Intro (Sage Francis):
Right about now, the SFR court is in full effect!
Judge Sage presiding in the case of the People vs. The Police Department.
Prosecuting attorneys are: Toki Wright, Jasiri X and B motherfuckin’ Dolan.
Order! Order! Order! B. Dolan, take the motherfuckin’ stand.
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
(Dolan: You goddamn right.)
Then why don’t you tell everyone what the fuck they have the right to do?

Verse 1 
(B. Dolan):
Film the Police. Run a tape for the underclass!
Get the face, name and number on the badge.
They flash, we flash back when they act disorderly.
React accordingly and capture all that we see…
Nightstick, Zip-ties, and Tasers.
Think they’re licensed for type vicious behavior.
Make a tight fist with a video trained toward the Pigs,
Like this. They trip & you make ‘em famous.
Explain to a Judge the bounds you oversteppin’.
2011 time to the change our method.
We aim lenses at the State’s weapon,
‘Til they remember whose goddamn streets they’re protecting.
They’d rather see me in a cell
Than me and my cell with a different story to tell.
Camcorder by the dash. Next time you get stopped,
Reach for the celly if you wanna shoot a cop.
On a public sidewalk, you can tape what you see,
Or film from your window with a view of the street!
Neighborhood Crime Watch, we police the Police.
They can’t arrest the whole community.
Because the streets clock. These cops occupying blocks,
Harassing the homeless with batons, pulling glocks.
They stop lawful protests and let off shots…
Abuse prostitutes and misuse power they got.
In memory of the victims who are never forgot,
We’ve gotta’ exercise our right to shed light in the dark.
There is an army on the march that doesn’t want you to watch.
You’ve got a weapon in your pocket whether you know it or not.
We, the people, are the only real media we got.
Let’s protect one another from the fucking goon squad.
Fascism’s coming to the U.S.A.
Eyo, Sage, I got something to say!
Verse 2 (Toki Wright):
Film the police! It’s time to make it our priority.
You see these fools are in abuse of their authority.
Crack a fist or you crack a whip.
But that ain’t power you coward, you beat a man with two shackled wrists.
So put their names up on a list next to an asterisk.
Next time you see ‘em blast a clip, then you flash a flick.
Attach a video and pic to your master list.
Be on the news at 6. YouTube views legit.
The cops watch us, so we gotta have the Cop Watchers.
Been in fear of law so long, so now it’s not awkward.
But what is law when it’s wrong. When you slam us on the floor.
Naw, this ain’t World Wrestling Entertainment Raw.
This is Edutainment, y’all. Got a call from B. Dolan.
You try to squabble with Johnny Law and get your meat swollen.
Why you think Bobby and Huey P. were heat holding?
You better load the footage up and get to key stroking.
And while you at it, send one off to the administration,
It’s indicating, all the physical intimidation.
It’s been too long they said to “bear with us.”
That’s when I run up on your caravan and rip off all your D.A.R.E. stickers.
This here is near Hitler’s; weirder than some mere tickets…
You feel privileged ’til your wife get her brassiere lifted.
You disappear quick as Hoffa if you piss a copper,
Off ya’ til you get a Channel 7 News helicopter.
Violence hides in a code of silence, tyrants hide in an alliance,
Quiet or be left somewhere, or get swept inside it.
It’s Goliath vs. a bigger giant.
Got us pulling over so far we ran a curb and hit a hydrant.
It’s systematic how the system has its symptoms,
Of the democratic law that’s been flawed since the pilgrims landed.
So now tell me what you wanna do? Next time you see the boys in blue,
You cock your camera back and point and shoot.

Verse 3 (Jasiri X):
Film the police! I got the Cannon 7D.
Highest definition for when they try to arrest and lynch ‘em,
Then lie and protest the whippin’, not serve and protect the victims.
Their murders, threats and hitmen…observe ‘em and let the witness be
The iphone. Never let bygones be bygones.
Get your flip cam before they get in the whip and ride on.
It’s vital ’cause our survival could depend on a video going viral,
With more viewers than American Idol.
Instead of having to bury a child who…
The cops shot ’cause they thought they carried a rifle.
Then the same cops will go to court and swear on a bible,
And smile to show the teeth that they’re preparing to lie through.
Whether Crips or Piru ,Vice Lords or Gangsta Disciples,
Make sure your camera lens gets an eyeful.
And they liable to try and confiscate it.
Better hold on to that shit like you’re constipated.
‘Cause they’ll pretend them injuries are not related,
Like, “When we arrived we saw him dive head first off the pavement.”
So keep the mini cam stashed in the dash of your mini van.
They’ll crash and smash on any man.
Pull out your Blackberry ’cause cops will take a shot at your black berry,
‘Til we see another black buried.
Don’t act scary, ’cause they’ll empty the gat on ya’,
Stand over your body just to sprinkle the crack on ya’.
Police attacking ya’. Don’t want to see they reflections like Dracula.
But camera’s capture ya’.
Too busy using your flashlight to batter us,
To notice John Singleton was my passenger.
So point, click and shoot they asses,
It’s the only way to get the real truth to the masses.
Jasiri X, I’m making movies like Spike Lee.
I won’t be a law and order special victim like Ice T.

>> ^NordlichReiter:

It's about time that cops started getting punished to the fullest extent of the law. No more Blue Code of Silence, no more complicit judges, and no more bullshit.
The Executive Branch is supposed to be separate from the Judicial Branch.
At 2:25 is that an abrasion to her head? Looks like a red patch if that's damage caused by the arresting officer his ass should be fucking grass.
This is un-fucking-believable.


No, it's about time people start to realize that the Code of Silence has been deteriorating for YEARS. But the social machine never adapts fast, so people were oblivious based on past prejudices. No offense Nord, but even if cops changed, you wouldn't notice for a long while...

Nowadays, with cameras everywhere, cops can't afford to have each other's backs (Which is a good thing.) You lie on a report, or you lie for someone else, and you cannot be trusted in court, so you get suspended or fired. In excessive force like this--and when you tell the truth--usually you just get suspended.

Let's review some things that hold officers more accountable. GPS in their cars. It's to make sure they actually work. Dash cameras? They watch the officers 24/7 when they pull over criminals. Someone once said that those dash cameras were to protect the officer? Really? What a douche he was... Scrutiny of reports, outside boards for review of cases relating to misconduct, etc...

And these, GPS, dash cameras, etc., have been around for years. Yet nobody has cared to applaud them... In most cases, these safeguards are not mandated by anything besides a department...

It's about time that cops started getting punished to the fullest extent of the law. No more Blue Code of Silence, no more complicit judges, and no more bullshit.

The Executive Branch is supposed to be separate from the Judicial Branch.

At 2:25 is that an abrasion to her head? Looks like a red patch if that's damage caused by the arresting officer his ass should be fucking grass.

This is un-fucking-believable.

@bcglorf:

I'm not saying most cops are as bad as these, HOWEVER most police officers know who the abusive and/or dirty cops are in their department, and yet they do nothing about it. That's "the code of silence" for you. And that makes them accessories after the fact. So even if most cops aren't abusing their authority, they're still not protecting and serving the public when they let the shitheels in their departments get away with their misdeeds. So they share the guilt.

@NetRunner:

I saw 'Sicko', and Michael Moore certainly did try to make the insurance companies look like the bad guys. And to me that's fine, because they are one of the bad guys, IMHO.

At the end of this film the maker did list several resources to help combat police problems, yet you casually dismiss that. Michael Moore ended his film by carrying a laundry basket up the stairs of Capitol Hill. I enjoyed the point he was trying to make, but who was really being more constructive in their closing statements?

I don't see this film as a literal call to arms. I see it raising awareness (i.e., educating) through specific cases and documentation, and I see this method as being very valid. You can look at the problem of police brutality academically if you want, and that's fine. But it also helps to look at the individual cases. Look at what doctors do to stay up to date: They read research, but they also read case studies. You can't say that medical case studies are irrelevant. And neither are the brutality cases shown in this film. So read the Christopher Commission report if you want (and that's good), but I also think this video should be required viewing. To ignore this is to say something like the only history that is valid is found in official documentation, and not the stories of individuals who are a part of that history. And I know historians use every source available to tease out the details of what was really going on at any point in time, including the writings of individuals.

I'm just as aware of blankfist's libertarian beliefs as you are, but I don't think that should factor into what YOU take away from this video. I'm still a liberal. I still believe in universal health care. I still believe that not a single person should have to worry about going hungry or becoming homeless. I still believe in free education for everyone, all the way through college. And I also believe in human rights. And when I see them stripped away by bad cops, it makes me angry. I want to know about it, even if the details are horrible, and I also want to know what I can do help stop it. That's what I took away from this video.

This shouldn't be a partisan issue. When someone breaks the law, regardless of his or her occupation, there should be consequences. What's so controversial about that?

Tags for this video have been changed from 'street, gang, turf, respect, cops, thin blue line, the code of silence' to 'street, gang, turf, respect, cops, thin blue line, the code of silence, sickening' - edited by EndAll

An important fact. The Internal Affairs Group (IAG) is run by the Police Commission which is run by the Chief of Police (CEO) with a Board of Police Commissioners appointed by the mayor that act similar to a corporate board of directors. I shit you not, that's how they explain it: CEO and board of directors.

The IAG, which serves to investigate police misconduct is not only run by the same people who control the police, but it's also made up of members of the police force.

After Rodney King and the Rampart Scandal here in LA, a private, independent study was conducted on the mores and culture of the Los Angeles Police Department, which is commonly referred to as the Christopher Commission Report. I've read the entire document years ago. It's quite damning and worth a thorough read though it's incredibly difficult to locate online.

The Human Rights Watch Organization has "Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States" posted on their site with excerpts from the Christopher Commission Report. It's worth the read, especially these sections:

Internal Affairs Unit
Code of Silence
Disciplinary Actions
Investigations into Shootings
"Problem" Officers

>> ^MarineGunrock:

...Whether or not the cops were wrong - I don't care...


I am sure you are in the minority here. The Blue Code of Silence is strong and deserves to have a light shone on it.