Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats

About the Book

Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats is a collection of poetry about law enforcement excesses. Most of the poems were inspired by actual cases from around the country. The author did not set out to compile a collection of these poems, but more and more, nearly every day, another case of law enforcement’s excessive use of force was reported in the Media. The author also did not set out to demonize law enforcement, but focused on those cases where things went terribly wrong, for a number of reasons. As a poet, as someone deeply committed to realizing a just society, the poet chose to report these cases in poetic forms. The poet acknowledges how tough the job is for those entrusted with “public safety.” An earlier version of this book was among the finalists in the 2000 National Poetry Series competition.

About the Author

William E. Waters is an award-winning poet, playwright and author. His poetry has been in a number of anthologies and magazines, including Rattle and AIM. In 1998 he was the co-winner of the Edwin Mellen Poetry Prize for his epic poem, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, published in 2000 by Edwin Mellen Poetry Press. For the past ten years the author has worked for the Osborne Association, a not for profit criminal justice organization that works with people impacted and affected by the criminal justice system. Waters states that he is “a change agent for a just society” and is committed to his organization’s mission of transforming lives, communities and the criminal justice system. He has a master’s degree from New York Theological Seminary, and bachelors’ degrees from SUNY New Paltz and Albany University. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.