Almost five years removed from the height of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, shouts condemning cops still haunt the streets of Washington, D.C. While graffiti protesting abusive police practice may be washed away and large mass protests ended, the sentiments are still alive. So too are sentiments backing the police, embodied in the rallying cries of the cops' allies – “Back the Blue!” and “Blue Lives Matter!” In fact, the cops’ rallying cries have lingered not in the streets but on screens, manifested in the media through mainstream pro-police propaganda in the form of scripted crime series.
Take, for example, the wildly popular show “High Potential.” The series, which premiered in September, features a struggling, relatable single mom who is given the chance to become a police consultant after catching a criminal who evaded the best detectives. In the first episode, a high-ranking officer treats her with compassion and a wise, Fairy Godmother-like kindness. The show highlights the cops’ cleverness, quick wit, and need to do good. Each and every case is personal to the main characters, and they routinely sacrifice their safety to solve puzzling crimes. The cops are portrayed as regular, intelligent, educated do-gooders, supposedly like all other police officers. But, this representation could not be more wrong.
Police officers’ training consists of only 12 weeks to 28 weeks (four to seven and a half months) of police academy courses, highly focused on the physical aspect of policing – weaponry, tactical combat skills, and driving. The academic portion of their training covers basic criminal and constitutional law, how to write a report, ethics, and how to form bonds with civilians. Resourcefulness, cleverness, and advanced investigative skills are not required to graduate from the police academy. Trainees are able to become police officers, individuals entrusted to capture criminals by the letter of the law while wielding firearms, faster than students can earn a marketing or music degree.
This condensed police officer education is concerning in light of the fact that, according to the University of Illinois Chicago, civilian deaths at the hands of cops have doubled since 2010, with an annual total of 800 in 2022. Even more astonishingly, a million civilians are threatened with police violence annually, with 75,000 civilians ending up in the hospital. These statistics stand in stark contrast to the on-screen portrayal of police trainees learning de-escalation tactics, which is emphasized in cop shows such as “The Rookie.” Though premiering in 2018, it gained massive popularity recently, with weekly viewers doubling in 2023. The show follows a middle-aged man, John Nolan, who is inspired to become a cop after helping the police stop a robbery. He is cast as a down-to-earth, non-violent man who has done little to no wrong in his life, essentially, a naive adult. The show invites viewers to sympathize with the police.
An episode from the first season, “Time of Death,” particularly stands out as pro-cop. It follows Nolan through a robbery turned foot chase, ending with the suspect aiming his gun at Nolan, which prompts Nolan to fatally shoot the suspect in the chest. Throughout the episode, the show highlights, from Nolan's perspective, the rigorous and often antagonizing legal procedure cops are put through after killing a suspect. The audience is invited to sympathize with Nolan, who is mercilessly interrogated by his bosses for killing a man, even though he is in a state of shock.
The fact that Nolan killed a man is almost forgotten as the episode continues, as it then focuses exclusively on how emotionally exhausting the interrogation is for him. Let us not forget, however, that a man is dead. Should his killer, whoever they may be, not be thoroughly investigated and brought to justice in case the kill was unjustified? Nolan shot in self-defense, but the process of treating each police killing as a potential crime is framed as the product of an overly harsh and emotionally unhealthy system. This treatment is a direct example of police shows leading viewers to sympathize with cops by making the law into an instrument of mistreatment rather than accountability. This is a trait associated with the chants of the Blue Lives Matter campaign that deplore violence but, in the same breath, defend killing innocent Black people in the name of cops’ misguided self-defense.
Not only are the police in our society often viewed as above regular civilians and the law, for many privileged people, the word “cop” is synonymous with “hero.” Cops are here to keep society safe and sacrifice themselves for civilians. They are undoubtedly trustworthy individuals. And it is no surprise that this attitude prevails as there are entire kids' shows dedicated to cops saving the day, such as the well-known animated series “PAW Patrol.”
An even more relevant example is the CW series “The Flash,” which recently ended after a successful nine-season run. The program quite literally follows a police forensic investigator by day, superhero by night, boy-next-door character. The cop, after gaining superpowers, naturally uses them selflessly to save the city from the villains who gained superpowers in the same accident. Of course, none of the other newly superpowered individuals were formerly policemen. While the main cop character contaminates evidence, tampers with police investigations, and generally messes with the justice system during his vigilante stunts, the audience waits on the edge of their seat, hoping the hero gets away with it and saves the day, despite breaking the law. He is the judge and jury for his antagonists, even going as far as building his own prison for these villains without even giving them a trial.
While we cheer for cops capturing criminals, we also learn to sympathize with the characters, often experiencing their policing through one singular perspective, which paints their actions as anything but questionable and ignoble. While some might claim these shows humanize cops, in reality, these shows make it harder for us to accept cops as anything other than perfect, respectable heroes. Shows should, instead, portray cops as humans with flaws and blunders who are not always focused on spreading goodness.
When a cop is presented with their badge, they are not automatically ordained by a higher power to act honorably and to always make the best decisions possible. These television shows create a general narrative that cops are above making any mistakes and, sometimes, even the law. This normalizes the unconditional pro-police stance of “Blue Lives Matter” to their audience: our general, unassuming society and the few extra-conservative viewers the premise will attract.