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Rise of the Warrior Cop

Image by Glenn Halog via Flickr
Oakland Police Department responds to "Occupy" protesters.

Investigative journalist Radley Balko says that American police forces have become more like armies than keepers of the peace. He traces it back to the creation of SWAT teams in the 60s, which led to increased use of military tactics and weapons. These days, there are some 50,000 raids each year as part of "wars" declared on drugs and crime. Balko is coming to Utah and Monday, he joins Doug to talk about how law enforcement has changed throughout history and what militarized police forces mean for citizens.

Radley Balko is a senior writer and investigative reporter for the Huffington Post. Before that, he was a senior editor at Reason magazine and a policy analyst for the Cato Institute. His book is called Rise of the Warrior Cop [Amazon/Indiebound]

On Thursday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m., Radley Balko will speak at the Salt Lake City Main Library Auditorium. His presentation will be followed by a Q&A. For more information, click here

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.