Bosch author Michael Connelly: "My conscience is clear" we never glorified cops

Los Angeles Times

Connelly and Titus Welliver sat down with the Los Angeles Times to reflect on seven seasons of the Amazon police drama, which is ending a year after Black Lives Matter protests led to criticism of police shows. "I know there’s a thing in the media about glorifying cops on these shows. But I never thought we did that. My conscience is clear on that," says Connelly." Welliver adds: "We’ve never done that." What’s the reaction from police to the show? "Cops come up to me and say, 'I love your show. It completely gets it right. It is real," says Welliver. What about people who are not police? "I have had a few people say to me, 'Do you really want to continue to play this character?,'" says Welliver. "I tell them, 'Why the hell not?' He’s got a flawless moral compass. His credo is, 'Everybody counts or nobody counts.' Can you get more centered than that? Just because he might be circuitous sometimes in obtaining justice for the victims, he is not a guy who would ever beat a confession out of somebody, plant evidence on somebody or pull someone over based on the color of their skin or their religion or sexual preference. That’s just not who he is. Our show is about people, the human condition, and how people evolve or devolve based on junctions in society and what life brings them. It just so happens that he’s a cop." ALSO: Jamie Hector reflects on playing roles on different sides of the law on Bosch and The Wire.