Race, Policing, & the Constitution: A Talk by Devon W. Carbado

The ongoing police killings of Black people continue to generate debates about race and policing. Too many of those debates frame police violence as a problem that derives from rogue and illegal police conduct.  That some police officers engage in unconstitutional policing is undoubtedly true. But the focus on these “bad cops” obscures the structural dimensions of policing, including the role law plays legitimizing police violence.  This presentation will highlight how, with respect to policing, constitutional law creates “field[s] of pain and death” for Black people.