Black and Blue ─ Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America

The recent killings in Dallas, Baton Rouge, Ferguson, and elsewhere are just the latest examples of the longstanding rift between law enforcement and people of color. In this revealing journey to the heart of a growing crisis, CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues provides unbiased facts, statistics, and perspectives from both sides of the community-police divide. Pegues has rare access to top law enforcement officials throughout the country, including FBI Director James Comey and police chiefs in major cities. He has also interviewed police union leaders, community activists, and others at the heart of this crisis--people on both sides who are trying to push American law enforcement in a new direction.

How do police officers perceive the people of color who live in high-crime areas? How are they viewed by the communities that they police? Pegues explores these questions and more through interviews not only with police chiefs, but also officers on the ground, both black and white. In addition, he goes to the front lines of the debate as crime spikes in some of the nation's major cities. What he found will surprise you as police give a candid look at how their jobs have changed and become more dangerous.

Turning to possible solutions, the author summarizes the best recommendations from police chiefs, politicians, and activists. Readers will not only be informed but learn what they can do about tensions with police in their communities.

Jeff Pegues is the justice and homeland security correspondent for CBS News. In this capacity he has participated in closed-door interviews with former FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan, and DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. In the aftermath of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, Pegues orchestrated an interview with the chiefs of police representing four major U.S. cities. In 2015, he covered all angles of the Charleston, South Carolina, church killings, beginning with the manhunt for the suspect and culminating with a special report analyzing President Obama's eulogy at the funeral of State Senator Clementa Pinckney. Previous to joining CBS News, Pegues spent ten 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.