Panicked

Delving into Charles Wetli's early career during the Satanic Panic scare of the 1980s and 1990s, this chapter investigates the intersections of law enforcement, Afro-Latiné religions, and Christian Evangelical moral panics in producing White expertise. By understanding the role of police training and the production of “cult experts,” the chapter shows how Wetli was propelled to prominence within law enforcement circles. It exposes how the stigmatization and criminalization of Afro-Latiné religions influenced Wetli's own presumptions of Black and Brown people through the Satanic Panic. This chapter highlights the exploitative nature of police trainings and “expertise” that develop in the wake of moral panics.