1. Salim Muwakkil cites several examples of police brutality to support his argument that the police are racist. Michael Levin supports his argument that the police are not racist by citing statistics that show blacks commit more violent crimes than whites. In your opinion, do both authors reason from the facts correctly? That is, without knowing whether or not the police shootings that Muwakkil describes were justified, can you ascertain for sure that the police were motivated by racism? Do the statistics Levin cites prove that more blacks become criminals or only that they are apprehended more often than whites? Explain which author makes a better argument and why.
2. In arguing for better police training in the handling of the mentally ill, the Los Angeles Times states that loose animals in the city are sometimes treated with more consideration than mentally ill suspects. In your opinion, what...