Intersections Radio

topics I’ve been exploring on this show is the relationship between police and people of color with disabilities - and why these stories rarely, if ever, show up in the media. For this episode, I spoke with Chicago-based journalist, David Perry, about this issue. He’s the co-author of the Ruderman white paper on media coverage of law enforcement use of force and disability which was published just last week.

Many of the unarmed young black men who were shot by police over the past three years in fact, had disabilities, but these facts were never mentioned in press coverage. Or, if they were, they were glossed over or presented in a negative manner. This includes the reporting of Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and many others.

David and I met on Skype to discuss these issues. This is the first of a continuing discussion on this topic.