Cityscape

Charles Blow of NYT Blasts Inkster Cops' 'Horrifically Violent' Arrest

March 30, 2015, 8:44 AM

National attention to an unarmed driver's brutal arrest in Inkster spreads Monday as New York Times columnist Charles Blow calls it "troublesome."

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Charles Blow (above) says Floyd Dent "has become the latest touchstone in our coalescing conversation about the intersection of police forces and communities of color."

He recaps Detroit media coverage of the roadway beating of Floyd Dent, a 57-year-old autoworker, shown "in a horrifically violent dashboard camera video."

Videos like the Dent footage further the perception, especially among African-Americans, that the police are more likely to use force — specifically deadly force — against blacks than whites. . . .

So much about Dent’s case is troublesome, and so he has become the latest touchstone in our coalescing conversation about the intersection of police forces and communities of color, particularly in the parts of this country that African-Americans fled to in search of a better life. 

Blow, a former Detroit News graphic artist who's now a high-profile author, speaker and network TV interview guest, frames the January arrest as the latest reason surveys show that an overwhelming majority of African Americans believe "the police in most communities are more likely to use deadly force against blacks."

-- Alan Stamm

Related coverage at Deadline:

Stephen Henderson: Police Beatings Are 'Enraging,' March 29


Read more:  The New York Times


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