Denzel Washington has opened up about policing in America.
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Explaining in a new interview with Yahoo how he researched his role as a police officer in 1991’s Ricochet, Washington said he went out on a call shadowing a sergeant in his day-to-day job.
Washington explained: “I went out on call with a sergeant. We got a call of a man outside his house with a rifle that was distraught. We pulled up and did a U-turn past the house and came up short of the house. He told me to sit in the car, which I was gonna do. I wasn’t getting out!”
He went on: “He got out. As he got out, another car came screaming up and two young people jumped out screaming. As it turned out, it was their grandfather. This policeman defused the entire situation by just remaining calm.”
The actor continued to explain how he had the “utmost respect” for what they do.
“But it showed me in an instant how they can lose their life… He didn’t overreact. He could’ve pulled his gun out and shot the people that came up driving real fast.
“He could have shot the old man that was distraught and a bit confused, I think he was suffering a little bit from dementia. But in an instant, it taught me, and I never forgot it, what our law enforcement people have to deal with moment-to-moment, second to second.”
“I have the utmost respect for what they do, for what our soldiers do, [people] that sacrifice their lives. I just don’t care for people who put those kind of people down. If it weren’t for them, we would not have the freedom to complain about what they do.”
Washington’s latest film, The Little Things, will be released on January 29 in the US.
The actor plays Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe ‘Deke’ Deacon, who is initially sent to LA on an assignment to gather evidence but becomes wrapped up in an investigation to find a killer terrorising the city. Rami Malek and Jared Leto also star in the film.
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