Walk the Walk

How Three Police Chiefs Defied the Odds and Changed Cop Culture

By: Neil Gross

Narrated by: Leon Nixon

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

From “one of the most interesting sociologists of his generation” and a former cop, the story of three departments and their struggle to change aggressive police culture and achieve what Americans want: fair, humane, and effective policing.

What should we do about the police? After the murder of George Floyd, there’s no institution more controversial: only 14 percent of Americans believe that “policing works pretty well as it is” (CNN, April 27, 2021). We’re swimming in proposals for reform, but most do not tackle the aggressive culture of the profession, which prioritizes locking up bad guys at any cost, loyalty to other cops, and not taking flak from anyone on the street. Far from improving public safety, this culture, in fact, poses a danger to citizens and cops alike.

Walk the Walk brings listeners deep inside three unusual departments—in Stockton, California; Longmont, Colorado; and LaGrange, Georgia—whose chiefs signed on to replace that aggressive culture with something better: with models focused on equity before the law, social responsibility, racial reconciliation, and the preservation of life. Informed by research, unflinching and by turns gripping, tragic, and inspirational, this audiobook follows the chiefs—and their officers and detectives—as they conjured a new spirit of policing. While every community faces unique challenges with police reform, Walk the Walk opens a window onto what the police could be, if we took seriously the charge of creating a more just America.

A Macmillan Audio production from Metropolitan Books.

©2023 Neil Gross (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Excellent... Gross cuts through hyperbole and ideology to examine the realities of crime and law enforcement, presenting strong evidence that change is possible and the police can and should do better in our democratic society." —Booklist

“Neil Gross brings the debate on police reform to life with this nuanced and highly readable account of how three very different police agencies managed to change their culture and behavior. Walk the Walk is a crucial and timely contribution to our understanding of the state of American policing and its prospects for change.” —Elliott Currie, author of A Curious Indifference

"A conversation-provoking look at the real world of police work and ways to make it better for all concerned." —Kirkus

Biased and Politically Charged

The author paints a broad brush over law enforcement as institutions filled with racist, heavy handed, thrill seekers who target Individuals based on race and not criminal behavior. Plays into the stereo types promulgated by the MSM that cops are inherently racist. Provides no deeper context in the examples he illustrates to prove his points.