... From its origin in 1845, the police department in New York City had to explicitly consider the racial landscape in the city, as Irish and German immigrants came to the United States and as New York's Black community of free and self-emancipated people were forced to defend their freedom because...

... Irish police slave patrols draft riots xenophobia ...

... In the late nineteenth century, bodies, race, and gender expression determined who would make a good police officer. The need for police to be good fighters made Irish officers necessary because of, and not despite, their alleged ability to brawl. The masculinity of police was also hotly debated...