[The police in Uvalde have acted like they are untouchable and
their actions unquestionable. Why? Because they are. But TV shows,
movies, and media have persuaded us to believe that cops can do no
wrong.]
[[link removed]]

UVALDE REVEALS HOLLYWOOD’S DEEPLY FLAWED TAKE ON THE POLICE  
[[link removed]]


 

Jesse Williams and Judith Browne Dianis
June 16, 2022
Newsweek
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ The police in Uvalde have acted like they are untouchable and their
actions unquestionable. Why? Because they are. But TV shows, movies,
and media have persuaded us to believe that cops can do no wrong. _

,

 

In the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24,
questions about police negligence and the accuracy of their accounts
of events abound. The Uvalde Police
[[link removed]] Department has released five
different accounts of what happened the day that 19 students and two
teachers were murdered, They were only provided because of pressure
from reporters, parents, and activists. One thing is for certain —
the myth of the police officer as the good guy with a gun, protecting
and serving the community, is costing our lives.

Police have been negligent or violent or both and lied
[[link removed]] about
it for years, but this feels like a watershed moment in which the
perception of the general public — shaped, among other things, by
decades of positive portrayals in the media — is finally catching on
to it.

While standing outside Robb Elementary School for 45 minutes as
parents berated them for their inaction, the police not only failed
to save children and teachers
[[link removed]],
they physically blocked parents from entering the school building to
evacuate their own children. They lied about a teacher keeping a door
open. They've threatened a mom of two children in Robb Elementary
with retribution
[[link removed]] for
speaking out in the weeks since the massacre. And now the police
force is no longer cooperating in the investigation.
[[link removed]]

In short, the police in Uvalde have acted like they are untouchable
and their actions unquestionable. Why? Because they are. The Uvalde
Police Department — and police departments across the country — in
addition to qualified immunity and sympathetic district attorneys, are
protected by decades' worth of positive portrayals in news reports, TV
shows, movies, and media that has persuaded us to believe that cops
can do no wrong.

For most of us who don't interact with police in our day-to-day lives,
Hollywood and other forms of media shape our views of policing. Police
officers have been portrayed as heroes and as the good guys. Their
version of what happened at the scene of the crime will be accepted as
fact, even when it changes the following day, and the next. People
will come to their fierce defense, claiming that police officers have
the most dangerous job in society, though they do not
[[link removed]]. They will say that
cops have to make difficult choices in impossible situations, yet if
they harm someone they can simply say "I feared for my life" as part
of the Use of Force Standard and walk away. And when those cops are
caught doing something wrong, they are just bad apples, when there are
patterns of harm and misconduct that call into question the whole
tree.

News stories about police killings or police brutality are framed with
statements and information received directly from the police
department. It is easy enough to excuse this practice - police
departments do have vital information that the public deserves to
know.

However, let's remember that most police departments in major cities
also have their own public relations departments. The Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Department 
[[link removed]]has
42 people in its information bureau, costing taxpayers about $4.8
million, with their strategic communications director in 2020 earning
$200,000 a year to build relationships with reporters and find ways to
position the department and its employees in the best possible light.

Together with police associations, police departments are quick to
come to the officer's defense in cases of misconduct. They go straight
to the media, often blaming the victim for their own death or injury,
and give the officer's version of the story explaining why their
actions were necessary.

Of course, the police hype machine doesn't end with our evening
newscast. It takes over primetime TV, where we watch cops who
are good guys in their community
[[link removed]] and
loving parents like Andy Griffith, and cops who were depicted as cool
and aspirational
[[link removed]],
like in Miami Vice or Hawaii Five-0. These characters are most often
the protagonist of the series. But more importantly, they are often
the moral compass of the story —they determine what's right and
wrong, leaving little to no question about their role. When these
characters shoot someone or even break the law to catch the "bad guy,"
it's all in the name of justice.

Early movie portrayals had no trouble making fun of the police, as
seen in the Keystone Kops series
[[link removed](often%20spelled,Company%20between%201912%20and%201917.].
When the International Association of Chiefs of Police found that
distasteful, cops started becoming official advisors to Hollywood
producers, helping them shape stories about police, usually putting
themselves in a positive light.

The numbers don't lie. Hollywood is obsessed with feeding us cop shows
that shape our perceptions of them. For example, the reality show Cops
lasted 32 seasons, while Law & Order has had five spin-offs on
multiple networks. Just this year, CBS
[[link removed]] includes 10 cop shows on the
network's lineup. In contrast, we can count how many shows across all
networks led by protagonists from communities of color who encounter
police abuse and misconduct.

Cops shape how we view them because our society allows it. We have
given them center stage to tell their stories and swept all other
competing narratives to the side.

That's why we feel outrage now as we've heard from a Latina mother
[[link removed]] who
went into Robb Elementary School to rescue her children when the
police wouldn't. She told us how she was threatened by police
[[link removed]] if
she revealed her story and despite that, spoke out, insisting that she
be interviewed on the farm where she works.

We feel immense sorrow and pain in response to videos of family
members grieving their loved ones, including the grandfather at a
memorial for the children of Uvalde confronting police for their
inaction.

And we feel moved to act in the face of laws, institutions and the
narrative that keeps cops in power and unaccountable for their actions
[[link removed]]. As we
respond to the horrific massacre of children and teachers in Uvalde,
we must remember to consider the role of the police in our communities
and schools and stop relying on false narratives that paint them as
infallible.

It's our right to get the facts.

_Jesse Williams is a Tony-nominated actor and activist, as well as on
the Board of Directors at Advancement Project._

_Judith Browne Dianis is the Executive Director of Advancement Project
where she works to push back against structural racism in education,
voting, policing, and the criminal legal system._

_The views expressed in this article are the authors' own._

_NEWSWEEK SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS_
[[link removed]]

* police reform
[[link removed]]
* Hollywood
[[link removed]]
* Uvalde
[[link removed]]
* Structural Racism
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]