“Until we change, we’re going to keep revisiting these events year after year after year,” says David Couper, former police chief of Madison. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis and the increasing demands to reform or even abolish the police, Ali Muldrow hosts a timely roundtable conversation about policing in Madison with Rev. David Couper and Judge Rev. Everett Mitchell, who is known in the community for his restorative justice work.

Over the course of the hour, they talk about youth justice, the kind of policing Madison wants and deserves, use of deadly force, officers in schools, racism in the criminal justice system, alternatives to the current model, and more.

Honorable Everett Mitchell is a Dane County Circuit Court Judge and senior pastor of Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church.

Reverend David Couper is a priest at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and served as chief of police in Madison from 1972 to 1993. He is the author of several books, including Arrested Development: A Veteran Police Chief Sounds Off About Protest, Racism and Corruption and the Seven Steps Necessary to Improve Our Nation’s Police.

Cover photo by Felix Koutchinski on Unsplash