“The 250lb man in an alley”: Police storytelling

Argues that storytelling in police organizations functions on two well‐known levels: the educational and therapeutic; and also on a hidden level, the social. On this level, storytelling serves to ratify some members and ostracize others. It also works to preserve the model of policing as force‐based rather than communication‐based. Focuses on one folkloric story common to police organizations as an example of how storytelling can act as a powerful brake on acceptance of all members and on efforts to change an organization.