On Both Sides of the Thin Blue Line: Advancing Intersectional Research on Police Families of Color

Police officers of color and their families are an underrepresented demographic in critical scholarly literature. Black and/or Latino/a police officers are uniquely affected by cultural, sociopolitical, and community influences that can create dissonance within their respective contexts. By means of critical analyses via academic and reflexive lenses, this article seeks to illuminate the intersectional nuances of the law enforcement community through the perspectives and lived experiences of police officers of color and the challenges they face as officers, family members, and human beings. A vital need for critical research inquiry is called upon to support the health and well‐being of Black and/or Latino/a police officers and their families. I advocate for collaborative research within family science and human development that addresses the lived experiences of police affiliated families of color by means of perspective taking, cultural humility, and intersectional analysis.