Salim Muwakkil

In the following viewpoint, Salim Muwakkil argues that in case after case, society allows white police officers to kill black suspects with impunity. Racism is endemic to American culture, Muwakkil maintains, and reflects the public’s growing fear of black criminals. Muwakkil asserts that tough-on-crime policies and the criminal justice system are inadequate to solve problems that are deeply rooted in the racial history of the United States. Muwakkil is a senior editor at In These Times, a liberal biweekly publication.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Muwakkil, what was the purpose of the first U.S. organized police forces?
2. According to the Amnesty International report, how many police brutality charges were filed in 1994?
3. What was Peter Del Debbio’s sentence for shooting a black officer, according to the author"

On October 24 [1997], Officer...