What it’s like to be a black police officer in America

“We have a lot of conflict in this world because we’re too busy putting ourselves into groups.” – Bear Manuel

Jerry “Bear” Manuel is a detective assigned to the gang unit in the Wichita Police Department. Prior to his work as a police officer, Bear was a teacher at Head Start, which provides comprehensive early childhood education services to low-income children. He attended junior high and high school with Rolf in the 1980s, and they competed together on the track team.

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf speaks with Bear about growing up poor in Wichita (5:10); his decision to become a police officer (10:20); the day-to-day of being a detective and the importance of community policing (14:30); the importance of having a police department that reflects the community you serve (19:30); and the use of deadly force (25:00).

Notable Links

• Head Start (Federal early-childhood education program)
• Wichita Child Development Center (hospital day care program)
• Rainbows United (community resource center for special-needs children)
• “Police officers’ lives are at risk because of a false media narrative,” by Kevin Lawrence, Dallas Morning News

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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