“Paradox: Echoes of Reform & the Minneapolis Police” is a three-episode Twin Cities PBS documentary series led by historian Yohuru Williams. It explores the history of reforming the Minneapolis Police Department, tracing how George Floyd’s murder was a century in the making through a blend of deep research, candid interviews, and rare archival footage. The series examines how mayors and police chiefs have repeatedly attempted reform since the 19th century, illustrating Minneapolis’s back-and-forth movement between competing visions of public safety — shaped by mayoral politics, community activism, and police union resistance.
Episodes cover the department’s origins in the late 1800s, mid-century progressive movements, and the controversial tenure of my friend Chief Tony Bouza in the 1980s.
The documentary also covers the tumultuous 1960s when fear friend Bill Mavity and I joined the department and attempted to lead reform from the bottom up.
The documentary’s central argument is that Minneapolis is not unique — and that understanding the present requires reckoning honestly with the past.
https://tpt.org/paradox-echoes-of-reform-the-minneapolis-police
Improving Police: A Necessary Conversation 