The Sean Bell case in New York has thrown a big spotlight on American big-city police and policing. An unarmed man on the morning of his wedding day — no crime, no offense –cut down in a hail of 50 police bullets, and last week all officers cleared in the case.

Peter Moskos is watching closely. The Harvard-trained sociologist spent a year on the beat, as a cop on the toughest streets of Baltimore. Now he’s telling what he saw. The heroism, and the madness.

This hour, On Point: Out of the ivory tower and into the squad car. We’re on the beat and in the heat with Peter Moskos.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guest:

Peter Moskos, professor of law, police science and criminal justice administration at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and author of “Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore’s Eastern District.”