Channel: David Hoffman

Category: People & Blogs

Tags: missouri historykansas city missouri hoodskansas city missouri newspolice tvhomeless drunksstreet drugspolice forcedrunk peoplealcoholism documentarypolice documentarreal lifepolice officers on the streetalcoholismkansas city missouri downtownkansas city missouri police1970s police shows1970s police documentarydavid hoffman filmmakerviolent policekansas cityalcohol documentaryreal life glitches caught on camerakansas city history

Description: Police dramas have been on television since 1951 when Dragnet first appeared. But in the early 1970s, primetime television began to present real documentaries following police on their beats as they did their duties. Most police departments did not allow what you watching here. But Kansas City Missouri did and documentary filmmakers like me found themselves on the streets with the cops filming scenes like these. Several of my colleagues did this work and after a while it got to them. It was depressing. Seeing drunk people, drugged out people, stoned people, poor people, violent people, angry people, frustrated people, on a fairly regular basis violent people, and a continuing series of victims, got to them. They had PTSD and either became completely numb to what they were filming or had to quit their jobs. Although I did not film these scenes, I have filmed in the police cars during the night hours or walking a beat with a cop. It is scary. It is stressful. And it is very difficult for a police officer to maintain his humanity and his empathy when in these situations day after day. It surprised me that people as drunk as these two really remembered it the next day. They had to be told what they were like the previous night which they really believe was as bad as those who witnessed it described.