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?