The Black and the Blue by Matthew Horace

Another time, a black guy was passing out flyers. Most times these calls involved nothing more than a black man waiting for a bus he was just waiting for the bus in the “wrong” neighborhood. Just what is he doing that makes him suspicious, other than being a black male? Generally, when I did this, my mostly white fellow officers would key the radio microphone to make a clicking sound in a show of sarcastic disapproval at my question, and a supervisor might call me to ensure that I was responding to the call. 'The Black and the Blue is an affirmation of the critical need for criminal justice reform, all the more urgent because itĬomes from an insider who respects his profession yet is willing to reveal its flaws.' - USA TodayĬomes from an insider who respects his profession yet is willing to reveal its flaws.“When I was on the police department in Virginia, I was often dispatch the calls of a “suspicious black male” and, in response, I would ask via the radio, “What is he doing?” My question was simple. 'Horace's authority as an experienced officer, as well as his obvious integrity and courage, provides the book with a gravitas.' - The Washington Post

He dissects some of the nation's most highly publicized police shootings and communities to explain how these systems and tactics have hurt the people they serve, revealing the mistakes that have stoked racist policing, sky-high incarceration rates, and an epidemic of violence. Through gut-wrenching reportage, on-the-ground research, and personal accounts from interviews with police and government officials around the country, Horace presents an insider's examination of archaic police tactics. Yet it was not until seven years into his service- when Horace found himself face down on the ground with a gun pointed at his head by a white fellow officer-that he fully understood the racism seething within America's police departments. During his 28-year career, Matthew Horace rose through the ranks from a police officer working the beat to a federal agent working criminal cases in some of the toughest communities in America to a highly decorated federal law enforcement executive managing high-profile investigations nationwide.

The Black and the Blue by Matthew Horace