For the next 45 days, we'll be celebrating Reason's 45th anniversary by releasing a story a day from the archives—one for each year of the magazine's history. See the whole list here.

Today, a story from the November 1969 edition: "The Cops: Heroes or Villains?" by Reason founder Lanny Friedlander:

This month's editorial notes will deal with the popular subject of [police] brutality from a reference point different from that of the average magazine. Better than perhaps any other aspect of the police (because when transposed into the proper terms it is the central aspect), brutality affords a perfect beginning to a article (or series of articles) on theory of police work, structure, and power.

See the whole thing in all its mimeographed glory below (click on the lower right corner to expand):

The Cops: Heroes or Villains?: Reason magazine, 1969