The death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer with a history of excessive force complaints has spurred protests, demonstrations, and riots across the nation. Peaceful protests are more than justified. However, the lawless riots are not; they are enacting the very injustices they claim to contest and on a colossal and catastrophic scale.

Unfortunately, the violence, theft, arson, killing and wanton destruction some protesters have unleashed—perhaps incited in part by outside terrorist provocateurs—is likely to exacerbate existing cultural and political schisms, making meaningful policy reform even more difficult. In fact, the violence and destruction is leaving deep and painful scars on the urban landscape.

This event features Independent Institute Research Fellow Samuel R. Staley with Independent Executive Director Graham H. Walker in a discussion on the policies and actions that have led us to where we are today with campaigns to defund police departments and other calls to action. Dr. Staley will propose solutions that are capable of bringing about necessary practical changes in organizational structures and incentives and reforms that could have real, long-term impact and reduce the likelihood of police brutality, if we enact them.

Graham H. Walker

Graham H. Walker is Executive Director and Assistant Editor for The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy at the Independent Institute. He received his Ph.D. in public law and government from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Walker has served as Associate Professor of Politics at Catholic University of America, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, Visiting Scholar in Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, NJ), Senior Research Scholar at the Witherspoon Institute, Headmaster at Oaks Christian School, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, President at Patrick Henry College, Legislative Aide to former Congressman David Stockman, and Fellow at the Presidio Institute.

Samuel R. Staley

Samuel R. Staley is a Research Fellow and film critic at the Independent Institute, Director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center in the College of Social Sciences at Florida State University, and an author and award-winning novelist. Dr. Staley earned his Ph.D. in public administration with concentrations in urban planning and public finance from Ohio State University. Among his many books are Mobility First: A New Vision for Transportation in a Globally Competitive 21st Century (with A. Moore), The Road More Traveled: Why the Congestion Crisis Matters More Than You Think and What We Can Do About It, Smarter Growth: Market-based Strategies for Land-use Planning in the 21st Century, Drug Policy and the Decline of American Cities, and Planning Rules and Urban Economic Performance: The Case of Hong Kong.