Sixty-plus years later, after this vicious racist, ignorant attack, not a damn thing has changed. Police continue to be the single most visible personification of white oppression and white racism.
In 1959 — eight days after the release of Kind of Blue and just after recording a broadcast for armed forces radio — Davis was harassed and then viciously attacked by the police outside Birdland in Midtown Manhattan. Then he was arrested for resisting arrest and dragged to the police station for booking and further harassment. You can hear the story in a clip above from The Miles Davis Story. Davis himself recounted the event in his autobiography:(Adapted from openculture.com)