Stand Your Ground Doesn’t Legalize Illegal Deadly Force
Serge and Clarke celebrate Easter. We have friends who have a blessed Ramadan. We have friends who we will wish Happy Passover in several weeks. We have re-uploaded an episode. We will be back next week with a brand-new episode. In rural New York, a 65-year-old man fired two shots from his porch killing a…
If Only There Was a Way for Civilians to Experience “Shoot Don’t Shoot.”
Law Enforcement firearms training has historically emphasized reaction time and marksmanship. But the decision to shoot or not shoot is the most fundamental choice the police officer faces in highly stressful situations. For the most part, civilians (who sit in judgment of the police) have not had large-scale access to simulator training. In this week’s…
Seize the Day But Don’t Necessarily Take the Bonus
At the request of a listener, Serge and Clarke offer their advice to young people without law enforcement experience who wish to apply to become police officers. People: this is solid advice from two men who have been there.
Seven Seconds and One Shot Into a Burglary Investigation and Melvin Jay is Dead.
February 1, 2024 — Prince George’s County, Maryland. Prince George’s County Police Officer Braxton Shelton is dispatched to a burglary in progress at an apartment in Suitland. He arrives within a minute of the dispatch, finds the apartment door ajar, and enters by himself. Seven seconds later Shelton fires one shot killing Melvin Jay, who…
What’s Worse Than a Criminal With a Handgun? A Criminal with a Glock and Glock Switch.
What is worse than a plethora of undereducated, jobless, and unfocused young men with semi-automatic handguns shooting at each other in cities across America? Answer: A group of undereducated, jobless, and unfocused young men with machine-guns shooting at each other in cities across America. Welcome to the $50 “Glock switch.” This small, inexpensive, and easily…
The CSI Checklist Phone App is the Preeminent Tool for Criminal Investigators
There IS something new under the sun! Tom Mauriello, the mastermind of FORENSIQ, has organized decades of law enforcement expertise in a CSI phone app that is exceptional, affordable, and practical. Any criminal justice stakeholder can access an investigative blueprint for every type of investigation from arson to mass casualty event. In this episode of…
Our 100th Episode — Serge, Clarke, and our Listeners Reach a Milestone
The Black and White and Thin Blue Lines podcast began in Spring of 2021 as the effort of Serge Antonin and Clarke Ahlers. The podcast concerns itself with issues of criminal justice, particularly at the intersection of race in America. Since then, Serge and Clarke have learned the technology of podcasting, produced and edited 100…
Maryland Fights Crime by Taxing Law-Abiding Citizens and More
The Maryland General Assembly proposes an excise tax on the sale of guns and ammunition, the Howard County Council debates a ceasefire in Gaza, and several state senators propose to eliminate good time credits for a very small number of convicted felons. Is our government fiddling while our community burns? Serge and Clarke add their…
A NY City Cop Gets a Complaint When He Doesn’t Write a Ticket
Dateline Harlem: Friday night January 26, 2024, about 6:30 P.M. A NY City police officer stops city councilman Yosef Salaam for unlawfully tinted windows on a BMW sedan. The officer was polite and professional and sent Mr. Salaam on his way after Salaam, the driver, identified himself as a city councilman. Professional courtesy? Presumably so.…
Teach Your Children Well
In 1968, Graham Nash, later of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, wrote a song about the difficult relationship he had with his father who was sent to jail for receiving stolen goods. The song “Teach Your Children” has beautiful lyrics including this stanza: “Teach your children well, Their father’s hell did slowly go by, Feed…
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