NPR

Law Professor: Police Hold 'Extraordinary' Power Over Black People In Traffic Stops

Those who don't immediately stop for police are committing "contempt of cop. And bad officers will make you pay for that," law professor Paul Butler argues.
Georgetown Law School professor Paul Butler testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on policing practices and law enforcement accountability in June 2020. In an NPR interview, Butler says police in Brooklyn Center, Minn., didn't need to pursue Daunte Wright over an outstanding warrant.

A law professor and former federal prosecutor argues that police in Brooklyn Center, Minn., didn't need to pursue Daunte Wright, who was killed by an officer who said she mistakenly shot him instead of using her Taser.

"They have his license plate. They know where he lives," says Georgetown law professor Paul Butler, author of the book Chokehold: Policing Black.

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