Ben Cohen on Above the Law: How Qualified Immunity Protects Violent Police

Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

(6/15/21) A police officer kills a 12-year-old boy. It’s caught on video. The officer faces no legal consequences. A police officer strangles a man selling cigarettes. It’s caught on video. The officer faces no legal consequences. It happens over and over again. The culprit here, alongside the cops, is the legal principle known as qualified immunity. In his new book Above the Law: How “Qualified Immunity” Protects Violent Police, Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen looks at 12 cases in which justice was denied because of qualified immunity or “Q.I.” Join us for a look at this troubling practice and what can be done to change it in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.