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Behind the Blue Wall (Redux)
In January 2018 I spoke with the Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Pete Nicks about The Force, the second film in his acclaimed trilogy set in Oakland, California, exploring the interconnected narratives of health care, criminal justice, and education in America.
The Force focuses on Oakland’s deeply troubled police department and its history of violence. It won Nicks the Documentary Directing Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, was released theatrically by Kino Lorber, and aired nationwide on PBS’s Independent Lens. (The previous film in the series, The Waiting Room, was set in Oakland’s Highland Hospital, and won the Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit award in 2012. Pete is currently at work on the final segment, Homeroom, set in Oakland’s public schools.)
Our two-year-old conversation is more relevant than ever in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and so many others.
To cite just one example, consider this quote from the film, from an Oakland police captain speaking to a new class of police recruits, telling them:
“One bad cop can destroy a department, can destroy a city, can destroy a country.”
in light of the Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd — I won’t say his name — that captain is not promoting…
