What drives police officers to abuse their power? How do you encourage good behavior in police departments?

A Town Hall Discussion

Hi there! I’m a senior editor at ThinkProgress, where I oversee our justice coverage, among other things. I’m looking forward to moderating our panel on police accountability today with Simone Weichselbaum of The Marshall Project, Professor Joanna Schwartz of UCLA, retired San Francisco Police sergeant Carl Tennenbaum, and John Fisher of Those People.

I thought we could kick off our discussion by examining the popular idea of the “bad apple.” Many police officials and politicians argue that most misconduct is committed by a few bad police officers, who can be dealt with on an individual level — not necessarily requiring systemic reform. So what do you guys think: are there just a few “bad apples” in police forces or is the whole tree rotten?

Also — on your first response, please introduce yourself and your work!