Pegues, author of “Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America,” will be joined in his 7 p.m. discussion by Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas.
In the book, Pegues, justice and homeland security correspondent for CBS, examines facts, statistics and perspectives from both sides of the community-police divide as well as his access to top law enforcement officials throughout the country, including former FBI Director James Comey and police chiefs in major cities. He also offers possible solutions by summarizing recommendations from police chiefs, politicians and activists.
In the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, Pegues orchestrated an interview with police chiefs representing four major U.S. cities. In 2015, he covered all angles of the Charleston, S.C., church killings, beginning with the manhunt for the suspect and culminating with a special report analyzing President Barack Obama’s eulogy at the funeral of State Sen. Clementa Pinckney.
Pegues’ talk will come in the weeks following a Bridgeport police-involved fatal shooting of a 16-year-old driving what police said was a stolen car at a busy intersection on May 9.
Calling for peaceful, healing vigils in response to the shooting, activists there have cautioned against creating “another Ferguson.”
Before joining CBS News, Pegues spent 10 years at WABC-TV in New York. He is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, numerous Emmy Award nominations, and the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.
The June 8 program is in special memory of Westport illustrator Tracy Sugarman, a civil rights and social justice activist.
The Westport Library is hosting this event in partnership with TEAM Westport and the Westport Police Department. The discussion will be held in the library’s McManus Room.
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