01x02 - We Get Better and Better

[bunniefuu]

dramatic music



[indistinct speech]

When George Floyd died

that really messed a lot of people up, for real.

I'm like, "Bro, what?"

Like, this our-- this in our city.

Like, this just happened like, I don't know.

It was just different this time.

It made me really, like, have a way different look on

police than I already had and I already didn't like them, so...

-Nine. Like...

-Nine.

Stood on his neck.

All they had to do was put him in the car.

Take him to jail and that made me feel...

For real.



[indistinct radio chatter]

-What's up, man?

-What's going on, bro?

You already know why I'm here. I got a call talking about

y'all doing work in the middle of the street.

I'm not in the middle of the street.

I'm at my house.

I'm just telling you what I was told.

Yeah. No, I'm not doing...

I ain't fittin' to f*ck with y'all, man.

Y'all doing y'all thing. It's just not a crime to

work on your car by your house.

As long as y'all ain't in the middle of the street

and you ain't bothering nobody, do y'all thing, man.

I'm just, you know?

-God bless you, brother.

-God bless you, too, my man.

-Y'all stay safe.

-For sure. I will.

You do the same thing. What--hold on.

What's going on? You a mechanic like that?

I got to ask you a question. My truck been knocking.

What kind of vehicle is it?

I got a ' Tahoe.

I'd have to take a look at it. Get my number.

Call me, man. I'm gonna help you out, man.

You better 'cause I'm gonna arrest your a*s.

[laughs]

You f*ck up my own car, I'm gonna arrest you.

[laughs] I'll take it to the back.

All right. Have a good--all right, man.

Small wings.

[indistinct speech]

Oh, what made you want to be a cop?

Well...

huh.

pensive music



I wanted to become a cop because back in the day,

a lot of the kids that I used to coach...

Mm-hmm.

[Rick] They were going to jail.

You know, a lot of the kids around me was going to jail.

You know, so I'm a coach, but I'm a mentor to these kids.

But I wanted to be something

on a grander scheme, a grander scale.

And then I heard OA talking about it

and how much fun it is.

What they were doing and whatnot,

so I just decided that

try to make a difference in the community

'cause that's where the problem is.

It's not the kids, it's the community

that the kids is in. I just wanted to--

I just wanted to get the kids out of the community,

get the kids off the streets.

Get them out of jail, keep them out of jail.

Did you guys see anything when you heard the shots?

[neighbor] Yeah, it was a rapid fire.

-Do, do, do.

-Okay.

[neighbor] There's a drug w*r going on around here.

[Rick] Growing up, I didn't give a f*ck about cops.

We ran from cops.

You know, we threw rocks at cops.

All that stuff, but as I got older,

I learned that--I learned to gain respect.

But then cops just started doing bullshit in Northside.

Pulling people over for no reason.

Another reason why I got into it 'cause I wanted them to see

that cops can be Black also and everybody ain't the same.

And they need to see-- they need to see

a Black face in the community.

You know, that's where me becoming an officer came in,

so it's all about growing up.

Let me ask you this question.

On this play, did you get scared to run?

Because you got hit and you got leveled.

-[laughter]

-[player] Damn.

From the corner, y'all just jogging over there.

At one point, you guys just kind of watch them go by.

I've always wanted to coach at the high school level.

And you know, coaching with my son

has been a great experience.

I mean, I'm not the boss.

He's the boss when it comes to football.

And I've always kept it like that

unless I have to pull daddy card when he's not listening.

[OA] The inspiration to become a police officer

was actually because my daddy and my uncle did it.

[Charles] After I went to college,

I got a degree in law enforcement.

I have a master's degree.

I spent ten years in homicide.

I spent several years in internal affairs,

property crimes, juvenile investigations, right?

I worked the street for a number of years.

I was on the SWAT team.

Mayor Belton, the first African American mayor,

I was her security and driver for eight years.

And now I'm an inspector in the th Precinct.

[OA] I first started working at North as the SRO,

school resource officer.

You're not put there to take kids to jail.

You're there to make sure that

kids cannot be put into the system.

[Tim] I have that protector mentality,

and that's why I got into the profession as a police officer,

why I was an offensive lineman. Because I'm a protector.

[footballer] Ready, go.

[Tim] Let him throw, let him throw, let him throw.

[cheering]

[Tim] Going to North, I was very naive,

very, for lack of a better term, country bumpkin.

You know, that first parent was, like, you know,

"Hey, who's this white boy coming in, teaching our kids?"

And trust is obviously--

in the Northside, trust is a huge factor.

You lose that trust, you lost everything.

Right there's a hole. Yes, sir.

[Charles] I want to be respected by my community.

But even though you're wearing this blue uniform,

you still have to do the right things

in order to get the respect.

[student] Yeah!

You can get him off the ground. You being a bum right now.

[OA] When I seen the video of the George Floyd incident,

I did recognize Derek Chauvin.

I've known him ever since I got into the police department

and I'm like, "Oh, man."

Like, this is all bad.

[shouting and explosions]

We put together a Zoom call with the boys and the coaches.

And I said, "Hey, you might not see me again."

[protestors chanting "George Floyd"]

We were protecting the firefighters right across

the street from when the precinct was burning down.

With , people around us

and people sh**ting in the air,

sh**ting towards us, throwing sh*t at us.

-[expl*si*n]

-[person] f*cking Nazis!

[OA] Being in riot gear

and being out there in the front lines,

I wasn't Black. Like, I was blue.

This is gonna be bigger than the LA riots

and it was.

[expl*si*n]

[news reporter] In remarkable show of solidarity,

protests against racism and police tactics

are showing up around the world.

[news reporter ] Thousands of demonstrators gathered

in London to protest against racism.

[news reporter ] In Germany, protestors poured into

the streets of Berlin chanting...

[news reporter ] From Amsterdam to Paris

and around cities worldwide since this weekend.

[shouting in native language]

[Rick] It's not just George.

It's been going on leading up to George.

George was just a f*cking fall guy.

A lot of Black folks, they're sick and tired

of the same bullshit over and over and over.

So why the f*ck would I trust you

if you're doing the same sh*t?

No justice, no peace.

[indistinct shouting]

My own people were like, "What the f*ck?

He's a cop."

So we were all transformed.

The blue--regardless of what color we were.

[Charles] For us, it doesn't help

to constantly defend bad officers, right?

Because it just ruins our reputation

with community, right?

That community trust.

[shouting]

[news reporter] A year and a half after the m*rder

of George Floyd, a full-scale campaign to eliminate

the department from the city's official governing document.

It's ballot question number two.

[all chanting] No justice, no peace.

f*ck these r*cist-a*s police.

[Charles] They have nothing to replace us, right?

And I think if they did vote yes,

I think you would see more chaos out here on the streets.

The police, like, they think they can do what they want

with nothing, like, the consequence.

[Rick] Mm.

[D. Hill] Why they just sit on his neck

when they could just put him in the car?

Take him to jail. I was shocked, surprised.

Like, I ain't never seen that happen.

But did you hate cops after that?

-[D. Hill] Mm-hmm.

-[Rick] You did?

Okay, so...

I didn't--I didn't like them before that.

But they ain't do nothing to you,

-so why don't you like them?

-[D. Hill] I don't know.

You didn't think they was cool?

Mm-mm.

[Rick] So you didn't like me then.

I did.

How? 'Cause you didn't like police officers.

I ain't never see you as a police.

Where'd you see me?

When I start playing football.

-Set, go.

-[whistle blows]

[D. Hill] Obviously, none of the police

gonna be going to jail

for k*lling people for no reason.

They, like, have an attitude or something

while they on the job.

You don't know what they can do.

They could just sh**t you for no reason.

They can do whatever they want.

D. Hill, throw it like-- almost like a two and a half.

Go.

apprehensive music

As soon as you take a running step...

[player] We got a Caucasian cop, Coach Tim.

He don't care about discrimination.

He just--he's there for you and only you.

And he's gonna make you feel loved no matter what.

But Coach Tim never really changed the way I view police

because it could still be certain police officers

that are r*cist and wanted to k*ll you just 'cause.

Go. Go. Ah, sh*t.

[D. Hill] Coach Rick, he a police officer,

but he cool, and he, like,

he be serious most of the time.

I said play number nine. Play number nine.

-Play number nine.

-Play number nine.

Hit him.

[OA] In the Fridley game, they were totally prepared for us

and I don't think we took advantage

of what we suppose to.

And that's how we suffered a loss.

You don't need to wait for me.

You don't need to wait for me to tell you to do something.

-Do it.

-Watch the tape from last year.

Those are the kind of games

that D. Hill needs to get into.

Missed it. So he can be the leader

and he can lead us to victory

if we're in that situation again.

[D. Hill] [indistinct] to go through life.

[players repeating]

We ask for a chance that's fair.

[players repeating]

Chance to go our stride.

Chance to do a dare.

If we should win.

Live by the code.

Faith and held high.

If we should lose.

We stand by our oaths.

Cheers to winners gone by.

Day by day!

We get better and better.

Till we can't be beat.

-One B-B!

-[all] One B-B! Whoo!

[trimmer buzzing]

[AP] I've been knowing Rick since I was a shorty, man.

He used to be a head coach for my older brother

at Edison High.

And when he first became a police officer,

I didn't know if he really was gonna go through with it.

You know what I'm saying?

Rick is a perfect cop because

he's policing where he grew up at.

He's gonna be a bridge.

If you don't have nothing to connect,

it's gonna always be standoffs.

No room for communication.

Who's though?

We're just getting over that sh*t.

Now, we got, you know, another one coming up.

[news reporter] The city's police chief showed

body camera video of the traffic stop that led

to -year-old Daunte Wright's death.

[person] Taser, taser, taser!

[bleep]

-I just shot him.

-[AP] Oh, wow.

Now, mind you, that lady f*cked up

and everybody know she f*cked up.

But the difference is, and I'm gonna say this,

on the other side-- the difference is that

she really thought she had her--

she really thought she had her taser.

Believe what?

Yeah. Yeah.

We just actually want to chop.

We just genuinely just asked him that.

This is the reason why I say that.

She really thought and she did 'cause she was--

and at a heightened state of--you know you--

the adrenaline's going or whatever.

You--boom. Taser, taser, taser.

Boom. She shot one time.

With a taser, you only sh**ting one time.

Now, if she--now, if she would've shot twice, nope.

Nope.

There's no way 'cause we--when we train to sh**t our g*n,

we don't sh**t one time.

We don't sh**t one time.

There's two of them hit--two in the body, one in the head.

That's the k*ll shot, the one in the head.

All officers are trained to

however they use it, they use it.

So how did you choose to use the wrong weapon at this time?

Your muscle memory gonna constantly do this,

so if I never pull my taser, I never practice--

just like if you're playing basketball.

-[AP] No, agreed. Agreed.

-Cutting hair.

If I never figure out how to use one of these tools

and all of a sudden, I got to use it 'cause

my other ones break, I'ma be f*cked.

And she really f*cked herself because years,

I guarantee you out of years, she never--

she never did this and she was scared.

I feel like at the end of the day that--

that's what's getting to my point.

The whole point is, if you scared,

you shouldn't be in the f*cking community.

If you scared of this job, you can't even live with your job,

and you're that scared where you're gonna every time

you're gonna fail and you're gonna pull for the wrong tool--

for the wrong tool, it's not your job, sweetheart.

Go get you an office job

and get your a*s the f*ck up out of Minneapolis.

[all chanting] Hey, hey, h*, h*.

These r*cist cops have to go.

[news reporter] Tonight with a mounting national chorus

decry police brutality against Black Americans.

There's a new call for deep structural reform

of policing across the country.

Many are now demanding departments now be defunded,

dismantled, or outright abolished.

Jacob Frey, we have a yes-or-no question for you.

Will you commit to defunding Minneapolis Police Department?

[protestor] All right. He wasting our time.

[all chanting] Go home, Jacob. Go home.

[indistinct shouting]

[news reporter] In Minneapolis,

the city council is considering a move

to reform the department.

[all chanting] Shame! Shame!

[news reporter] At a rally, Mayor Jacob Frey was booed

for saying no to dismantling the police department.

[all chanting] Go home!

This council is gonna dismantle this Police Department.

[cheers and applause]

We better start writing our plan

for how to keep community safe without police

because police have failed.

My name's Jeremiah Ellison.

I'm the current Ward city council member

here in Minneapolis on the Northside,

and I'm running for office again.

It is your voice.

It is your fight that has gotten us to this point,

so not one moment of silence for those who have died.

[Charles] He does not like the police.

When he first got elected, I told him,

"If you ever need any advice about law enforcement stuff,

just give me a call 'cause I don't want you

to be out there saying things that's incorrect.

I want to help you, young man."

He never called me.

[news reporter] On Sunday, a majority of Minneapolis

city council members pledged their commitment

to defund the city's police department.

Question two is about

the structure that public safety's

gonna take in our city in the future.

[person over call] Could you explain more of

what that initiative entails?

Yeah, uh, we know that there are whole hosts of responses

that don't necessarily require a police response

and where a police response

isn't necessarily the best response.

All right, they're telling me to say it again.

This council's gonna dismantle this police department.

The idea is that when somebody is in emotional duress,

that we have a different set of professionals

who have some mental health expertise

who can engage, deescalate that person,

and get them the kind of support that they need.

f*ck the police!

[Jeremiah] Community members generated this call

to defund the police and place money elsewhere.

As an elected official, what I have to do is,

I have to say, "Okay, how do we translate

this conversation into policy?"

[all chanting] Yes on two.

Question two would eliminate MPD

and establish the Department of Public Safety.

Will I have a civilian running my precinct

and then I'm out, you know?

You know, and if that's the case, I'll retire.

This is pushed by our council members too.

They want this to happen.

[Jeremiah] The presence of police

hasn't equaled safety.

The other dynamic is, this system that has failed

to create safety occasionally creates irreparable harm.

[Charles] He's been like this from the beginning.

That he wants, you know, police reform

and he's never said otherwise.

[person] Stay calm.

[Jeremiah] There are better responses

that produce a better result,

which equals greater safety in the community.

Is the point that you're team police

and that you just root for them no matter what?

Or is the point that you want

greater safety in your community?

[waitress] You're still doing okay, guys?

-Mm-hmm.

-Yeah, fine.

[waitress] You need another lemonade?

-Yeah.

-[waitress] Okay. Thank you.

[Rick] As a player, what is it that you would want from me?

How can I bring that dog out of you?

Command of the offense.

-[Rick] Command of the offense?

-Mm-hmm.

Depending on how you feeling.

If you in the groove...

How can you tell when I'm, like, in the groove?

You doing, uh, Patrick Mahomes sh*t.

There was one play--oh, my God. We was at home.

We needed the first down, and you was scrambling.

And you threw a dart to Rio on the sideline.

Oh, yeah.

That type of stuff get me in the groove

'cause now I know we on the same page.

[cheers and applause]

[announcer] Welcome to House Field

of North Community High School,

home of the Polars and the place of the Northside Pride.

Let's go, baby.

[OA] If y'all want it, it's right here.

You go and grab it.

It's really up to y'all.

They've been talking sh*t all week, right?

All right, it's time to put up or shut up.

What the f*ck y'all gonna do?

Let's go get it then.

[OA] The football field is a safe place

for anybody in the community.

You can hear all the madness.

You can hear the g*nshots

and you can hear everything going on in the neighborhood,

but for some odd reason,

when them lights flicker at seven o'clock,

you ain't hear none of that.

'Cause the whole hood knows what's going on.

dramatic music

Like, man, don't f*ck up my football game, man.



Trips left, number two. Trips left, number two.

[whistle blows]

-[whistle blows]

-[announcer] Touchdown, Polars.

That's a touchdown.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Go.

[announcer] Polars receive the fumble.



Throw it, throw it, throw it, throw it.

-[whistle blows]

-[player] Field goal.

Oh, that's good, Bobby!

That's good, Bobby!

upbeat rock music



[announcer] That's the end of the first quarter.

That's your offense. Take control of it.

Okay, my job is to call plays.

Your job is to put it out on the field, okay?

-Come on.

-Go.

[Rick] There it is.

[announcer] Touchdown.

Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo-hoo!

[OA] We keep it rolling. We keep it rolling.

[D. Hill] Number eight every time.

He getting the ball. He getting the ball.

So go out and check counter. Check counter.

Go.

[Rick] There it is. There it is.

[announcer] Touchdown, boom.

You f*cking called that. Good call.

[OA] This is a statement right now.

We ain't done yet!

Last time we was in this position,

y'all m*therf*ckers lost.

This is a statement in who's all-in.

Who's all-in? Who's all-in?

[Rick] He ran him over. He ran him over!

He ran him over!

[OA] Let's go.

[announcer] And the Polars win.

[Charles] You have grown up as a quarterback, son.

That is a beautiful thing.

We're gonna go as far as you take us.

-You hear me?

-Let's go, baby.

We'll go as far as you take us. Keep coming.

Keep coming. We ain't done.

[OA] Hey, let me tell y'all something, man.

If y'all want to be champions, that's how you play, baby.

[cheering]

soft music



[school bell rings]

[teacher] Close the door, D. Hill.

All right, so obviously y'all know

we're doing autobiographies today.

I did mine on Thursday, Friday.

All right, remember-- hey, respect the person

that's up here speaking, so don't be on your phones.

Don't be on no laptops.

Y'all need to remember, respect the speaker, all right?

'Cause like I said, they sharing some vulnerable stuff,

some personal stuff, respect when they talking.

All right, D. Hill, the floor is yours.

My name is Deshaun Hill.

I'm a sophomore. I'm .

I was born , March .

Uh, I play quarterback for North varsity.

Talk about school a little bit.

-Oh, when I was in elementary?

-All of it.

Talk about from the beginning.

Yeah, when you first started to--

Oh, when I started elementary, I was bad.

And then when I got to high school and sh*t.

I'm not bad no more.

How did you go from a bad student to a good student?

Like, what happened in school?

It was in kindergarten.

-I tripped the teacher.

-[student] Oh, my God.

I tripped her--I tripped her, and she broke her knee.

-What?

-She broke her knee.

Hey, man.

[D. Hill] She still messed up to this day.

[laughter]

Right. You--

Dumb sh*t. It's not like I got--

I went to court or nothing. It was an accident.

She tripped over me.

Oh, it wasn't like you tried to trip her?

I had my feet out and she tripped over me.

Okay. That's a little different.

I thought you, like-- you said you tripped her,

so I'm thinking you, like, purposefully tripped her.

All right, nobody has questions?

You talking that you gonna win state?

-[D. Hill] Yes.

-Why is that?

-[student] Yeah.

-We're gonna win. That's why.

All right. Good job.

[applause]

That one was about four minutes.

-[person] There he is.

-[person ] Bigsby, it's over.

[player groans]

[Charles] Mauri calls me and tells me that...

Call the precinct, nobody answer the phone.

Call my lieutenant, nobody answer the phone.

Call , they don't f*cking even answer.

So I just hang up, right? Then call me back.

I said, "Man, what the f*ck?"

I said, "Call the precinct, there's nobody answering.

I can't get ahold of my lieutenants

then I call and don't get an answer."

Unbelievable.

I can't even coach football without getting called.

apprehensive music



Before George Floyd, we started at cops.

That was our max.

And now we're at .

People just said, "I'm done. I'm fed up. I'm gone."

Now we're starting to see some of the fallout behind that.

[g*nshots]

[news reporter] The city is seeing violent crime rates

rising and dozens of officers leaving the force.

[news reporter ] A growing number of Minneapolis

police officers have decided to leave their jobs

over what they're describing as a lack of support

by the department in the aftermath

of George Floyd's death.

[Charles] So guys just said, "You know, I'm done.

I can't take it." And we lost a lot of talent.

A lot of good people.

That's the barber shop the guy shot up.

He--they didn't--it look like they're moving out of there.

Shot and k*lled a dude in there a couple months ago.

We don't have a Narcotics Unit in Minneapolis.

We used to, right? We don't have that anymore.

We don't even have a g*ng Unit.

Sometimes I have four cops who work the whole Northside.

Many community members, business owners,

and other stakeholders that I serve

have wanted to know my thoughts on this.

[news reporter ] Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo

has expressed his opinion before on the ballot question

that would replace the Minneapolis Police Department

with a Department of Public Safety, but never like this.

[Medaria] Again, I was not expecting some sort of robust,

detailed, word-for-word plan, but at this point,

quite frankly, I would take a drawing on a napkin.

This vote--vote to remove Minneapolis Police Department,

how do you and your classmates--

what is your understanding of that?

There are some classmates that are worried about it

and they're like, "Are we even gonna have a job in November

because we're the last ones in,

which means we'll probably be the first ones out."

So a lot of them are worried about that

and if they should even, like, continue to try to pursue

and stay with Minneapolis or if they should

start looking for other departments to go to.



[OA] As a kid growing up,

all I knew was the police department

and the relationships they build

and how they establish themselves in the community,

so I wanted to mirror that as well.

You know, working in the schools,

the school resource officers,

you know, working at basketball games,

working at football games.

I seen that growing up,

so really, that was really just a way of life

for men in our family.

So that's why I went on with the tradition.

Do you want to go-- you want to go ahead?

What--how you want to go?

Four center mass, four head.

[OA] Let's go. You ready?

Okay. Yeah.

-Ready?

-[Brittney] Yeah.

[g*nshots]

[Mauri] Officer Adams, Charles Adams,

is a beloved member of North High.

The majority of students and family here

do not want to abolish the police.

Mostly because they don't know

what the other side will look like.

You might've caught up to me.

[laughs]

Oh, sh*t.

[Mauri] Our students have good relationships

with some police officers

and so they're able to say, like, they're not all bad.

So why can't we just focus on aggressively going after

the bad ones and lift up

these good ones?

[player] If something was going to happen,

OA is going to be our safety.

He's gonna put hisself in harm's way to protect us

no matter what it is.

[player] It was called m*rder-apolis.

That's what the city was called.

It happened so much in our city.

It's--I'm used to stuff happening like that.

Like, randomly. It's crazy.

And then you guys got funerals and stuff this weekend, right?

You know, I just want to know how many principals, like,

when they say good bye to their kids

tell them to be safe and also wonder

if they're gonna see them the next day.

I don't think that's normal.



[player] Who's going on the ride?

[Jaylon] I'm trying to get on that green one.

When I was seven, I swear to God,

I cried in line 'cause I didn't want to get on it.

And they took me out of the line.

To this day, I've never got on a ride like that.

Steel Venom? Dead. Never.

[screaming]

I can't do it.

I'm gonna pass out. I'm gonna pass out.

I think, like, we actually can bring it home this year.

We got the team chemistry.

Jaylon, come on.

[Jaylon] Bro, I'm scared.

-Jaylon, come on, man.

-We already prayed, bro.

-Come on.

[player] I feel confident in every single one

of the players on North.

-Hey, we got you.

-Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Y'all touching me too much. I can't do this.

-[laughs]

-I can't do this.

-I can't do this.

-Good bye.

Ah, it's going.

[screaming]

[player] Oh. Oh, sh*t.

[screams]

Oh. Oh.

[laughter and screaming]

soft music



Jaylon, that drop k*lled me.

-I need...

-Really?

How many bites y'all think it'll take me to finish this?

Go. Oh.

[player] I feel like if we actually play as a team

for the rest of this month that we got...

[laughs]

I feel like we can take it home.



My little--my little cousin got shot--got hit in the head,

I think it was around th and Morgan.

Yeah, that's right behind my house.

Yup.

On th and Morgan, he got--he got...

[D. Hill] He still alive, right?

Yeah.

What you thinking about all these shootings going on?

I'm kinda, like, used to it.

Why?

Like, every house I move to, lived in,

it always been a lot of sh**ting around there.

Where you live before you move over here?

-th and Morgan.

-[laughs]

[D. Hill] It was worse over there.

Yup.

I lived on th and Morgan, so yeah, I know.

[D. Hill] One day, I got off the bus,

there's just a dude.

He, like, on the floor bleeding.

Nobody, no police, nothing.

No, I ran all the way home. Told my mom.

Mm.

[D. Hill] I think he was dead.

pensive music



[Chester] Hey, guys, hey.

You got another question for them?

You wanna go up there, ask a question?

[person] He said he's not ready yet.

Here's getting scary. Rio.

Rio, what's your question?

[Jeremiah] My name is Jeremiah Ellison.

I'm the current Ward city council member,

and I'm running for reelection

because we are currently in the middle of a really

important conversation in our city, which is

how are we gonna keep each other safe in Minneapolis?

How are we gonna keep each other safe

in North Minneapolis especially?

[Cathy] I'm running for th Ward city council

because you know what? I feel as though

our community has definitely been abandoned

and we are always the ones that are left behind.

[applause]

[person] We have a student question.

Do you think that our police and our other systems

in Minneapolis are r*cist? Why or why not?

We need to really look at how are they hiring

and culturally, specifically training people

to build relationships with us?

Because being a police officer used to be a great job.

We need to know, what are they doing?

The real question is, if this system has produced

r*cist outcomes over and over again,

how are you gonna turn the ship?

I'm currently fighting so that the council can have

some legal authority over the police department.

I am not willing to give authority to people

to disband, dismantle our Minneapolis Police Department.

You can't give authority to people that want to use

emotional decisions versus concrete decisions.

[moderator] Thank you.

[Jeremiah] The city council needs to have

some legislative authority over the police department.

Investing in more violence prevention,

expand mental health response,

expand traffic enforcement that's unarmed,

so that we don't have things like Daunte Wright

and Philando Castile happening in our city.

Uh, and--

Don't talk to me about what you're doing now.

Talk to me how you had four years.

You're a Black man in Black skin,

but because you're not addressing Black issues,

I can't--I'm running for office.

I've got years of experience.

[Jeremiah] I can't honor that. That's an absurd notion.

Cathy, you're usually pretty honest.

I don't know why you decided

to step up here and lie on this stage.

-Oh, oh.

-[moderator] Okay.

All right, hold on. Um.

[Cathy] You calling me a liar? You calling me...

[Jeremiah] If you're saying I haven't advanced policies

for Black people, that's absurd.

I've been working in this community for years.

I have a great reputation in this community.

Don't you ever publicly say that I'm lying about anything

'cause I would never say that about you

and you know I roll with you.

Don't play no games with me.

[person ] Thank you for all the students

who came up and asked questions.

We're gonna have a ten minute break to turn over the stage

and let the mayoral candidates...

Don't. No. You should've done it publicly.

[inaudible arguing]

apprehensive music



[phone ringing]

Joey'll be and .

I tell people, I said,

"I'm the nicest cop you're ever gonna meet."

But it's frustrating 'cause, you know, I'll be out there

just talking, having a conversation

just like we're having right now,

and all of a sudden I'll hear across the way

just people scream, "Oh, you know, the white--

you know, white pig, he's gonna sh**t ya

and he's gonna this and that."

And it's like--it's worrisome 'cause a lot of the officers

who've done it for many, many years

just kind of get burnt out.

And it's like, man, why do I want to come to work

and get yelled at and screamed at and you know,

told you're, you know, you're the devil?

And it's like, it gets frustrating.

If they do make this vote go through,

what happens to all the cops who do still give a damn

and that might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

And all of a sudden, you just lost all your--

the final good ones, you lost them all.

Now what? You know?

Y...ya.

-Yak.

-Yak.

-See? This is a yak.

-[laughs]

[Tim] We're not robots. We're human beings.

And we are the first ones on scene.

We see the worst of the worst.

We see the things that you'd never even want to talk about.

And I've been on scenes where the person on scene

is the same age as my daughter

or has the same hairstyle as my wife.

And then all of a sudden, I supposed to go home

and now, I'm dad and now I'm whatever.

Mental health is such a huge part of policing,

nad I mean, people are going out by the

hundreds right now of PTSD,

but he goes to work every day

and puts on his best face.

And you know, he treats everyone like a human being

and you know, tries to talk to people.

And he's one of the good ones,

so very proud of him.

[child] I want some drink.

[Brooke] Yeah, we'll go get some water.

I know I probably shouldn't made it this far

I know why my haters

[indistinct chatter]

I be praying for my brothers when I go to sleep

'Cause I know all the n*gg*s I get

[laughs]

Uh, Tad, Meiko, police pull y'all over

for anything,

answer the questions.

Don't try to, you know?

'Cause that's what they--some of them,

um, out here, they look for.

I'm not saying all cops are bad,

but they--the ones that are,

they don't care nothing about Black people.

A human being period.

Get rid of them.

Let the ones--the one that serve and protect

our people

give them, you know, a problem.

The funding, the police,

I wasn't too much with that, you know?

Everybody got to make a living.

It's not the police department, it's just police officers.

They need to monitor who they hire

and who they put on the force,

but there's a lot of good policing out there.

They protect me.

[Romyia] I want to say something.

From all the sh**ting and stuff,

family is dying from this,

and I like hanging out with my family.

[Rosalind] That's right.

So people need to really stop

and just live their lives regularly.

That's right, baby.

So what we doing about De la Salle then?

-We gonna run it up.

-We gonna run it up again.

[person] We gonna run the score up?

Ain't you try to--

We put the state on notice, but now we can't put the state

-on notice and chill, you know?

-You gotta keep going.

I just keep having good games, getting a touchdown

at least every game.

[guest] You can't be shy, baby. Go get 'em!

Ah!

Having a teenage son, I fear every day.

Meiko's not a bad child. That don't mean nothing.

Like, I just think that somebody's gonna see him

and don't, like, like what they see,

or they just want what he got, or he's gonna be

at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Meiko got his license, and it's convenient

for him to drop me off at work sometimes

so he can pick his brother and sister up and stuff,

so I just tell him, like,

"They could pull you over

at any time. You legit.

You got Ls and insurance on the car,

but they could pull you over at any time.

There's no need for you to have no attitude.

You know, just speak respectfully,

answer questions, do what they tell you to do,"

and I always been like that

before anything ever started.

Like, that's just how I told my son.

I ain't never told my son that they was the enemy

or, "Oh, they bad," or this and that

'cause you never know when you gonna need 'em,

so I don't think nothing changed with me

with how I wanted my kids to respect the police

or talk to the police or anything.

soft dramatic music



f*ck.

[announcer ] And it's incomplete.

[announcer ] Any surprise that there's

-no score yet?

-[announcer ] None.

[chuckles]

In these weather conditions?

Not a shocker.

dramatic music



[Mauri] There's a lot of people

who are Black here in North Minneapolis

who feel like this "abolish the police" conversation

is coming from kind of some, like,

bleeding-heart, white space

where it's just like, "We need to abolish the police

because that will make Black people feel better."

And they feel outnumbered by white voters.



When it comes to law enforcement

in America, we have pretty solid data

that says we're in a catch-.

We take a risk of loss of life with law enforcement,

and we take a risk of loss of life without.

[announcer ] Touchdown, Polar!

[Mauri] I think we need a department

full of cops who are coming to w*r for us every day.

I've had officers roll up-- they're not even

making eye contact with me.

They're not even getting out of your car.

You don't care about me.

And then I've had officers get out of their car,

take their hat off when they're talking to me.

Like, now I feel like you came to rescue me.

[announcer ] Touchdown!

-Yeah! -Yeah!

I think that what the officers at North High are doing

is great work.

Coach Adams, tremendous coach

and probably really, really good in his role as an SRO.

He's got deep roots on the Northside,

and when I see my neighbors put a lot of respect

towards him and towards his contributions

to the Northside, that's something

I take very seriously.

Does that mean that I'm gonna give up

or that I'm not gonna find new opportunities

to continue this fight to defund the police?

No, I'm absolutely gonna pursue this.

dramatic music