Driving While Black (Ph.D. Student Version)

A concern of many black students and faculty members is how they are treated by local police officers. In 2015, Evanston, Ill., police suspected -- based on a call they received -- that Lawrence Crosby, a civil engineering Ph.D. student, was breaking into a car. It was his own car, but he said officers refused to let him offer proof of that fact, and multiple officers tackled him, while his hands were up. Crosby has sued, while the Evanston police have defended what happened. Last week, the department released recordings of the incident, and that has attracted more attention to the case and increased criticism of how Crosby was treated.