Officer Jason Rivera’s Brother

At Jason Rivera’s funeral his brother Jeffrey honors his baby brother.

Do you think if the murderer saw this it might help him understand the weight of his crime?

So Moving

The widow of the slain NY police officer honors her husband in a eulogy today.

Should We Defund the Police?

Will Witt does some man in the street interviews with Brandon Tattum.

A Good Day

I’m glad I could join a new women’s group who brought lunch to a Chicago Police Station on Friday. We were lucky to express our gratitude to the 75 police officers and staff who protect the city.

While police forces across the country have some bad cops who should be removed, the vast majority of officers are willing to die for our security. They’re brave, strong, kind and rational. In Chicago, they’re working 12 hour shifts every single day with no days off since May. They’re getting sworn at, insulted, beaten, and targeted weekend after weekend and often every day of the week.

It was a great chance to meet some wonderful people and to show thanks and support, which doesn’t come through when rioters are making havoc as they did again last night.

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Classic Klavan

For some trenchant commentary of current events.

Paul Harvey: A Policeman

And All through the Night

Famous for hard-boiled police stories, Ed McBain delights with And all through the House. Set in his 87th Precinct with thieves and drug dealers getting hauled in on Christmas Eve, McBain creates a – dare I say charming- modern nativity story with 16 year old, Puerto Rican Maria and her young husband José getting arrested for squatting in an abandoned building.

I enjoyed the tough guy bravado and the clever mix of the nativity with the police genre. Published with illustrations that have a straightforward look, this short story was a fun, quick read.

Gosnell

Gosnell, the movie about the raid and trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell whom the police learned about while tracking down illegal drug prescription sales. When raiding Gosnell’s clinic they discover a filthy facility where illegal activity is taking place. Gosnell, who comes across as creepy at best, was discovered to be performing illegal late term abortions, killing babies who survived abortions and of manslaughter in the case of one woman.

The film could be a lot more graphic. It protects viewers from the gore, but it is a violent topic and Gosnell seemed to relish and horde the remains of his work.

Much of the film follows the lead police officer and attorney who prosecute Gosnell. An important subplot involves a young, hip blogger who’s the only journalist with an interest in the story. She become key to the prosecution. It was particularly interesting to see how this young woman was initially given the brush off, but once the lawyer and officer listen, they realize that she has gotten crucial evidence.

The film was initially conceived as a TV movie and has that look. Still the acting was capable. At times the dialog was rather artificial in the way that Hollywood screenwriting can be. Nonetheless, I appreciated this film about a news story I knew little about.

Frank Serpico

While I’d heard of the Al Pacino movie Serpico, I didn’t know the plot or anything other than that Frank Serpico was a NY cop with a rebellious streak. This documentary, Frank Serpico, gives the story of Serpico often in his own words and in the words of New York Times reporters and cops who worked with him.

Frank Serpico is a colorful character and always has been. The film is chronological and provides background on his youth and family. I learned that before Serpico joined the police force, he was a teacher in New York.

Serpico seemed to be a skillful cop who from the start was on the periphery of the force because he wasn’t Irish American. Irish Americans made up the majority of the force. The film makes much of how Serpico was an outsider which made him more likely to speak out, report and testify against the pervasive corruption in the NYPD in the 1970s.

While working in narcotics, Serpico soon discovered that most of his peers were on the take. Another investigation supported Serpico’s conclusion. Cops on up the hierarchy were taking in millions. As predicted, Serpico was targeted by the cops who resented him. If you’ve seen the movie from the ’70s, you know he was shot and abandoned by the other cops. Because a civilian called the police, Serpico got medical attention and lived.

Now in his 80s, Frank Serpico describes what happened and why he was so ethical. There’s an interesting scene when Serpico was reunited with one of the cops who didn’t report Serpico getting shot.

The good cinematography that adds point of view. The movie with Pacino is brought up a lot and as Serpico wasn’t after fame, he exiled himself far from the city. A few areas could have been eliminated or shortened as they were repetitive. All in all, this was a film that held my interest that apparently isn’t as embellished as the Hollywood production. So if you’re interested in the police in general or Frank Serpico in particular, check out this film.

Sepia Saturday

This week bloggers are challenged to share photos of police. To see more posts on this week’s prompt, click here.

Coral Gables Police, 1926, from Florida Memory on Flickr Commons

From Bell Telephone Magazine, 1922, from Internet Archives

Mounted police, New York, 1911 from LOC, Flickr Commons.

From around the world:

Indian and Chinese police, 1910, University of Washington, Flickr Commons

Irish police officers, mid-20th century

Japanese police, 1865, Wikipedia

French police officer, 19th century

French police, 19302