In the news: an empathetic mayor?

Dick Simpson, professor of political science, discusses the public perception of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s attempts to address police misconduct in the Nov. 25 Washington Post.

“It seems that the police have a lot of training in how to contain protesters, but very little training on something that would be quite common, which is to de-escalate a situation where someone is intoxicated, mentally ill, or otherwise behaving irrationally.”

Barbara Ransby, professor of African American studies, gender and women’s studies and history, on the shooting of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer, Nov. 25 Democracy Now

“He hasn’t convinced much of Chicago to believe he is really empathetic. You can’t expect him to change his personality entirely, but somehow providing some sense the mayor is on the side of the citizens and the black community would be helpful in this case to lessen the violence.”

Dick Simpson, professor of political science, on public perception of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s attempts to address police misconduct, Nov. 25 Washington Post

“For people watching the news, and reading about the threats to Washington and New York that followed the Paris attacks this all may have revived their anxiety.”

Judith Richman, professor of epidemiology in psychiatry, on the impact of reports of terrorism on mental health, Nov. 24 Discovery News