Neill Franklin: Cop Turned Leading Reformer

Major Neill Franklin, a 34-year law enforcement veteran, retired from the Maryland State Police in 1999 where he rose through the ranks from undercover narcotics agent to commander of the Bureau of Drug and Criminal Enforcement. Major Franklin also held command positions with the Baltimore Police Department and the Maryland Transit Police Force. On July 13, 2010, he resigned from the law enforcement profession to become the executive director for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

In this poignant speech, Franklin describes how his experiences as a police commander revealed the futility of addressing drugs and drug use through a criminal justice framework. A key turning point for him, he says, is when one of his close colleagues was shot and killed in a botched drug bust.