Street Justice

A revelatory examination of the repeated cycles of police brutality and reform in New York City Street Justice traces the stunning history of police brutality cases in New York and the antibrutality movements that sought to eradicate it. Examining police violence from the period just after the Civil War to the present--from clubbing to the third degree to the backroom torture of Abner Louima in 1997--Johnson shows that while it is not a static phenomenon, neither has there been the simple progression toward more professional, less violent police behavior that some would like to believe. "Johnson . . . has taken on a formidable and sensitive subject and has largely conquered it, thanks to indefatigable research and a rigorous, unblinking analysis . . . a well-written, intelligent and at times even colorful examination of one of the perennial problems of urban life . . . an invaluable contribution to the histories both of New York and of American law enforcement in general." --Kevin Baker, New York Times Book Review "A masterfully crafted chronicle . . . The pages are sprinkled with fascinating episodes and anecdotes, uncovering the "story behind the story" for such police practices as "the third degree" and "sweatboxes.""--James Alan Fox, Boston Globe "This fascinating, highly detailed historical survey, beginning with the NYPD"s founding in 1845, reads like a true-crime page-turner . . . [Johnson] provides a sensitive and insightful look at the range of social, political and economic changes that have affected how police brutality has been repeatedly redefined."--Publishers Weekly