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Meet the Fellows: Daniel Isom

285 views · Published 2 May 2016 · 2:41 · Indexed 12 November 2026

Channel: UChicago Institute of Politics · 2016 · Film & Animation

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The names Laquan McDonald, Michael Brown and Eric Garner are forever emblazoned in the minds of many Americans as symbols of America policing gone wrong.

Those cataclysmic eruptions between police and black citizens have rocked the country over the last two years but their roots go deep and long, exposing a foundation for policing and community relations in American cities and urban communities that cannot stand. This seminar series will explore what has gone tragically wrong in urban police-community relations, including antiquated training, broken oversight systems, struggling communities and embattled police officers. It also will consider the path forward — how to update police training, how to improve police oversight, how to realize the potential of true community policing.

In a series of four seminars, students will grapple with these issues with Dr. Daniel Isom II, a national leader in policing and criminal justice research and studies. Isom, who stepped down in 2013 as Chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, is an E. Desmond Lee Professor of Policing and the Community at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a member of the Ferguson Commission, which produced recommendations on how to transform the St. Louis region in the wake of the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. A veteran police officer and advocate for progressive policing and strengthened relationships between police and citizens, Isom will share his professional, personal and academic experiences with the aim of spurring a hearty and honest debate about how to improve policing in America.

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