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TV TATTLE

What's up with TV cop shows depicting "brave" white cops fighting minority higher-ups?

  • Nathan Fillion's The Rookie "joins other police procedurals that position straight white men as heroic outsiders battling shortsighted women and minorities in leadership roles," according to Elizabeth Hoover. In Chicago P.D., Bosch and (the canceled) Training Day, to name a few, white men with a willingness to use off-the-books tactics to protect the city’s most vulnerable are discounted by a system hamstrung by 'political correctness,'" says Hoover. "Even the comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which is now highly praised for its diversity in terms of casting, started its run with a story line about the charming white detective Jake Peralta locking horns with his uptight superior, Capt. Raymond Holt, a gay black man. Holt must begrudgingly admit Peralta is a gifted detective, even though — and perhaps because — he doesn’t always stick to the rules. In these shows, 'political correctness' and prioritizing diversity are depicted as eroding American institutions and endangering our cities." Hoover adds: "Treating white men as outsiders in police departments run by people of color is at odds with reality. In truth, law enforcement faces a diversity crisis — especially at the leadership level. According to a 2016 report from the Department of Justice, police forces consistently fail to recruit and retain people of color, which could be contributing to a lack of trust between police and the communities they work in."

    TOPICS: The Rookie, Bosch, Chicago P.D., Diversity