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The documentary follows Dub Lawrence, the founder of Utah's first SWAT unit, as he investigates the death of his son-in-law and other shootings related to an increase in violent SWAT team raids, while tackling larger questions about the changing face of peace officers nationwide.
Lawrence acts as a genial and knowledgable guide to the film's true subject, and the source of its titular irony: the increasing militarization of law enforcement.
One aspect the filmmakers do make clear is that a disconnect has sprouted between police and ordinary citizens who ... feel threatened by the very people who are sworn to protect and serve them.
Or more likely not. An explosive investigative documentary about the deadly militarization of police in this country. And one of its victims - ironically a Utah sheriff who first introduced SWAT teams into his state. An emotionally shattering revelation.
Surpasses the best episode of the now defunct "CSI" series in its suspense and fascinating procedural detail and rivals the intensity, ingenuity, and broader ramifications of Errol Morris's "The Thin Blue Line."
Deftly weaving in Lawrence's crusade against the larger backdrop of recent changes in law enforcement philosophy, "Peace Officer" is as much on the side of cops as it is on the citizens.