Well, this has been a long time coming. So, here it is. THREAD:

#FlashbackFriday
#Flashpoint @Flashpoint_TV @FlashpointTeam1

Years ago, I had the pleasure of working w/ a TV show as a fan-turned-social media teammate. It's all well-documented. Link in profile for more on that.

The show was called #Flashpoint and followed a fictional police Strategic Response Unit (SRU) based on the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force (ETF).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashpoint_(TV_series)

And it was a good show created by very caring people ABOUT caring people.

About cops.

I've had several people ask me about it in the context of today, where I am vocal about things like police brutality, law enforcement corruption, #BlackLivesMatter , #BreonnaTaylor, #ElijahMcClain, etc.

The entertainment industry itself is under scrutiny for #copaganada.

Here's the thing, though.

I don't put the show in that category. Not entirely, anyway. If you aren't familiar with it, the SRU was (per type) sent to all the high tension calls you'd expect of a SWAT-class team.

So, why don't I see it as complicit in #copaganda?

I'll answer that by starting at the criticisms.

The show definitely portrays our lead characters in a favourable light. It doesn't mean they're flawless but they are designed to be liked. They're good cops and good people. Whether that's a bad thing or not is up to you.

Secondly, they're kitted out. Short of armored vehicles, they're definitely a military style unit. There's even a .50 cal Barrett M82A1 rifle used in an episode. The show was happy to use advanced weapons and tech, including the topical "less lethal" class.

It IS debate-worthy.

But that's where we turn away from criticism.

For all the positive portrayal & military equipment, the remarkable thing about #Flashpoint (and part of the reason it never became a big hit, IMO) is because its bad guy body count was LESS THAN its number of episodes.

In fact...

...I would wager its number of (featured) actual "bad guys" was probably less than its number of episodes.

Because the show wasn't really about villains. It was generally about people caught in or pushed to extreme situations. And that was exhibited in the team's methodology.

Our good cops were taught over and over to investigate, contain, and de-escalate first and foremost BEFORE acting with force. And the team's criterion for exigent circumstances was very high.

(I'm not gonna explain the whole show but this is critical to its concept.)

Y'know that trope of the good cops having to fend off the action-hungry SWAT team? This show inverted it. The pressure to act with deadly force pushed against the team's mandate to bring everyone in/home alive.

That was the dramatic tension of almost all episodes, from day 1.

And I'm not even going to get into the other axiom of the show which was the emotional and behavioral cost, along with the need to fight past the stigma against #mentalillness, in order seek healthy care and remain "Fit For Duty."

Yet, that is why I'm proud of the show...

Because despite whatever elements of #copaganda this show had, it was not propaganda. It was instructional.

And it was aspirational.

It was uncompromising in saying "THIS is what we should strive for. THIS is how we protect and keep the peace. And THIS is the human cost of it."

As a social media admin. assist (to the great @SharonMustos alongside the diligent @KateEvans68), I was privy to fan responses. And I can tell you something interesting.

Fans from most countries just loved the show in the way one might expect. But fans in the USA...

Well, they had an added element.

They wished the policing in real life was what they saw on the show. And when the show went from CBS to ION, which had a higher Black demographic, that notion multiplied.

"Why can't cops be like Team One?" was the crux of it.

And that's where I am today with #Flashpoint. That's what I think the show brings to the conversation.

In fact, I wonder sometimes what part the show played in motivating people to push for change. Not a lot, if any, I know. Its viewership wasn't high enough.

And yet...

...I can't put the memory of those comments out of my mind. "Why can't our cops do that?" "All police should be trained like this." "I wish this show were real."

And honestly, the pride I have in the show is tempered with heartbreak.

Because, really, WHY can't they be?!

Was the fictional SRU perfect? Are the real ETF perfect? No and no. But they try to be. They have standards and accountability. They work(ed) every day to improve. Their procedures and tactics were designed to be deadly ONLY as a last resort and NEVER as a convenience.

As a gift (one of many kindnesses), the show bequeathed me its prop Use Of Force chart which hung in the HQ set. They asked me what I wanted when the show wrapped.

That was it.

I see it every day in my home. It's a pillar of the team's existence. And it haunts me in a good way.

It is a reminder of the reason I, who once had a hand in the marketing of a "good cop" show, will push for police reform, accountability, MENTAL HEALTHCARE, and justice.

A literal prop from a cop show helps fuel my advocacy for #BlackLivesMatter .

Because I know, in my heart of hearts, that there is a better way. There is a way in which we can have trained guardians who are there to actually protect and serve.

There is a better way to #KeepThePeace.

All that is required is for society to want it enough.

One day, the outcome of Never Kissed A Girl (ep. 1.08) will be the norm in the United States and Canada.

"Nobody dies today."

And I will stand behind #Flashpoint for this exact reason. Because it lights the way and shows us how we as a society should have compassion. It demonstrates how police (even non-tactical police) as a service can improve.

It inspires us to aspire to build that better reality.

Is this Polyannaish? Maybe.

But I don't care. Good is rarely accomplished by saying "It can't be done."

___
This will get me in trouble with my #AbolishThePolice pals but I'm will not pretend I feel otherwise.

Also: #BreonnaTaylorsKillersAreFree and #JusticeForElijahMcClain

Ugh, Angelo. Errors from last-minute revisions would be solved by following the known process of another proofreading pass, you dummy.