#76 (Thaddeus Johnson)

Thaddeus Johnson is a former police officer from Memphis who is now an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University. He has extensively researched issues related to policing, crime, and racial disparities. Johnson discussed his experiences as a Black police officer and the challenges of navigating his racial identity in that role. He also highlighted the broader systemic racism and inequities in society that contribute to disparities in crime and policing outcomes. Johnson and his colleagues conducted a study examining the effects of police unionization and collective bargaining on police use of force. They found that increased police pay was associated with reduced police killings overall, but this benefit was only seen in non-unionized departments and not for Black citizens in unionized departments. In the episode Johnson discusses police accountability and oversight, transparency around officer disciplinary records, and how to do that without undermining the legitimate labor rights of officers.