1. BLACK AND BLUE SCRIPT
BY: AL CASTRO
me@alcastro.com
TVF 475 STORI:5541B
POLICE USE OF FORCE FT
160303 V. 4.1
“Black and Blue,”
A Cal State LA TVF 475 Documentary Class Project
December 2015
Full Track Reporter and Narrator:
Al Castro
ANCHOR: A KPCC REVIEW OF MEDICAL EXAMINER RECORDS REVEAL THAT
LOS ANGELES COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT IS THREE TIMES MORE
LIKELY TO FATALLY SHOOT BLACK PEOPLE THAN THEY ARE TO SHOOT
EITHER WHITES OR EVEN LATINOS. EAGLE EYE VIEW’S AL CASTRO
HAS THIS REPORT ON THE COMLICATED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
BLACK AND BLUE:
AL CASTRO: CLOSE ANALYSIS OF LA CORONER RECORDS REVEAL THAT LOS
ANGELES LAW ENFORCEMENT SHOOT BLACK PEOPLE AT TRIPLE THE
RATE OF WHITES, EVEN LATINOS. MAKING THAT DETERMINATION OF
WHETHER TO SHOOT OR NOT IS HARD. IN AN ANALYSIS BETWEEN
2010 AND 2014, LA PROSECUTORS FOUND THAT ELEVEN PERCENT OF
THOSE PEOPLE SHOT BY LA LAW ENFORCEMENT SHOWED SIGNS OF
MENTAL ILLNESS. IN SEVENTEEN OF THOSE CASES, PROSECUTORS
FOUND THOSE PERSONS TO BE IN SOME KIND OF CRISIS OF EITHER
SUICIDE OR DANGER OF SELF-HARM WHEN SUMMONED BY PUBLIC
SAFETY PERSONNEL. ANALYSIS OF THE L.A. COUNTY’S DISTRICT
ATTORNEY’S RECORDS SHOW THAT IN THREE HUNDRED TWENTY OF THE
OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS REVIEWED, POLICE DID NOT TRY TO
USE ANY OTHER KIND OF LESS LETHAL FORCE. IN FACT IN THE
SAME SURVEY, OF ALL THE KINDS OF FORCE THAT WAS USED, ONLY

2. 2
SIX INVOLVED A BEAN BAG GUN, TWENTY-TWO INVOLVED A TASER,
AND ONLY THREE INVOLVED PEPPER SPRAY. RAMPING UP FROM BEAN
BAGS AND PEPPER SPRAY TO BULLETS IS NOT SIMPLE. GAINING THE
TRUST OF THE COMMUNITY RIGHT AFTER A POLICE INVOLVED
SHOOTING IS EVEN HARDER:
Prof. Melina Abdullah (Cal State LA Dept. Pan African Studies
and Founding Member #BlackLivesMatter): I don’t think that
police can regain trust from the community. I think that we
need to stop trying to reform a system that comes from the
system of slave catching. So it’s doing exactly what it was
intended to do. And so trying to reform something that was
built to oppress us, built to brutalize us, built to kill
us is misplaced energy. What we need to do is redefine and
reimagine what public safety looks like rather than trying
to encourage the community to trust the police that aren’t
there to benefit us.
[TRT 0:32]
AL CASTRO: IF IT IS HARD BEING A POLICE OFFICER, IT’S BEEN
PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE IF YOU ARE A BLACK SUSPECT. PERSONAL
ELECTRONIC MEDIA, LIKE GO PRO CAMERAS AND SMART PHONES HAVE
MADE IT EASIER TO QUESTION THE CONDUCT OF POLICE. WITH MORE
INCIDENTS BEING RECORDED AND MORE OF THEM APPEARING TO BE
VIOLENT OR UNNECESSARY, POLICE ARE UNDER FIRE TO MAKE SURE
THAT WHEN THEY GET INTO A CONFRONTATION WITH CIVILIANS,
THAT THEY GET IT RIGHT. WITH VIDEO FOOTAGE APPEARING TO BE
SO COMPELLING, JARRING, AND AT TIMES DISTURBING, THE POLICE
FACE AN UPHILL BATTLE EXPLAINING THEIR CONDUCT WHILE TRYING
TO REMAIN IN THE GOOD GRACES OF THE PUBLIC:
Sgt. Jerry Johnson (Alhambra CA Police Department): I think
there’s a certain lack of trust that I didn’t see 26 years
ago when I got into this career. Um, I think people are
second guessing police more than we’re used to. Um, and
so, its becoming upon us to make sure that we’re right and
to be able to show that we are right, to prove that we are
right, and we’re not lying in Police reports and using
unnecessary force, things like that. [0:26]

3. 3
AL CASTRO: BEHIND ALL THESE ANALYSES AND STATISICS, WHAT WE ARE
LEFT WITH ARE THE POLICE ON ONE SIDE, THE PROTESTERS, AND
THE ORDINARY CITIZENS ON THE OTHER WHO HAVE OVER TIME COME
TO BELIEVE THEY ARE THE VICTIMS OF BEING STOPPED WHILE
BEING BLACK. WHILE ALL SIDES HAVE AN AGENDA THAT COMPETES
WITH THE OTHERS’ WHAT IS SOMETIMES LOST IN THE STATISTICS
IS THAT BEHIND THOSE NUMBERS ARE REAL, LIVING PEOPLE.
OFFICER AARON SMITH, FREDDIE GRAY, THE SIX BALTIMORE POLICE
OFFICERS CHARGED WITH GRAY’S DEATH, AND SIMILAR ENCOUNTERS
ON LA’S SKIDROW—-ALL ARE-—OR WERE-—REAL LIVING PERSONS:
Xavier Styles (Son of a Retired Police Officer and Victim of
Police Racial Profiling): It’s weird because I understand
the human being part of it: like understanding that a
police officer is an actual person, kind of makes more
sense, you know? It’s not Robocop out there; they aren’t
looking at people and then making the correct choice based
on computations. They’re human beings, and human beings
make mistakes and they may not necessarily be in it for the
right reasons. I hear stories from my dad that you get to
learn that some are worse than others. Some pretty hard
stuff.
[TRT 0:32]
AL CASTRO: THESE STATISTICS PROBABLY DON’T REFLECT A SPIKE IN
OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS. RATHER IT IS PROBABLY INCREASED
SCRUTINY THAT HAVE PUT THESE BLACK AND BLUE INCIDENTS IN
THE PUBLIC’S EYE. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF THAT SCRUTINY
CHANGES THINGS FOR THE BETTER. FROM LOS ANGELES I’M AL
CASTRO FOR CAL STATE LA’S EAGLE EYE VIEW.
CREDITS:
Pasadena CA public radio station KPCC did an extensive
study of officer involved shootings in LA County used for
this presentation. You can find that report at:
http://projects.scpr.org/officer-involved/.

4. 4
“Black and Blue,”
A Cal State LA TVF 475 Documentary Class Project
December 2015
Full Track Reporter and Narrator:
Al Castro
Executive Producer and Class Advisor:
Professor Jon N. Beaupre, Professor of Broadcast Journalism and
Assistant Chair, TVFM Department
California State University Los Angeles
Producer, Director, and Team Leader:
Julian Garcia
Cinematography, Interviewing, and Production Editing:
Mia Robinson
Lea Ozier
Computer and Visual Graphics:
Wei Yean Chong
Chris Williamson, Beira Design
Post-Production Editing:
Chris Williamson
Research and Script Translation:
Reggie Ormeo
Logistics and First Draft Full Track Field Reporting:
Edwin Juarez

5. 5
Script Writing and Editing:
Al Castro
Shot on location throughout Los Angeles County
The production team thanks Xavier Styles, the members of the
Alhambra CA Police Department and Black Lives Matter for
their cooperation and contribution.
The production team also thanks Chris Williamson of Beira
Design for adding lower thirds and credits at the end of
the video during post-production. Beira.design
The preceding is a production of Cal State LA Eagle Eye View
with Al Castro and team members.
me@alcastro.com
December 2015.
All rights reserved.