Andrew S. Baer, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of History, has published a new book entitled, “Beyond the Usual Beating: The Jon Burge Police Torture Scandal and Social Movements for Police Accountability in Chicago,” (University of Chicago Press).

Baer studied the Civil Rights Movement early in his career, but over time he began to focus on cities in the northern United States, including Chicago.

“My research interests lie on the intersection of race, policing, and social movements,” Baer says. “While this book focuses on Chicago from the 1970s to the present, these issues are timeless, and I hope my arguments are transportable to other contexts. I decided to study police torture in Chicago and social movements for police accountability because I wanted to join scholars who have pushed research on the Civil Rights Movement into new directions, namely by focusing on the period after 1970, on issues other than voting rights and desegregation, and locations beyond the South.”

Baer says the book is applicable beyond a specific city or time frame. “The Chicago police torture cases remain relevant for both abstract and concrete reasons. On an abstract level, many of the general themes of my work—racial disparities in law enforcement, police violence, and grassroots resistance—remain prevalent in cities across America today. Activists and policymakers might draw lessons from this history to improve policing and ensure accountability in the present day. On a more concrete level, the survivors of police torture in Chicago continue to suffer the effects of their abuse.”

Baer is now working on his second book, “Black and Missing,” which explores the intersection of race, law enforcement, and missing persons.