imperfection is perfection
Sporadic film reviews by a wanna-be filmmaker
PEACE OFFICER [2015]
Directed and Written by Brad Barber, Scott Christopherson
Similar somewhat to The Thin Blue Line in the way it investigates a broken justice system with the intention of raising awareness about the issues talked about, Peace Officer follows a Utah local named William ‘Dub’ Lawrence, who had served as sheriff in the 1970’s. During his time as sheriff the concept of SWAT teams was created, and in 1975 Dub thought that his county could use such a unit for hostile and violent situations.
30 years later, the SWAT team he created was responsible for the unwarranted shooting of his son-in-law.
Having worked as a police officer himself, while also being a very knowledgeable investigator, Dub has been obsessed with the case over a four year period, putting together a truly massive amount of information and evidence. Dub freely admits that it is a bit of an obsession, but hell, who could blame him? His friendly and caring nature gives the film a much needed heart, as he meets other families in the area who have suffered similar family tragedies. Without Dub and his giant grin and personality, this film could have felt like a sterile, depressing, news-style documentary. What we get however is extensive investigation into each of the crime scenes, usually coupled with stories from family members about the incident. Most of the film is narrated excellently by Dub.
Being a former law-man himself, these events worry Dub for more reasons than one. His son-in-law was fatally shot while posing no risk to anyone but himself. The other families Dub talks to have all report slightly different experiences, but they all involve the police and their heavy handed methods, eroding any trust these people may have had in law enforcement.
These heavy handed methods are scrutinised in the film, such as the excessive amount of military equipment now made available for small police departments, or the fact that SWAT teams are now used to execute simple search warrants, rather than their original intended function. In some cases, these SWAT teams park their cars around the corner or down the street, so the person living in the house they intend to breach has no idea the police have arrived. This can of course result in chaos, not to mention psychological trauma. How are these people supposed to know that it is the police who has broken into their house without warning??
This last sentiment really rings true when watching a leaked ‘helmet cam’ video of a SWAT team breaching a house. The ruthlessness of their actions is chilling.
This doco makes use of multiple police videos, and effectively shows how trigger-happy officers can sometimes be, acting and dressing as if they are an invading force against the people, who have seemingly become the enemy. This is the core theme I took from the film (especially considering the title), as the notion that a police officer’s duty is to ‘protect and serve’ is becoming more absurd and untruthful as time goes by. This contrasts greatly against Dub’s time as sheriff, who reminisces early in the film on an old news article reporting that Dub had accidentally parked in a no parking spot, and upon being told about it, he wrote himself a ticket. It is a corny little story but it summarises the type of person Dub is, and more importantly the type of police officer he was. He was someone who could be trusted to protect and serve.
The film must also be given credit for interviewing police officers as well as the families affected. But given how well the facts of the film are presented, I found it hard to not laugh at their ignorance. Not one of them could see past their rose-tinted glasses. Each one effectively says the same thing in a different way: “there is nothing wrong with training provided and we aren’t worried about the causalities that your film is focusing on”. This unfortunately isn’t surprising, as they are in a position of power. It isn’t in their best interest to acknowledge that yes, their methods are broken and need to be closely examined; that yes, innocent people are being killed, injured, imprisoned or scared stupid every day. Some of the statistics presented are mind-blowing.
For example, from 2010-2014, officer-involved shootings in Utah accounted for more deaths than drug and gang violence combined. If that doesn’t make you wary then you need to look around and open your eyes a little. I may not be a US citizen, but the behaviour and attitudes of their police forces has already trickled down to Australia, followed by the dark, dark blue, almost black, menacing uniforms. Never in Australia have the police seemed like such an enemy to the people, at least in my neck of the woods.
“I don’t think mankind is equipped to deal with injustice forever” – William ‘Dub’ Lawrence
28 Comments on “PEACE OFFICER [2015]”
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CONTRIBUTIONS TO CINEMAAXIS
LAMB #1758
Blogs I Follow
imperfection is perfection 
You sure find some interesting movies.
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😀 thank you Ashley. yeah I look around a lot to find stuff that I wouldn’t hear about otherwise
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I’m glad you do. I can enjoy some mainstream things, but I tend to prefer others. Especially European films.
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Yeah I’m the same. I love Euro films. Especially French ones
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Have you watched any Francois Truffaut?
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I’ve seen a couple of his flicks yeah, I wanna see more. I am thinking of buying a boxset of his movies if one exists as there are a ton I haven’t seen. I did like The Last Metro, though I don’t think that is one of his more acclaimed films
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If I remember correctly, I didn’t much like that one but I remember Catherine Deneuve is in it. The 400 Blows is great. I recently watched The Soft Skin which I enjoyed except for the melodramatic ending. That one stars Francoise Dorleac, Catherine Deneuve’s older sister who died in a car crash when she was only in her twenties.
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Damn there really are so many French, and Italian films that I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to watching. There is always so much good recent stuff around
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Doesn’t really matter, eh? So long as you keep finding things that you like. 🙂
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True. Still, there are a ton of old Italian movies i really wanna see. I’ll get round to it eventually 🙂 I’m gonna have something to eat then I’m goin to the cinemas, have a good night!
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Have fun. 🙂
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Will do!! 😀 I wanna see if The Martian is as good as people are saying
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Report back with your findings. 🙂
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https://epilepticmoondancer.net/2015/10/08/the-martian-2015/
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I just remembered another Truffaut that I liked: Jules and Jim.
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I have that one… on my computer, cos I couldn’t find it anywhere else. Yeah I def gotta pick up a boxset, sure there must be one with his best stuff
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This documentary sounds great, especially since it deals with a topic that I feel should be more frequently addressed (and problematized) by the media. I will definitely check it out, thanks for bringing it to my attention!
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Agree with you on all counts there Veronika. That is what makes it such a good watch, no one else wants to touch these issues
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This sounds extremely interesting.
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It really is man. Both this and KILLSWITCH have some really important info
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I can’t say I’ve even heard of Peace Officer, but it sounds really interesting!
– Allie
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Thanks for commenting! 🙂 I’d highly recommend it, especially if you live in the US but even if not, US policies often spread across most of the Western world eventually
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Never heard of this but your review makes it sound pretty engrossing.
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The best part is the narrator/main character Dub. If only police officers were more like him
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Great review. I’ve heard good stuff about this one and am watching for it. Sounds like the officers were all prepared with a party line, which is unfortunate. I understand the defensiveness, but we’re never going to get anywhere closer to a solution with that kind of attitude.
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Yup yup and yup. Agree with everything you said, they all towed the party line well. Because Dub is such a great investigator/narrator the film never becomes boring. Definitely worth a watch. The way these local police counties can get access to freaking tanks is a disgrace.
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Sounds like one worth watching, and particularly timely now. Good read Jordan!
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Thanks mate! 🙂
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