Ruben Castaneda (born 1961) is a former reporter for the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' and author of the memoir ''S Street Rising: Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C.''
Castaneda was born and raised in Los Angeles, the son of a gas company worker and a homemaker. He is the eldest of five children.
[
After working at the '']Los Angeles Herald Examiner
The ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published in the afternoon from Monday to Friday and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. It was formed when the afternoon ' ...
'' he was hired by the ''Washington Post'' in 1989 where he became a crime beat reporter in Washington, D. C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
There he covered the height of DC's crack epidemic
The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Ameri ...
which saw over 400 murders a year, among the highest murder rate in the country. Castaneda later moved to cover Prince George's County, Maryland
)
, demonym = Prince Georgian
, ZIP codes = 20607–20774
, area codes = 240, 301
, founded date = April 23
, founded year = 1696
, named for = Prince George of Denmark
, leader_title = Executive
, leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...
court room stories where he was instrumental in exposing widespread police brutality
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
by the Prince George's County Police Department
The Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States, servicing a population of over 900,000 residents and visitors within 498 square miles (1,290&n ...
.[
Castaneda left the ''Post'' in 2011 and worked on his memoir ''S Street Rising: Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C.'' (2014). In the memoir Castaneda explains that while he was working as a journalist for the ''Post'' he was also secretly buying and using crack himself, often from the same neighborhoods and people he was reporting on during the day. Castaneda has been clean since 1992.][
Castaneda has won or shared in several journalism awards.]
Works
*"Coyote Hunt" in ''D.C. Noir'' (2006)
*''S Street Rising: Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C.'' (2014)
References
External links
Ruben Castaneda
official website.
S Street Rising
official book website.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castaneda, Ruben
1961 births
Living people
American newspaper reporters and correspondents
Writers from Washington, D.C.
American memoirists
Cocaine in the United States