Earlier this week, a new Madison police chief was sworn in, prompting renewed public conversation around the role of policing in our community.

We take this opportunity to reflect on the history of policing in the U.S. with Simon Balto and hear from Ananda Tomas with Fix SAPD about how they have been working to hold the San Antonio police accountable.

They discuss a wide range of topics including police accountability, police involvement in the Capitol insurrection, the difference between police unions and other labor unions, the role of body cams, what it means to defund the police, and more.

Simon Balto is an assistant professor of history at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Occupied Territory: Policing Black Chicago from Red Summer to Black Power (UNC Press, 2019).

Ananda Tomas is deputy director of Fix SAPD and a local organizer based in San Antonio.