Breaking Rank A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing

by Stamper, Norm

• ISBN13: 9781560258551
• ISBN10: 1560258551
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-05-24
• Publisher: Bold Type Books

Summary

Opening with a powerful letter to former Tacoma police chief David Brame, who shot his estranged wife before turning the gun on himself, Norm Stamper introduces us to the violent, secret world of domestic abuse that cops must not only navigate, but which some also perpetrate. Former chief of the Seattle police force, Stamper goes on to expose a troubling culture of racism, sexism, and homophobia that is still pervasive within the twenty-first-century force; then he explores how such prejudices can be addressed. He reveals the dangers and temptations that cops face, describing in gripping detail the split-second life-and-death decisions. Stamper draws on lessons learned to make powerful arguments for drug decriminalization, abolition of the death penalty, and radically revised approaches to prostitution and gun control. He offers penetrating insights into the "blue wall of silence," police undercover work, and what it means to kill a man. And, Stamper gives his personal account of the World Trade organization debacle of 1999, when protests he was in charge of controlling turned violent in the streets of Seattle. Breaking Rank reveals Norm Stamper as a brave man, a pioneering public servant whose extraordinary life has been dedicated to the service of his community.

Author Biography

Norm Stamper began his law enforcement career in San Diego in 1966 as a beat cop. In 1994, he was named chief of the Seattle Police Department, where he set about implementing many of the initiatives he writes about in Breaking Rank. Retiring in 2000, he now lives in a cabin on a mountain in the San Juan Islands in Washington State.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION	V
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
1 An Open Letter to a Bad Cop	1	(22)
2 Wage War on Crime, Not Drugs	23	(16)
3 Prostitution: Get a Room!	39	(14)
4 Capital Punishment: The Coward's Way Out	53	(10)
5 Criminals' Rights: Worth Protecting?	63	(4)
6 Getting a Grip on Guns	67	(10)
7 Men	77	(14)
COP CULTURE
8 Why White Cops Kill Black Men	91	(8)
9 Racism in the Ranks	99	(10)
10 "Split Tails"	109	(12)
11 Sexual Predators in Uniform	121	(8)
12 The Blue Wall of Silence	129	(8)
13 The Police Image: Sometimes a Gun Is Just a Gun	137	(6)
14 It's Not All Cops and Robbers	143	(6)
15 Doughnuts, Tacos, and Fat Cops	149	(10)
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
16 Demilitarizing the Police	159	(10)
17 Picking Good Cops	169	(18)
18 Staying Alive in a World of Sudden, Violent Death	187	(14)
19 Undercover	201	(22)
POLICING THE POLICE
20 Treating Cops Like Kids: Police Discipline	223	(16)
21 A Dark Take on Financial Liability	239	(6)
22 Up With Labor, (Not so Fast, Police Unions)	245	(16)
23 Living With Killing	261	(12)
24 Citizen Oversight	273	(12)
THE POLITICS OF POLICING
25 Egos on Patrol: Giuliani vs. Bratton	285	(20)
26 Marching for Dykes on Bikes (and Against Jesus)	305	(14)
27 The Fourth Estate: A Chief's Lament	319	(12)
28 Snookered in Seattle: The WTO Riots	331	(22)
29 Community Policing: A Radical View	353	(32)
30 Cultivating Fearless Leadership	385	(6)
CONCLUSION	391	(6)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	397