102: 16 Shots and The Thin Blue Line

Showtime's 16 Shots looks at the murder of Laquan McDonald in 2014, and why this police-involved shooting galvanized Chicago. Kevin and I talk about the excellent access filmmaker Richard Rowley gets on both sides of the issue; give suggestions for police procedural manuals; and wonder when the "a few bad apples" line of rationalizing will stop getting trotted out. Another police-involved shooting, of a police officer, and the injustices that rolled downhill from it are the topic of Errol Morris's legendary The Thin Blue Line. Does it hold up, more than three decades after its release? Or does it mostly feel relevant because of the dozens of instances of misconduct and false confessions we've seen (and heard) laid bare in the meantime? The police, the public('s) trust, and the power of testimony in The Blotter Presents, Episode 102. Get even more true-crime content reviewed: support the pod/site on Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/blotterpresents) , and sign up for the newsletter, Best Evidence (http://bestevidence.fyi) ! SHOW NOTES 16 Shots: https://www.sho.com/titles/3466069/16-shots Vic Mensa’s “16 Shots”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPWXOAYlgOc Bill James’s Popular Crime: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043RSK9Y/ Local 5-0 confiscate discipline records at Summit, NJ schools: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1984/02/22/05340018.h03.html The Thin Blue Line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEb\_2mj1V8w (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEb%5C_2mj1V8w) Jill Lepore on Joe Gould and Joseph Mitchell: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/27/joe-goulds-teeth Special Guest: Kevin Smokler.