Wilbert L. Cooper

New York

Writer, Producer, and Host at Freelance

Staff Writer at The Marshall Project

Articles

Trump’s anti-DEI push raises concerns among Black officers

2 weeks ago | news5cleveland.com | Wilbert L. Cooper

This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their Cleveland newsletter and Facebook Group, and follow The Marshall Project on Instagram, Reddit and YouTube. After the murder of George Floyd, protests pushed some police agencies to bring in a new class of professionals like Colleen Jackson to help make departments more representative of and responsive to the communities they serve.
Wilbert L. Cooper, The Marshall Project, Author at Signal Cleveland

2 weeks ago | signalcleveland.org | Wilbert L. Cooper

Posted inPublic Safety Policing experts are skeptical of threats to pull money from law enforcement with DEI initiatives would work. Most are funded by local taxes.
Trump is backing away from police reform. Here’s what that means for 12 places

1 month ago | commercialappeal.com | Daphne Duret |Daja Henry |Christie Thompson |Lakeidra Chavis |Geoff Hing |Wilbert L. Cooper

One of the Justice Department’s goals under President Joe Biden was to investigate some of the nation’s most troubled police agencies, including the ones responsible for the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Tyre Nichols. Two months into President Donald Trump’s second term, the prospect of federal oversight appears likely to disappear in most of those 12 agencies.
What Trump pulling back on police reforms means for Worcester and 11 other places - The Boston Globe

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Daphne Duret |Daja Henry |Christie Thompson |Lakeidra Chavis |Geoff Hing |Wilbert L. Cooper

For places where civil rights investigations were still open — the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office near Jackson, Mississippi, and the New York Police Department’s Special Victims’ Unit — the federal government will likely choose to take no further action. New leadership at the Justice Department has already ordered a halt to all open civil rights investigations as they reevaluate how many, if any, they still want to pursue.
Trump backs away from police reform. What it means for Louisiana State Police, other departments.

2 months ago | yahoo.com | Daphne Duret |Daja Henry |Christie Thompson |Lakeidra Chavis |Geoff Hing |Wilbert L. Cooper

A brass relief sculpture of state troopers at the entrance of Louisiana State Police headquarters in Baton Rouge. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.
Behind the Black Shield: The History of a Cleveland Institution – The Land

Jun 14, 2024 | thelandcle.org | Wilbert L. Cooper

How one of the oldest Black policing organizations in the country shaped law enforcement in Cleveland. This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook. The Black Shield formed in Cleveland nearly 80 years ago.
Behind the Black Shield, Cleveland’s Historic Black Policing Group

Jun 13, 2024 | themarshallproject.org | Wilbert L. Cooper

The Black Shield formed in Cleveland nearly 80 years ago. Initially, Black officers came together to support and protect each other from discrimination and retaliation in the mostly White police department. In the 1970s, the association took that battle to court, fighting for a more fair system of hiring and promoting Black officers and pushing for a police force that reflected the makeup of the city.
Out of the Blue: The Rise and Fall of a Black Cop

May 28, 2024 | thelandcle.org | Wilbert L. Cooper

After Cleveland officer Vincent Montague shot a Black man, he got promoted. Then he allied with Black Lives Matter, and his life went off the rails. This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their Cleveland newsletter and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.
Wilbert L. Cooper

May 28, 2024 | thelandcle.org | Wilbert L. Cooper

After Cleveland officer Vincent Montague shot a Black man, he got promoted. Then he allied with Black Lives Matter, and his life went off the rails.
The Cleveland Cop Who Fought for Police Reform with Black Lives Matter

May 24, 2024 | signalcleveland.org | Wilbert L. Cooper

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, Black Cleveland police Sgt. Vincent Montague crossed the blue line. He marched in the streets, arm-in-arm with Black Lives Matter supporters. And in a rally in front of hundreds of aggrieved community members, Montague spoke about his fear that his two young Black sons would die by the hands of the police. In interviews with local and national media, he described the struggles Black cops face inside their predominantly White police departments.