This event has been postponed.
Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops
Film On Demand

Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops

October 15 - 21, 2020

This event occurred as part of the 20/21 Hop Film season. This is an archived view.

This event has been postponed.

20/21 Hop Film

In this inspiring, Emmy-Award winning documentary, two Texas officers put compassionate, innovative policing practices into action—with revolutionary results.

Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops follows Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro, two police officers in the San Antonio Police Department's Mental Health Unit, as they divert people away from jail and into mental health treatment, humanely and non-violently--one 911 call at a time. In the process, Ernie, Joe and their colleagues are redefining policing and its mandate to "keep people safe," while providing a model of how to transform the ways law enforcement across the U.S. helps those who suffer from mental illness. 

The film takes audiences on a personal journey, weaving together these compassionate officers' experiences during their daily encounters with people in crisis. Guns tucked away, Ernie and Joe de-escalate confrontations and divert people to desperately needed mental health services, in the process saving lives and even making friends. D: Jenifer McShane, US, 2019, 1h36m

“Moving in its humanity and forceful in its pragmatism.”

LA Times

“McShane’s film should be required viewing for all police academies.”

The New York Times
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2020/21 Hop@Home

Each week, our virtual stage brings adventurous artistry into your living room. The Hop offers a varied weekly line-up of online programming including live-streamed performances, film recommendations...

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