End Of Watch Film Analysis

Throughout the movie “End of Watch” follows along with Officer Brian Taylor (Gyllenhaal) and Officer Mike Zavala (Pena) on their daily patrols in the inner city of Los Angeles. During the course of the movie, there are many things that Officer Taylor and Officer Zavala do that is very common and even accepted among police officers. But, one reoccurring theme is that they use foul language while on duty, act unprofessional, and use excessive force. In addition, Officer Taylor is actively recording his daily activities while on duty with a handheld video camera and lapel body cameras for both himself and Officer Zavala. Even though Officer Taylor was repeatedly told to cease his filming by fellow officers and supervisors he continued his behavior.

The first thing that needs to occur is a public apology by both officers and suspension from active duty while a thorough Internal Affairs investigation is conducted. Additionally, Officer Taylor and Officer Zavala will undergo remedial training in de-escalation techniques, verbal communication techniques, and the use of force continuum. If their behavior was to go unaddressed then it has the potential to further hurt police and citizen relations in that community. According to Davids (2014), “... improper conduct itself represents an abuse of the public office that is held by the person concerned — it violates both the public trust that attaches to the holding of public office and the integrity that is expected of those occupying such positions” (p. 90). In addition, the police department will be looking into getting a federal grant for the distribution of body cameras and tasers for all patrol officers. Tasers would allow officers the ability to quickly resolve a violent confrontation without the need of added risk of further injury to all involved. The hope of the body cameras is that supervisors can monitor the behavior of their officers and also use the video footage as training opportunities on how officers could do better in the future. According to Lawrence (2015), “Proponents of the technology claim that benefits of body cameras include the ability to record all interactions and conversations between police and citizens’ and the ability to keep law enforcement officers accountable for the amount of force they use during altercations” (p. 615). With the level of authority that is given to officers to conduct their duties there needs to be a high level of accountability and body cameras could easily provide the desired level of accountability. As Klockars (2000) points out, “As the