Reap the Whirlwind

Violence, Race, Justice, and the Story of Sagon Penn

De: Peter Houlahan

Narrado por: Joshua Saxon

March 31, 1985. Two white patrol officers in search of a gang member followed a pickup truck carrying seven young Black men up a dirt driveway in the Encanto neighborhood of San Diego. Minutes later, gunshots rang out, and the truck's driver, Sagon Penn, fled the scene in an officer's patrol car.

Penn was an idealist who believed in the power of Buddhist chants to bring about the oneness of humanity. The two police officers were rising stars in one of the most progressive police departments in the country, yet one that had suffered more officers killed in the line of duty than any other. While the facts of the case were never in dispute, what remained unresolved was what, if anything, could justify such a violent confrontation? For over two years, a determined prosecutor and a charismatic defense attorney engaged in a sensational courtroom drama that revolved around matters of mental health, racial biases, and the self-image of a once-sleepy beach town grappling with its transformation into a major metropolitan area. The Sagon Penn incident forever altered how San Diego would respond to incidents involving police and communities of color.

Based on court transcripts, personal interviews, and archival police reports, Reap the Whirlwind is a gripping true-crime narrative set against the evocative backdrop of Southern California.

©2024 Peter Houlahan (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Long before George Floyd there was Sagon Penn

It’s March 1985 in Southeast San Diego. A soft-spoken 22 year old Black man is stopped for no reason. After a vicious beating by Donovan Jacobs, a police officer, partnered with Thomas Riggs, Officer Riggs is dead, Jacobs wounded, and a ride along shot.

The author meticulously lays out the facts, two trials, Sagon Penn’s acquittal, and the aftermath to all involved. It’s a tragedy to everyone, except, it seems, to the person who triggered the chain of events.

My only issue with the narrator is La Jolla isn’t pronounced La Holla, :) His overall narration is compelling.

Outstanding

The authors research attention to detail far exceeds his past book Norco 80 great job great read