“No one calls us to give us good news. They call us because something bad is happening so they’re in a crisis,” a voiceover explains in a new trailer for Jenifer McShane’s “Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops.” The San Antonio cops at the center of the HBO doc, Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro, want their colleagues to be better equipped to handle these crises, and to change the way that police respond to mental health calls.
“On average in a police academy in this country, they spend 60 hours or more learning how to shoot a gun, and they spent eight on mental health and communication,” they explain, helping to contextualize why some police officers resort to violence far too quickly. “We need to shift that.”
“As human beings, we have to be connected,” the cops emphasize.
“I want people to consider the magnitude of the general mental health crisis in this country and how we are struggling to respond to it,” McShane told us. “My hope is that communities across the country will recognize the importance of training law enforcement to de-escalate crisis situations and seek help with their own mental health struggles. More personally,” she continued, “I hope the film generates conversation and action around the issue of decriminalizing mental illness. More mentally ill people in this country reside behind bars than in state hospitals. That is reason enough for this film to be made and seen.”
The “Mothers of Bedford” and “A Leap of Faith” director added that she would love for “Ernie & Joe” “to help us all reflect on how we connect with each other during our daily lives. As Joe says, ‘Can we stop being so afraid?’ Can we be more honest?'”
“Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops” is slated to open in NY and LA November 15, and will be released on HBO November 19. The doc won the Special Jury Prize for Empathy at SXSW this year.
