This short film’s idea came to me during the height of police killings in 2018. Innocent black folks were gunned down by cops, repeatedly. I was frustrated. I was angry. To understand the root cause, I started to research the topic.
Most public opinions at that time surrounded “defund the police” without providing viable alternative solutions. Many under-examined issues causing police brutality were: police are operating under extreme stress, lack of mental health support, neglect in coping with PTSD, and upholding a blue wall of silence.
During the research phase, I was inspired to think of two characters: one older white detective and his partner and son-in-law, a black rookie detective. The senior detective is the rookie detective’s father-in-law. I wanted to create circumstances where these two police officers are forced to confront racism and bias and repeatedly experience life-threatening situations to see if they could resolve the problem.
Below is a pivotal scene from the film.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/233cf2b33c98dc6eb09560a94143afbd/cf048b38-550f-418d-acc3-939ba536d03e_rw_3840.jpg?h=b64871aff3b6b90cf19a63bcc9713a74)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/233cf2b33c98dc6eb09560a94143afbd/2f0183be-6906-44c2-835e-b10c4eae8cfe_rw_3840.jpg?h=505c9dd21f0677ad4d5842cbade8f412)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/233cf2b33c98dc6eb09560a94143afbd/2685c496-23c6-4762-8120-efe2abd8aef6_rw_3840.jpg?h=869155b5c4d8c1067234b1700c583078)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/233cf2b33c98dc6eb09560a94143afbd/571e43bd-4173-44d0-8969-356261e413f8_rw_3840.jpg?h=45d03bfbb337d82ab19a17829aa4d5b7)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/233cf2b33c98dc6eb09560a94143afbd/5af133b9-8a49-4df3-8d07-1959a448d038_rw_3840.jpg?h=9a5172402ce470d6421b2809dec6eedd)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/233cf2b33c98dc6eb09560a94143afbd/72664697-b2e8-4e2c-a6d0-541a6352f6b3_rw_3840.jpg?h=b737ab0329d78e8c36c45be8bcf7ea44)