Celebratory blue and white confetti swirls around the newly anointed New York Police Department (NYPD) cadets at their graduation, but this mesmerizing signifier of hope is a facade. We immediately hear from Officer Gonzales of the NYPD, who explains how senior colleagues within the squad forced him and other officers of color to make arrests—many of them false—to meet illegal and discriminatory quota laws. Experiencing retaliation when they refuse to comply, Gonzales and 11 other officers—the NYPD 12—take their employer to court. Clearly holding the trust of his subjects, filmmaker Stephen Maing uses hidden cameras placed on officers to capture damning evidence uttered by supervisors behind closed doors. By incorporating the perspectives of multiple officers and an ambitious private investigator, as well as insight from the minority population being targeted, Maing creates a fresh and combustive portrait of an issue long reported in the news. The bravery these individuals exhibit by coming forward is truly heroic and a concrete step toward dismantling this unjust systemic practice in America’s police forces.  KR

Q&A following screening