Norm Stamper, former chief of the Seattle Police force, has written a story like no other. Part-memoir, part polemic, Stamper exposes the unvarnished truth — both disturbing and inspiring — about policing in America today.

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

Norm Stamper

Table of Contents

Introduction

Crime and Punishment

  1. An Open Letter to a Bad Cop
  2. Wage War on Crime, Not Drugs
  3. Prostitution: Get a Room!
  4. Capital Punishment: The Coward's Way Out
  5. Criminals' Rights: Worth Protecting?
  6. Getting a Grip on Guns
  7. Men

Cop Culture

  1. Why White Cops Kill Black Men
  2. Racism in the Ranks
  3. "Split-Tails"
  4. Sexual Predators in Uniform
  5. Blue Wall of Silence
  6. The Police Image: Sometimes a Gun is Just a Gun
  7. It's Not All Cops and Robbers
  8. Doughnuts, Tacos, and Fat Cops

The Police Department

  1. Demilitarizing the Police
  2. Picking Good Cops
  3. Staying Alive in a World of Sudden, Violent Death
  4. Undercover

Policing the Police

  1. Treating Cops Like Kids: Police Discipline
  2. 1A Dark Take on Financial Liability
  3. Up With Labor (Not So Fast, Police Unions)
  4. Living With Killing
  5. Citizen Oversight

Politics of Policing

  1. Egos on Patrol
  2. Marching for Dykes on Bikes (and Against Jesus)
  3. The Fourth Estate: A Chief's Lament
  4. Snookered in Seattle: The WTO Riots
  5. Community Policing: A Radical View
  6. Cultivating Fearless Police Leadership

Conclusions