Theresa Rocha Beardall, JD, PhD (Oneida/Sault Ste. Marie/Mexican) is Assistant Professor of Sociology, Criminology, and American Indian Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Her scholarship examines how systems of law and agents of the state enact and enforce various modes of state violence. In one thread of this research, she bridges insights from race studies, labor law, social movements, and political sociology to reframe police as workers in the context of police unions, citizen review boards, and local community activism against police violence.
