# Thin Line Between Justice & Vigilantism: Public Safety, Police Legitimacy & Trust

Thin Line Between Justice & Vigilantism: Public Safety, Police Legitimacy & Trust at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Wednesday 28 October 2026, 18:00.

- Venue: John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 524 West 59th Street, L.64.00 New Building, New York, NY 10019
- With: Elliot Williams
- Get tickets: https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/news-events/events/blue-power-how-police-organized-protect-serve-themselves
- Go to page: https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/news-events/events/thin-line-between-justice-vigilantism-public-safety-police-legitimacy-trust

![Thin Line Between Justice & Vigilantism: Public Safety, Police Legitimacy & Trust](https://noky.io/images/fac1c3f05a740234aaae4c02e1057143500bdb31b7da69426c2f276c3295c04f-600.webp)

A lecture at John Jay College of Criminal Justice titled "Thin Line Between Justice & Vigilantism: Public Safety, Police Legitimacy & Trust," the 32nd Lloyd George Sealy Lecture. Elliot Williams gives the keynote, drawing on his book "Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation," which reexamines the 1984 subway shooting of four teenagers by Bernhard Goetz and the trial that split New Yorkers over whether he was a hero or a bigot. The book also traces figures including Al Sharpton, Rudy Giuliani, the NRA, and Rupert Murdoch, and links the case to today's debates about race, crime, safety, and the media. A book signing follows the program.

## Dates

- Wednesday 28 October 18:00 — John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Written by a model, sources: [jjay.cuny.edu](https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/news-events/events/thin-line-between-justice-vigilantism-public-safety-police-legitimacy-trust)

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