From Undocumented to Detective

The Brian Lehrer Show | Jan 12, 2016

Luke Waters, retired NYPD homicide detective and author of NYPD Green: A Memoir (Touchstone, 2016), reflects on his career in the NYPD after starting as an undocumented Irish immigrant.

Waters was on the force when Bratton was appointed by Mayor Giuliani in the mid-1990s. He calls them "an outstanding team" who were very aggressive on policing. Reflecting on the state of the city's policing today, he said: "Mayor de Blasio, to me, has the best commissioner New York's ever seen."

Brian asked him about police bias and racial profiling, to which Waters offered this advice to people: 

"When these incidents do happen, don’t be the judge and the juror. If you want to protest, protest peacefully. That is your right...Let the criminal justice system take its course."

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