized, like, you know,
12:33they're complying with you, then
12:34you put your weapon away, and
12:36>> Have a normal interaction.
12:37>> Yeah, have a normal
12:39>> COBB: But can you really have
12:40a normal interaction if
12:41someone's pointed a gun at you?
12:43>> You got to look at it our
12:45I mean, they say there was five
12:46or six males, and one of them
12:47possibly has a weapon.
12:48What would you do as a police
12:49officer if you encounter a group
12:51of males, one supposedly has a
12:53How would you confront the
12:55>> COBB: I'm not sure.
12:56But that's why I asked the
12:57question about, can you do
12:58this-- can this, can this be
13:00done in a way that still
13:01respects people's rights?
13:02I think that's the question that
13:06everybody is wondering about
13:08>> Listen, we try to go out
13:09there and respect everybody's
13:12>> We're not out here saying,
13:13"Hey, we're going to violate
13:14this person's rights."
13:15That's not what we're here for.
13:16I tell you, our main objective
13:16is to go home at the end of the
13:18>> COBB: No matter what their
13:20critics said-- or what the
13:21federal authorities found--
13:23these cops seemed to have no
13:25doubts about the way that they
13:29That was most clear to me in how
13:30they handled one particular
13:43Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold
13:47>> Stop, stop, stop, stop.
13:49>> You want to pull away from
13:51You're going to get hurt.
13:53>> Cuff him for safety.
13:57>> Cuff him for safety.
13:58>> I didn't do nothing!
14:00>> Sir, you're not under arrest.
14:02This is for your safety and
14:04All right, bring him up to his
14:06Why are you acting like a jerk,
14:08We stopped you (bleep)...
14:12>> You can't pull away from a
14:15>> Yes, you did, sir, because
14:16you pulled away from me.
14:17>> Bro, I said, "Don't touch me,
14:19Because y'all pulling up, what
14:20the (bleep) did I do?
14:22You don't even know what the
14:23hell's going... I'm going home.
14:24>> Yeah, and that's why we're
14:25stopping to talk to you.
14:26>> When you start pulling away,
14:28>> I didn't pull away from
14:30Look, we ain't going to do that.
14:31If you want to do that, we could
14:35Do you understand the reason why
14:38Now, when we came and approached
14:39you, what did you do?
14:40You automatically pushed away
14:42>> No, I said, "Don't touch me,"
14:44Listen, you're making us think
14:45you have a weapon, the way you
14:47>> Y'all are worried about me?
14:49>> Listen, just relax.
14:54>> My man, it's not wise to pull
14:55away from us like that, you
14:57>> Not my fault, man.
14:58>> You know, the violence from
14:59police is crazy right now.
15:01And, and the way y'all
15:02approached me, all I was doing
15:04If y'all would have said, "Young
15:05man, what are you doing?"
15:06>> What are you doing today?
15:08I don't care about...
15:09>> You see how fast that was?
15:10>> Do not stereotype, because
15:12that's what y'all did to me.
15:13>> Have a good day, sir.
15:25>> COBB: The cops were supposed
15:26to write a report about that
15:28>> Dinner of champions here.
15:30>> COBB: But when I later tried
15:31to get a copy, the department
15:32told me they had no record of
15:36>> About to shut it down.
15:39>> COBB: It spoke to a larger
15:42>> I just need you to sign these
15:47investigators, hundreds of
15:48allegations of illegal stops or
15:49excessive force-- largely
15:51involving Black residents-- had
15:53never been properly investigated
15:55or disciplined by the Newark PD.
15:58Many had not even been
16:09Good, good, good, good.
16:11>> COBB: I talked to the mayor
16:12about what I'd been seeing.
16:15>> I'm visiting the precincts,
16:16man, letting them see people in
16:17here working, you know.
16:18>> COBB: We met up one day while
16:19he was touring the city's police
16:23We've been out with the gang
16:25They're going around and getting
16:28Getting illegal guns requires
16:29you rolling up on folk.
16:32>> COBB: How does that happen
16:33without being the same sorts of
16:34policing that people are
16:39Who is actually somebody you
16:40should probably stop, and
16:42somebody who's just Ms. Martha's
16:44kid going to the store with his
16:45hat to the back, right?
16:47I mean, intelligence gets
16:49you that information, not just,
16:53That's not how you police.
16:55I mean, that right there is
16:57>> COBB: But these are Black and
17:01>> COBB: Diverse police officer,
17:02>> It's not the who did it that
17:05To me, it is the fact that,
17:07overwhelmingly, it happens to
17:09one specific group of people is
17:10what makes it racism.
17:12It becomes systemic, and most of
17:13the problems come from units
17:15They believe that everybody must
17:17be a gang member, I'm going to
17:19grab you, and, and it's wrong,
17:21it's unconstitutional.
17:23>> COBB: Not long after we
17:24spoke, the gang unit was
17:25disbanded, and one of the
17:26officers we rode with, Wilberto
17:29Ruiz, was fired following
17:30multiple complaints against him.
17:33>> You need the right people
17:34doing this type of stuff.
17:35>> COBB: At the same time, the
17:35mayor was welcoming the D.O.J.'s
17:38help to fix the systemic
17:41A lack of resources and
17:43expertise-- and the friction of
17:44local politics-- have long made
17:46it difficult for cities like
17:47Newark to reform their own
17:51That's why, more than 25 years
17:53ago, Congress gave the
17:55Department of Justice
17:56extraordinary powers to police
17:58local police departments.
18:04It happened in the wake of the
18:05infamous beating of Rodney King
18:06by four white cops in L.A.
18:10>> Not guilty of the crime of
18:13>> COBB: When the officers were
18:15>> You (bleep) piece of (bleep)
18:17I hope you burn in hell!
18:18>> COBB: ... the city exploded.
18:20Congress decided to act...
18:23>> The Crime Control and Law
18:24Enforcement Act is adopted.
18:26>> COBB: ...adding a provision
18:27to the 1994 Crime Bill that gave
18:30the Department of Justice the
18:31power to investigate local
18:33police departments and force
18:36>> Congress thought it was
18:37important for the Justice
18:38Department to have a way to
18:40really address and engage
18:42systemic reform in police
18:43departments around the country.
18:45>> COBB: Vanita Gupta ran the
18:46Civil Rights Division of the
18:47Justice Department under
18:50>> We are here today to announce
18:51a landmark settlement agreement
18:52between the Justice Department
18:53and the city of Albuquerque.
18:55...an exhaustive review of the
18:56Cleveland Division of Police...
18:57...the challenges related to
18:58policing in the city of
19:00>> COBB: The office used its
19:01power aggressively, opening 25
19:03new investigations into law
19:05enforcement agencies for civil
19:09All but a few ended up in
19:10agreements to carry out reforms.
19:13Many of those were court-
19:14enforced consent decrees.
19:17How effective have these decrees
19:19>> So they've been really
19:22And look, they're not...
19:24The net result of our work in a
19:25police department does not
19:26result in a perfect police
19:29I don't think there is such a
19:30thing as a perfect police
19:31But we have seen in police
19:32departments over and over
19:34again-- small and big-- that
19:36even where there's deeply
19:37entrenched discriminatory
19:39policing, or problems with use
19:41of force, or lack of
19:44accountability, that those are
19:46changeable over time.
19:50>> COBB: On the day we spoke in
19:512016, Gupta was in Newark to
19:53sign the consent decree between
19:55the city and the Justice
19:58>> I now stand before you to
19:59announce this agreement that
20:00holds the potential to make
20:01Newark a national model...
20:03>> COBB: The agreement would
20:04force the city to spend millions
20:05of dollars to write new
20:06policies, train officers, and
20:09overhaul the department's
20:10disciplinary system.
20:12>> And I know that together,
20:13we're going to be able to write
20:14a new chapter for the police
20:15officers of Newark and the
20:16communities that they serve.
20:20>> The city of Newark, New
20:21Jersey, agreed today to reform
20:22the way its police treat
20:25>> From now on, officers'
20:26actions, their use of force, and
20:28investigations will be closely
20:31>> ...revise its search and
20:32seizure policy, in car and body-
20:33worn cameras, collect data on
20:35all uses of force, and create a
20:36civilian oversight entity.
20:39>> COBB: As reforms got
20:39underway in Newark, and the
20:41Obama administration continued
20:43pushing through an unprecedented
20:44number of consent decrees...
20:48>> COBB: ...an entirely
20:49different view of race and
20:50policing was about to take hold
20:53>> ...the war on our police must
20:56end and it must end now.
20:59(cheers and applause)
21:02>> COBB: Donald Trump was on his
21:05And from the very beginning of
21:08>> I, Donald John Trump, do
21:10>> COBB: ...investigating police
21:11departments for civil rights
21:12violations was no longer a
21:16Jeff Sessions, the new attorney
21:18general, spelled it out.
21:21>> I made it clear that this
21:22Department of Justice will not
21:23sign consent decrees that will
21:26cost lives by handcuffing the
21:28police rather than handcuffing
21:33>> COBB: Christy, how are you?
21:34>> I'm fine, how are you doing?
21:37Thank you for taking the time to
21:38I recently spoke-- remotely--
21:40with Christy Lopez, who oversaw
21:43investigations during the Obama
21:46>> There was this narrative that
21:47many were trying to paint, that
21:48these consent decrees were this
21:49radical thing that were
21:51happening, and they were not.
21:55They really were simply meant to
21:56keep police departments from
21:58systematically violating
22:02>> COBB: Lopez left the
22:03department right before Jeff
22:06May 2018, Jeff Sessions said,
22:08"At the end of the previous
22:10administration, many of you
22:11came to believe that some of the
22:13political leadership of this
22:14country had abandoned you,"
22:16speaking to a police officers
22:18>> Some radicals and politicians
22:20began to unfairly malign and
22:22blame police as a whole for the
22:24crimes and unacceptable deeds of
22:30>> COBB: And he then goes on to
22:31say, "And let me say this loud
22:33>> ...as long as I am attorney
22:35general of the United States,
22:36the Department of Justice will
22:37have the back of all honest and
22:39honorable law enforcement
22:45>> COBB: What were you thinking
22:46as this was happening, as all
22:49>> I was thinking, "This man is
22:50living in the last century, if
22:52not two centuries back, and this
22:55man knows nothing about
22:57Because I think he cares about
22:58police, but I don't think he
23:00realized how, what he was
23:01advocating for actually hurts
23:03police, along with Black people
23:07>> COBB: How so, how does this
23:08hurt Black people or Latinx
23:11>> If you, if you tell police
23:13that the previous administration
23:14was abandoning you because they
23:17were insisting that you comport
23:19yourself consistently with the
23:21Constitution, then you are
23:24telling police that they have
23:27a right to police without
23:30comporting themselves to the
23:33>> Please don't be too nice.
23:35Like when you guys put somebody
23:37in the car and you're protecting
23:39their head, you know, the way
23:40you put their hand over?
23:43Like, don't hit their head-- and
23:45they've just killed somebody--
23:46don't hit their head?
23:47I said, "You can take the hand
23:51>> COBB: Since President Trump
23:52came into office, he has signed
23:54two executive orders aimed at
23:56improving policing, but the
23:57Justice Department has initiated
23:59only one new investigation of a
24:01police department, and
24:03unsuccessfully tried to end
24:05pending agreements in Baltimore
24:09The Justice Department and
24:10former attorney general Sessions
24:11declined our repeated requests
24:15The D.O.J. pointed us to public
24:16statements of the current
24:18attorney general, William Barr.
24:20>> I think that there are
24:21instances of bad cops.
24:22And I think we have to be
24:23careful about automatically
24:25assuming that the actions of an
24:27individual necessarily mean that
24:30their organization is rotten.
24:32>> COBB: There are people who
24:34say that these are systemic
24:34problems, and there are people
24:37who say that this is just the
24:38work of a few bad apples.
24:40>> Yeah, I think the fact that
24:42those bad apples are allowed to
24:43remain on police forces, even
24:44after they've killed people and
24:46after they've been harming
24:47people, sometimes for decades,
24:49or go to other police
24:50departments and do the same
24:51thing, indicates to us that the
24:53problem is not just with these
24:54"bad apple" officers.
24:56There are systemic deficiencies
24:57that are allowing them to exist
24:58and to persist and to continue
25:00working, and, and to continue
25:02harming people, and I have seen
25:03that in every department that I
25:09>> COBB: And that, as much as
25:10anything else, is what set the
25:13country on fire this summer.
25:15Not only that George Floyd had
25:18been killed, but that the cop
25:20who killed him had a history of
25:22complaints, yet still was on the
25:26>> All of us here want justice.
25:29We want him found guilty!
25:32>> COBB: As people took to the
25:36>> When do we want it?
25:38>> COBB: ...venting their
25:39frustration with how many names
25:45>> Black Lives Matter!
25:46>> COBB: ...calling for
25:47defunding or even abolishing the
25:48police, they were all, in
25:51essence, asking the same
25:53question: can this ever be
26:01That was the very same question
26:03they'd been trying to answer in
26:04Newark for the past several
26:07So, this summer, I went back to
26:09see how their experiments in
26:10police reform had been working
26:18>> COBB: One thing I noticed
26:19right away were the protests.
26:20>> Black Lives Matter!
26:23>> COBB: Unlike in other cities,
26:25where the police confronted
26:26protesters with rubber bullets
26:31>> COBB: ...in Newark, Mayor
26:32Baraka was leading the march.
26:34>> Mayor Ras Baraka, give him a
26:36(cheers and applause)
26:38>> COBB: How've you been?
26:40>> COBB: We met up in a city
26:42Thank you for taking time.
26:45So, in many places in this
26:49country-- dozens of places in
26:51this country-- there were
26:52protests that tipped over into
26:55We saw police cars being set on
26:57fire in Salt Lake City.
27:00>> COBB: Newark as a city, it's
27:01almost the opposite.
27:02Things remained relatively calm
27:03during the protests here.
27:05I wanted to understand how that
27:07>> A lot of prayer, brother.
27:08Historically, people know what
27:10we've been through in Newark.
27:12We needed police reform in 1967,
27:14and we burned the city down for
27:16three or four days, and we still
27:2050 years later or so, so...
27:22They, I think, in their heart,
27:24they understood that that in
27:26and of itself would not give
27:28us the results we were looking
27:30>> COBB: He says the peaceful
27:31protests are partly due to the
27:33federal consent decree, which
27:35is still in effect in Newark.
27:37The Department of Justice has
27:38said that they see consent
27:40decrees as a unwarranted
27:43federal intrusion into local
27:46I wonder what you, what you make
27:48>> Well, if it wasn't for
27:50federal intrusion, we'd, we'd
27:51still be in slavery.
27:52I mean, we'd be in bad shape
27:53without federal intrusion.
27:56municipalities can't provide
27:57justice for people who are
27:59harmed, then the federal
28:00government should step in and,
28:02and defend people's civil
28:05And I think that's important.
28:06And, and that's what the federal
28:07government is doing, that's
28:09>> COBB: When the Justice
28:10Department came to Newark back
28:11in 2016, Peter Harvey, a former
28:14New Jersey attorney general, was
28:16appointed to monitor compliance
28:18with the mandated reforms and
28:20report to a federal judge every
28:22quarter about the city's
28:25So it's been four years since
28:27the consent decree began.
28:29How is the city doing overall?
28:34I think that Newark is an
28:35example of what can happen when
28:38a police agency decides to
28:41>> COBB: He says over the past
28:42four years, the police
28:44department has toughened its
28:46policies on everything from body
28:47cameras to use of force.
28:50>> COBB: And implemented
28:51extensive training to help
28:52officers understand the new
28:54>> Do you understand?
28:55That would be a plain touch
28:58>> They absolutely didn't know
28:59the law in certain aspects.
29:00Stops, searches with or without
29:03Arrests with or without a
29:06There's no question that many
29:07officers did not know it.
29:09>> COBB: Do you think that
29:10training in itself works?
29:13>> If it's the right kind of
29:14training, yes, it works.
29:15Now, the question is, what kind
29:17of training are you receiving?
29:19And part of what we've done with
29:20use of force is, we took videos
29:22from other cities where someone
29:25was killed, and asked them
29:28"What should the officer do at
29:30"What were the alternatives that
29:31the officer could have employed
29:33here to de-escalate the
29:35So we're using these videos to
29:39help Newark officers understand
29:42that when you're in this moment,
29:44you had more tools than simply
29:46pulling the gun and shooting
29:48>> Newark's consent decree is
29:50about all of the things that
29:51people complain about as being
29:53wrong with policing in the
29:55United States today, right?
29:57Like, it's about search and
29:57seizure, use of force, bias in
29:59Community engagement, oversight,
30:02all those kinds of things.
30:03>> COBB: Deputy Chief Brian
30:04O'Hara is Newark PD's point man
30:06for the consent decree.
30:08He reports to Anthony Ambrose,
30:09the director of public safety in
30:11Newark, who initially expressed
30:13some concern about federal
30:16You said that it's every
30:18executive's worst nightmare.
30:21What did you mean then, and do
30:24you still see it that way now?
30:26>> Well, I, I think when I say
30:28it's every executive's
30:29nightmare, is that, that you
30:31And now you have someone
30:33every day or every minute
30:35looking at your policies,
30:36looking at your practices,
30:37But I have to say, some five
30:39years later, I think that, that
30:40we've done some great things
30:41because of the consent decree.
30:43We've been able to train people
30:44that, that we, we wouldn't have
30:47been able to train years ago
30:48because of budgetary issues.
30:50That it was mandatory that we
30:52If that's what it takes to get
30:53it done, then I'm for it.
30:56>> COBB: So far, surveys
30:58conducted by the federal monitor
30:59show a slight rise in trust in
31:02But the data also shows that
31:04the frequency of cops using
31:05force against Newark's residents
31:09Based on the data that we've
31:10seen, it appears that incidents
31:12involving use of force are up.
31:14Does that concern you any?
31:16>> I'm gonna have him answer
31:17>> Reporting is up, which
31:20So I think a lot of officers did
31:22not understand that the lowest
31:24levels of force must be
31:26reported, even in situations
31:28where people are not arrested.
31:29No one got that before.
31:31Then on top of it, after that,
31:33every month, we have a review
31:35board that meets here, and they
31:36determine, okay, do we have a
31:38a disciplinary issue here?
31:39Do we have a training issue?
31:39Is there anything else about
31:41Was there an opportunity to
31:42de-escalate and they did not
31:43properly de-escalate?
31:44And from those, I mean, we've
31:47>> No justice, no peace!
31:49>> Prosecute police!
31:52>> COBB: But that's not how many
31:53in Newark, and around the
31:54country, continue to see things.
31:57>> COBB: After the recent
31:58shootings of Breonna Taylor and
32:00Jacob Blake, the calls for
32:03civilian oversight of the
32:04police have grown louder.
32:06>> It's against your code, bro!
32:08>> COBB: Newark's own civilian
32:09review board, hailed four years
32:11ago as a step forward, has
32:13actually been tied up in
32:15And this summer, the New Jersey
32:18Supreme Court severely limited
32:19its power, striking down its
32:21ability to issue subpoenas.
32:26>> COBB: It was a bitter
32:27disappointment to one of the
32:28leading community activists,
32:31>> The Police Review Board is a
32:33mechanism to give civilians
32:35some power over the police and
32:39how the police carry out their
32:41And specifically to deal with
32:43violation of constitutional
32:45rights, racist policing tactics,
32:48a use of excessive force, and
32:51unjust murder of civilians.
32:53When you saw Chauvin...
32:54>> COBB: You mean Derek Chauvin,
32:56>> COBB: Yes, Derek Chauvin, the
32:57officer that killed...
32:58>> COBB: Kneeling on...
32:58>> Yes, that had his knee on
32:59George Floyd's neck.
33:00When you look at that video, you
33:02know what the most disturbing
33:06It wasn't the knee on the neck.
33:09It was the look on Chauvin's
33:15>> COBB: What did that look say
33:16>> It said that this was a man
33:18that had no worries about what
33:22>> He looked straight at the
33:22cameras-- he wasn't worried
33:26Because they know that 99% of
33:29police brutality cases don't
33:31end in a conviction.
33:34See, when it's clear to them
33:36that there will be an immediate
33:39price to pay for unjustly
33:42taking the lives of human
33:44beings, and unjustly
33:47brutalizing people, that you're
33:48going to lose your badge, you're
33:50going to lose your gun, you're
33:51going to lose your job, you're
33:53going to lose your pension, and
33:55you might lose your freedom if
33:56you're convicted, when they
33:58understand that, I guarantee
34:00you that there will be a
34:02precipitous decline in police
34:04brutality cases in the United
34:08>> COBB: No one fought harder
34:10against the civilian review
34:11board than the city's police
34:15>> I have a disciplinary
34:16process here for our members.
34:19Nowhere in it does it say the
34:23members are subject to
34:24discipline by an outside, you
34:25know, group of people.
34:27Here in the city, we got body-
34:29Something like 50% of the
34:31complaints made against police
34:33officers are exonerated as soon
34:35as the body cam is viewed by
34:38If there is a problematic cop
34:40out there, he's not going to be
34:41out there for long, okay?
34:43You know, this notion that
34:44there is just, you know, this
34:46army of police across the
34:47country that are just out there
34:48just assaulting people is not
34:52>> COBB: Well, if we're talking
34:53about use of violence, there are
34:55about 1,200, 1,100, 1,200 people
34:57who are killed each year in
34:59interactions with the police.
35:01A significant number of those
35:04It's not just kind of people
35:06>> Okay, um, last night, there
35:08was a million interactions with
35:09the police and nothing happened.
35:11You make it seem like there are,
35:12you know, these physical
35:13encounters with police are
35:16You know, I think the vast
35:17majority of investigations
35:19reveal they are justified.
35:21>> COBB: But I think that that's
35:22people would say is the problem.
35:24That if you have an interaction
35:25with police, a system is set up
35:27that will generally exonerate
35:28the police officer irrespective
35:31>> You know, that, that...
35:31>> COBB: I think that's the
35:32criticism people are making.
35:33>> I'm, I'm glad you mentioned
35:35But the investigation reveals
35:37what the officer is allowed to
35:41You know, that's the beauty
35:42and the curse of social media.
35:43You see a video, everyone loses
35:45"He can't do that, he can't do
35:47Well, maybe he actually can.
35:49You know, maybe the law, maybe
35:51why so many cops are not
35:53convicted-- which is, you know,
35:54part of the uproar-- is because
35:56they actually acted within their
35:58rights and within the law based
36:00on what occurred at that time.
36:02>> COBB: The U.S. Supreme Court
36:04has established that an officer
36:05can use force if they believe
36:07there's a threat to their own
36:09life or to the lives of others.
36:11>> Please, please... please,
36:12let me talk to him...
36:14>> COBB: But still, it's often a
36:15murky question whether a cop
36:17using force against a civilian
36:20>> You're a bitch, too.
36:25>> COBB: Take this incident
36:26caught on camera in Newark in
36:27May, when officers were
36:29responding to a disturbance.
36:32>> Get the (bleep)...
36:35>> Give me your (bleep) hands!
36:37(indistinct chatter)
36:39>> I'm not even resisting.
36:41>> So, put your hands behind
36:42>> I'm not resisting.
36:43>> COBB: It's currently under
36:47>> Stop punching him in the face
36:49>> Put your hands behind your
36:51>> But you punching him, it's
36:53Y'all gonna break his (bleep)
37:00>> COBB: Is that a justifiable
37:04>> COBB: How is that
37:06>> The suspect came at the
37:08police officer, he doesn't have
37:10to wait to be struck by the
37:12He took the first action.
37:13Then, trying to get him to
37:15comply, he's not complying.
37:17That's why the officers are
37:18grappling with him on the
37:19Is, you know, is that the best
37:24It's not in the movies, put your
37:25hands behind your back and...
37:27Sometimes it's a struggle.
37:29We're required to use the force
37:31necessary to get him under
37:34>> COBB: Should you be allowed
37:36>> Okay, well, what's the
37:38I'll go back to that, if you,
37:39if you wanna play that.
37:40>> COBB: No, I'm asking you
37:41should you be allowed to do
37:43>> How could we not?
37:44>> COBB: So I think the, the
37:45debate that we're having here is
37:46that many people would say that
37:48the fact that it's legal doesn't
37:49mean that it's right.
37:53You know, I, I can't dispute
37:54everybody's opinion.
37:56You know, is there an
37:57opportunity to maybe take a step
38:00Like you said, if we were to
38:01break down every video that we
38:03ever saw, you know, maybe you
38:06come up with something.
38:07The police aren't going out
38:09there just looking for violent
38:10encounters or looking to, you
38:12know, physically impose their
38:15What does a cop want?
38:17We want to come to work, do our
38:20We want a positive interaction
38:23But, you know, everybody's
38:24piling on, everybody's against
38:27There's protests or rallies all
38:29the time, anti-police this,
38:32You know it's a different--
38:33difficult atmosphere to, uh,
38:34to want to be a part of in 2020.
38:38>> COBB: In the past few months,
38:39there have been proposals in
38:40Congress to create more clearly
38:42defined standards for the use of
38:45>> Ranking senators are butting
38:47heads over the issue...
38:48>> We've asked that there would
38:50be a meaningful discussion of
38:51the Justice in Policing Act.
38:53>> They don't want a debate.
38:54They don't want amendments.
38:56>> COBB: Thus far, the bills
38:57have stalled, and a stubborn
38:59fact remains: police use force
39:02against Black people at a far
39:04higher rate than against whites.
39:06But Newark's public safety
39:07director says that that is just
39:09the reality of figting crime in
39:12You said, "Blacks are 1.6 times
39:15more likely to be stopped than
39:16whites, 2.5 times more likely
39:19to be arrested, and that police
39:20use force in those arrests
39:223.7 times more often."
39:24But you also said those numbers
39:27could create a false impression
39:30disproportionately target Black
39:32What did you mean by that?
39:33>> Okay, so, our homicides are
39:3520, I think I read 22
39:37homicides this year.
39:38About 94% are African
39:42I don't condone racial
39:44I don't condone police officers
39:46locking anybody up for their
39:47race or their gender or their
39:48creed or religion, anything like
39:50that, but the numbers are the
39:53>> COBB: Newark's federal
39:55monitor is currently
39:56investigating whether the police
39:57are disproportionately targeting
39:59Black people or whether, as
40:02Ambrose says, they're simply
40:03responding to crime.
40:06But, regardless, crime stats
40:08have long been cited as
40:09justification for an aggressive
40:11type of policing that critics
40:13see as an unrelenting knee on
40:15the neck of entire communities.
40:20>> COBB: It's why, right now,
40:22momentum is gathering not just
40:24to reform police, but to
40:26defund them and invest in
40:28alternative ways to address
40:30crime and violence in cities
40:33So, one of the things that came
40:35to prominence after the, the
40:39protests started, relating to
40:41George Floyd, was this national
40:43conversation about defunding
40:46>> You know, as, as the
40:47mayor of, of a major city like
40:49Newark, man, we, we always have
40:52to be clear and careful about
40:56how we organize and what we say.
40:58For example, I think defunding's
41:02I think it's necessary to begin
41:04to divert funding from police
41:07organizations to social
41:09services, other kind of things
41:12>> We've been thinking about
41:12that in Newark for some time
41:15>> COBB: He's publicly opposed
41:17calls to abolish police.
41:19He wants to keep them, but start
41:22treating violence as a public
41:23health crisis, not a problem to
41:25be solved with policing alone.
41:27>> In public health, some people
41:30And because there's some people
41:31sick, you have to address them
41:33with doctors, right?
41:34You have to address sickness.
41:35If the data says that if my
41:37father was involved in violent
41:39crime, I'm more likely to be
41:40involved in violent crime,
41:41if that's what the data is
41:42telling us, then we have to
41:43intervene so that the son and
41:46the grandson is not targeted by
41:47the police, but is now targeted
41:49by people who are trying to
41:52give them social services to
41:53pull them out of a condition
41:54that they are almost guaranteed
41:56to become a victim of violence
41:58and a perpetrator of violence.
42:00And treat it as a public health
42:01crisis as opposed to the police
42:07>> COBB: One way the mayor has
42:08been doing that is through a
42:09program he started several years
42:10ago, the Newark Community
42:12Street Team, which enlists
42:14former gang members to defuse
42:16conflicts and work as mentors.
42:18>> You know, all of the
42:19conversations that are happening
42:20up here is positioning us, you
42:22know, to be the ones that
42:25reduce violence and crime in
42:27>> COBB: He brought in Aqeela
42:28Sherrills, who had led
42:30successful violence reduction
42:31programs in other cities,
42:34including L.A., where he helped
42:36organize a peace treaty between
42:37the Crips and the Bloods.
42:38>> Because, you know, we talk
42:39about overaggressive policing,
42:41and police killing our kids with
42:43I'm, like, how do we deal with
42:46We reduce violence and crime in
42:48our own neighborhoods.
42:49Then that way, there's no need
42:50for, you know, 20 cops, you
42:53Because if we making the
42:54neighborhood safe, then maybe we
42:55only need five, and we need to
42:57deploy them strategically.
42:59And then we can have better
43:00relationships with them because
43:01we're not putting all of this
43:02pressure on our cops to do
43:05>> We gonna start splitting up,
43:07this side of the street and the
43:09other side of the street.
43:11>> COBB: The Newark Street Team
43:12has grown to a 50-person
43:15>> This is our 1-800 number.
43:16If you see something
43:18>> COBB: It's become an
43:19important part of the city's
43:19overall approach to use
43:21community interventions, instead
43:23of police, to reduce violence.
43:26In July, we met up with Street
43:28Team workers in the South Ward.
43:30>> Missed you this morning.
43:31>> We're starting here and just
43:33walking straight down.
43:35>> COBB: Talk to me a little bit
43:36about what's happening here and
43:37why the Street Team is walking
43:39down Brookdale Street.
43:41>> Yeah, so July 4 weekend,
43:42we had a double homicide on this
43:46>> You know, we're talking
43:47directly to the family members
43:48who've been impacted, and if
43:49there is plans for retaliation,
43:51that we convince them not to
43:53We always say that we cannot
43:54stop the first bullet, but we
43:56sure can stop the second, the
43:57third, and fourth one.
43:58>> We coming to you live
44:00mandating with Newark Community
44:03>> This is one of the areas
44:04that's called a hot spot.
44:06>> We just want to touch
44:07everybody, if you need any
44:09>> Find us on our Facebook,
44:11>> COBB: The Street Team is also
44:12trained to answer distress
44:14They're stationed outside of
44:17>> What time you going home,
44:19>> COBB: And they're embedded in
44:20the hospital to help victims and
44:22perpetrators of violence with
44:23social, legal, and psychological
44:28>> We're trying to introduce
44:29more alternative ways for
44:31people to actually address their
44:33You've got all of the violence
44:34that has happened over the
44:35years, multi-generational
44:38I'm, like, you know, you have
44:39young guys here, man, I'm, like,
44:41it was astounding, brother,
44:43that most of the people on my
44:46You know, male and female.
44:48>> And their parents were shot.
44:49And their parents' parents were
44:53>> COBB: Trauma has been a
44:54constant in Sherrills' life.
44:56Growing up in L.A., he lost more
44:59than a dozen friends to
45:01violence, and 16 years ago, his
45:03own son was shot and killed.
45:05He's devoted himself to
45:07conflict resolution.
45:08So how receptive has the Newark
45:11PD been to your work?
45:13>> You know, it started out as a
45:14tense relationship, you know?
45:17But I think that over, you know,
45:19the past four or five years,
45:22we've really gained a lot of
45:24We know that the work that we're
45:25doing in the city is the same,
45:28it's to create public safety
45:32And we have a different
45:34We're not looking to arrest,
45:35we're looking to heal.
45:36>> COBB: You can say that
45:37public safety and policing are
45:40>> COBB: But in a lot of
45:41people's minds, they are.
45:42So how are you defining public
45:46>> Well, you know, first, you
45:47know, safety is, is different
45:48from, for, for Black people and
45:50white people in this country,
45:52You talk to most Black folks,
45:53and most Black folks ain't never
45:54And so public safety is not
45:56just the, the absence of
45:58We gotta increase that, that
46:00sense of well-being, where
46:01people feel okay about walking
46:03down the street at night.
46:04>> COBB: That involves
46:05trust-building with the cops, as
46:07>> This uniform is not a sign
46:12>> COBB: The city holds regular
46:13meetings where police officers
46:14and community members share
46:16their traumatic experiences with
46:18>> Part of the reason I'll never
46:19be able to see beyond you being
46:21a police officer is because
46:23you're not my neighbor.
46:24>> Growing up in Newark, you've
46:25experienced some level of
46:27I've seen my father beaten by
46:28the police, arrested by the
46:31I've been arrested, stopped by
46:32the police, I've seen people
46:34shot, all kind of stuff.
46:35So, I've been traumatized.
46:36And police are traumatized,
46:38because they were indoctrinated
46:39that the community don't like
46:40them, that the neighborhood is
46:42violent, that the criminals live
46:43here, people are gonna murder
46:44you, shoot you, they don't care
46:47And so what we try to do is go
46:49face to face, the police and the
46:51community, come face to face
46:52with those kind of realities.
46:56>> Brother Damon, Newark
46:57Community Street Team.
46:58I know... I'll give it to you,
47:00>> COBB: While it's hard to
47:01attribute changes in crime
47:02numbers to any one factor...
47:04>> Just call us, rather than
47:05calling law enforcement.
47:06>> COBB: The approach in Newark
47:08does seem to be having some
47:10>> You can walk in this way,
47:11>> COBB: Last year, the city had
47:12a 30-year low in violent crime,
47:15and in the South Ward, where
47:16much of it is concentrated,
47:18there was a 50% reduction in
47:21>> I think that early on, when
47:22the mayor talked about bringing
47:24Newark Community Street Team in,
47:25and bringing people in, it, it
47:27had to be explained to the
47:29police division, "This is
47:30alternative policing.
47:31We can't do it all alone."
47:33When it first started, I said,
47:35"You know, mayor, I don't know
47:35how this is gonna work," you
47:37>> COBB: Were you a little bit
47:38skeptical at the beginning?
47:39>> I wasn't skeptical, I was, I
47:40was concerned, like, all right,
47:41is there gonna be interference,
47:42you know what I'm saying?
47:43And, and I have to say that,
47:45that, you know, there's...
47:49We call, we call them.
47:50I call Aqeela up, I say,
47:51"Listen, man, there's something
47:52going on here, blah, blah, blah,
47:53could you look into this for
47:53me?", and he says, "We're
47:56>> Whoo, watch out for that
47:57>> COBB: In July, the mayor
47:59gave $11 million to programs
48:00like the Street Team, money he
48:03got by diverting five percent of
48:04the public safety budget.
48:06>> Y'all hit this one already?
48:07>> And until you administer the
48:08training, you don't get
48:09different behavior on the
48:11>> COBB: But Peter Harvey, the
48:12federal monitor overseeing the
48:13reforms here, cautions that the
48:16push to defund police
48:17departments should be weighed
48:19against the fact that reforming
48:20them costs money, too.
48:22So is it fair to say that your
48:23perspective is that, you know,
48:25we should be increasing funding
48:27to police rather than defunding
48:29>> I think you have to invest
48:31in certain components of police
48:35agencies if you want high-
48:37If you're not going to give
48:40police agencies adequate
48:42resources for the components
48:44that matter-- bias-free policing
48:47training, community engagement,
48:49use-of-force training, stop,
48:51search, and arrest, internal
48:52affairs, data systems-- then you
48:55are asking for trouble.
48:59>> COBB: As the country
49:00continues to grapple with the
49:01fallout of police violence, and
49:04the frustrated calls for change
49:06when it comes to policing, what
49:09I see in Newark gives me hope.
49:11>> Let us all take a knee.
49:13>> COBB: It's an experiment that
49:14is trying to move beyond
49:15policing, and at least in some
49:18measure address problems that
49:20have plagued Black America for
49:25What people really want is, they
49:27don't want to be murdered
49:28running from, at a traffic
49:30stop, or choked to death
49:31because they got a loose
49:32cigarette, or, you know, their
49:34neck stood on because of a $20
49:35bill, or their kid murdered in
49:37front of a rec center for
49:38playing with a toy gun.
49:40They don't want to be murdered,
49:41and the real crazy thing is,
49:45even if you defund the police,
49:47it's not going to stop people
49:48from murdering us, or make, make
49:50people see us as human beings,
49:52That's not the crux of what,
49:54what we need to be getting at.
49:55And Jesse said something
49:56powerful, and I don't, I don't
49:57quote Jesse a lot, but he said
49:59>> COBB: Jesse Jackson?
50:00>> Jesse Jackson said, "Listen,"
50:01he said, "We didn't struggle
50:03all these years just to have a
50:06kinder and gentler police
50:08That's not what we want, right?
50:10It would be helpful, right?
50:12(chuckles): But that's not the
50:15The police represent a larger
50:16system that, that they're
50:19enforcing these people's values,
50:22More African American women die
50:24giving birth than on
50:26the streets by police,
50:28because of inequity in
50:30Every institution in America
50:34has the same values that the
50:35police department has in
50:38The police just got guns.
50:46>> COBB: What struck me about
50:47that was that so much and
50:49so little has changed.
50:5450 years ago, a commission was
50:57appointed to investigate the
50:59cause of the Newark rebellion of
51:02>> Thank you for coming.
51:03>> COBB: I'm here to see the
51:14>> COBB: The report laid blame
51:16with the police, but it also
51:17went further than that.
51:19It blamed the violence on racial
51:21inequities and the failure of
51:23public education, as well as
51:26housing and employment
51:30The authors wrote that the
51:31report reflects "a deep failing
51:33in our society," and that many
51:36of these problems "should have
51:38been solved by now."
51:40"The question," they said, "is
51:42whether we have the will to
51:4750 years later, the question
52:17Media Access Group at WGBH
52:24>> For more on this and other
52:25"Frontline" programs, visit our
52:27website at pbs.org/frontline.
52:41"Policing the Police 2020" is
52:44To order visit Shop PBS or
52:46call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
52:50This program is also available
52:52on Amazon Prime Video.
