The Force

source: The Force

The Force is Peter Nicks's documentary about the Oakland Police Department which was placed under Federal oversight in 2003 due to allegations of police brutality and other sundry criticism involving racial insensitivity, violation of civil rights, etc. The main focus throughout is on Sean Wendt, the chief of the OPD (Oakland Police Department), a low-key liberal who has been brought in to effect the needed reforms and eventually restore the department's integrity. The reforms include body cameras, teaching about the racist history of the OPD, racial sensitivity classes and a de-emphasis on alternatives to the deadly use of force. In the first half hour (the weakest part of the film), things appear to be going well, with no reported police shootings in a calendar year. Much of the footage at this point is routine, reminding one of a typical episode from the long-running COPS TV show. Wendt's pronouncement that "it's a difficult time to be a police officer in this country" is borne out by the slew of protests (mainly fueled by the Black Lives Matter movement) which are chronicled in detail by Nicks. Suddenly things get a lot more interesting when a slew of police shootings occur and Wendt is forced to defend the use of deadly force in each incident. Footage from body cameras is effectively used to depict the nature of the shootings-notably misinformation is spread by so- called community "activists" who claim victims have been shot in the back, with no cause. One "activist" is observed at a community meeting claiming that all cops are corrupt and is met by another man in opposition who denies the police force consists of all "bad apples." More interesting footage involves a focus on training classes for the new recruits. Some of them are not as progressive as Chief Wendt would hope, voicing opinions praising the excessive use of force as a justified response to life-threatening scenarios. The Force's denouement is even more surprising when Oakland's Mayor accepts Chief Wendt's resignation for his failure to properly investigate a sex scandal involving some of his officers. A succession of temporary appointments by the mayor for the position of Chief of Police end up in almost immediate resignations, another sign of the Department's disarray. In the end, the OPD must remain under Federal oversight and the initial optimism seems to recede into the background. Nicks could have done more to explore the nature of Wendt's resignation, explaining in more detail what actually occurred with that sex scandal. Despite its slow start, The Force is a solid and fairly gripping examination of a modern day police department in turmoil.

"The Force" is Peter Nicks second film in a trilogy of films in which he investigates the interaction between community and institution; the institutions that effect our daily lives, e.g., health, security, and education. In his first film, "The Waiting Room", Nicks portrayed a day and night in an Oakland hospital emergency room. In "The Force", Nicks and his team go inside the Oakland Police Department, investigating just how it is working to comply with a decade+ old federal oversight ruling, which was instigated after years of abuse and corruption. The Oakland Police Department has made national headlines in recent years, yet it is not so dissimilar to other urban police departments, which is why "The Force" works as a documentary about the connection between community and it's protectors across the whole of the country. At the opening, when the new recruits gather to say a Christian prayer, I was skeptical. Would this be a love story to the police force? But once I settled in, this documentary proved it was attempting to show the facts, for good or ill. While I do believe that Nicks allowed the OPD to display their good side, he did not let them hide their dirt either. When emotions run high, it is difficult to stand back and show both sides fairly, but I think Nicks did just that. In the Q&A following the film, Nicks explained that "The Force" had wrapped filming and even editing when the news broke that the OPD was involved in an underage prostitution scandal involving multiple officers and a massive cover-up. With little money and time, the entire crew decided to go back and film some more. They had to re-cut the film to include this latest information, which probably impacted the final film a bit for the worse, but added a twist that was absolutely necessary to the narrative. 13 years later, and the OPD is still fighting it's demons. Like "The Waiting Room", I cannot recommend this film enough. It is a brilliant documentary. Because of the last minute changes, I think it got a bit muddled, but even so, it still managed to produce a stunning look at the relationship between police and community in an urban environment, in a time when we are struggling to find justice and peace. Not to mention, that today with Jeff Sessions vowing to remove these federal oversights, how relevant this movie becomes as we see first hand the importance such oversights have in protecting our most vulnerable people.

After watching the community complain about the shooting of Nate Wilks I searched for videos and still images of body cam footage. REALLY? You can quite CLEARLY hear the officers telling him to stop and drop the gun...he does neither...then you can CLEARLY see the gun in his hand as he turns toward the officers right before they fire on him. Deadly force totally justified here.

A strong film that tackles a charged subject in a fair and even-handed manner. The Force will give viewers of all social and political persuasions much to think about afterwards.

Trailer—The Force

The Force