The show, ‘Shades of Blue,’ is quality, but the premise of it is sadly a reality that people fight against every day.
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Last night, NBC premiered the pilot episode of ‘Shades of Blue,’ a policing drama starring Ms. Jennifer Lopez, a famous singer, dancer and actress.
Ms. Lopez plays a NYPD detective who’s corrupt. The first episode shows Detective Harlee Santos (Ms. Lopez) covering up the wrongful death of an African-American man via an officer-involved shooting.
The character of Det. Santos goes as far to shoot rookie officer Mr. Michael Loman (played by Dayo Okeniyi of the Hunger Games), who made the bad shot, in order to keep up appearances with the false narrative that’s impending.
Det. Santos also coaches Officer Loman on how to give his false statement to Internal Affairs. And though Officer Loman is hesitant and quite resistance to become the stereotypical lying cop, Det. Santos is able to convince him to do just that, reminding him that their badge means they are family, and family protects one another.
The timing of the show’s debut coincides with a national conversation in America about the dark side of policing: racial profiling, unnecessary use of force, corruption and the blue wall of silence.
Moreover, the premiere, that depicts the lengths in which cops are willing to go to cover for one another, aired a day before attorneys in Chicago allege police falsified accounts given by citizens who witnessed the murder of Mr. Laquan McDonald, a 17 year-old black teenager who was shot 16 times – most of the bullets hit Mr. McDonald as he was stretched out on the ground virtually motionless – by Mr. Jason Van Dyke, a white officer.
According to CNN, there were at least three witnesses to the officer-involved shooting of Mr. McDonald who were threatened by officers and ordered to change their accounts to match the official Chicago police version of the shooting.
“It’s not just the officers on the street,” Mr. Jeffrey Neslund, attorney for Mr. McDonald’s estate, said to CNN, “It’s a lieutenant, a sergeant and detectives – and the lengths they went to justify what simply was not true.”
In ‘Shades of Blue,’ it’s also not just beat officers engaging in malfeasance, but a Lieutenant (played by Ray Liotta), too. And in the first episode, a line is said by Det. Santos (Ms. Lopez) that pretty much sums up the shooting of Mr. McDonald, and any ambiguous police shooting for that matter: “The truth is in the paperwork.”
The show in itself is quality, but the premise of it – the tagline for the show is “Between good cop and bad cops, there are shades of blue” – is sadly a reality that many Americans are fighting against every day. And some Americans, particularly those who protest under the banner of Black Lives Matter, would argue there are no “good cops in a racist system.”
‘Shades of Blue’ will do little to improve citizens’ perception of police, thought it may justify the anger many have towards the institution. But if the latter does manifest, it’s not the fault of the show or its actors, as ‘Shades of Blue’ is literally art imitating life.
CLICK HERE to hear my exclusive interview with the nephew of a 55-year-old woman accidentally killed by Chicago police.
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Keep a look out in January 2016 for an NPR Music documentary starring Grammy Award-Winner Mr. Christian McBride and co-starring Mr. Christopher “Flood the Drummer” Norris.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™