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Larry Smith
Larry Smith

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Published in GEN

·Pinned

I Was a Cop for 18 Years. I Witnessed and Participated in Abuses of Power.

The corruption, violence, and petty cruelty on display left me with PTSD — I am frequently asked why I became a cop, but I never seem to have a satisfactory answer. I was an only child in a single-parent home and was relatively quiet and introverted growing up. I wasn’t following in anyone’s footsteps — there were no other cops in my family…

PTSD

7 min read

I Was a Cop for 18 Years. I Witnessed and Participated in Abuses of Power.
I Was a Cop for 18 Years. I Witnessed and Participated in Abuses of Power.

Published in GEN

·Jun 9, 2020

Trust Me, Minneapolis Is Right to Defund Its Police Force

I spent 18 years as a police officer, and I know anti-bias training won’t be enough — When I watch the current wave of protests against police violence on TV, I can’t help but think back to the demonstrations of 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray. I was in Baltimore then, on the streets as an officer in the Baltimore Police Department. I witnessed firsthand the…

Police

5 min read

Trust Me, Minneapolis Is Right to Defund Its Police Force
Trust Me, Minneapolis Is Right to Defund Its Police Force

Published in Humungus

·Jul 19, 2019

Dirty Harry Was Bad At His Job

An ex-cop on what movies get wrong—really wrong — about real-life law enforcement — Years after becoming a cop, I rewatched a few of the old Dirty Harry films. I couldn’t help but notice the bad police work on display. There are easily half a dozen civil rights violations in every Dirty Harry sequel. …

Police Brutality

5 min read

Dirty Harry Was Bad At His Job
Dirty Harry Was Bad At His Job

Published in GEN

·Mar 13, 2019

What the New York Times Got Wrong About Baltimore’s Police

A former Baltimore cop explains why police reforms aren’t to blame for the recent rise in crime — I first met Anthony Barksdale in the summer of 2007. My partner and I were sitting in our parked car in the driveway of Green Mount Cemetery, a high-crime area in the center of Baltimore. Most nights that summer were spent chasing off loiterers from vacant houses, breaking up dice…

Baltimore

5 min read

What the New York Times Got Wrong About Baltimore’s Police
What the New York Times Got Wrong About Baltimore’s Police

Published in GEN

·Nov 27, 2018

Police Are Trained to Fear

As a former cop, I know why so many carry out their work with an “us versus them” mentality — In 2000, I was a rookie patrol cop in the Baltimore Police Department. Everything I’d learned from six months in the police academy and another month of field training was still fresh in my head. …

Black Lives Matter

8 min read

Police Are Trained to Fear
Police Are Trained to Fear
Larry Smith

Larry Smith

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