By Steve Peraza

In the latest installment of our ongoing Interweaving series of in-depth conversations, Weave News reporter Steve Peraza speaks with Dr. Gene Grabiner, a SUNY distinguished service professor emeritus whose work addresses issues of social justice and social class. Their discussion focused on policing and the possibilities for meaningful police reform, particularly in Buffalo, NY.

By Gene Grabiner

In a July 2016 blog post that he refused to take down, Buffalo Police Benevolent Association (PBA) vice president John Evans said of civilian demonstrators: “Comply with our orders and you won't get yourself killed. Enough!!!” It’s not enough that demonstrators’ First Amendment rights have already been eroded and circumscribed with the creation of ‘Free Speech Zones.’ Now, exercise of First Amendment rights may be met with police deadly force. Is this a terroristic threat?

By Steve Peraza

Follow-up to our earlier report from Steve Peraza: On Thursday evening, community leaders shut down traffic in downtown Buffalo at a rally protesting the death of Wardel “Meech” Davis, an unarmed black man who died in police custody the night of February 7th. Here are some of the sights and sounds.

By Steve Peraza

My name is Steve Peraza, and I am an unarmed black man who lives in Buffalo, New York. Until recently city leaders promised that I had nothing to fear from police. The proof? No one had died in police custody. All that changed on Tuesday night.

By Steve Peraza

This article is the first contribution to Beyond Broken Windows, a new Weave News project that explores the impacts of the “broken windows” style of policing, which encourages police officers to use arrests and citations to regulate outward signs of disorder (like broken windows). The project will also examine reform initiatives and issue campaigns nationwide that seek to implement alternative styles of policing.