"Power": Yance Ford on His New Film & Why "Violence Is Part and Parcel" of U.S. Policing

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The new Netflix documentary Power examines the role of police in the United States. We speak to its Oscar-nominated director, Yance Ford, about how policing is used to suppress dissent and protect property in the U.S., its relationship to imperialism and occupation, and the significance of the film's release ahead of the fourth anniversary of the death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who was killed when police officers placed him in a deadly chokehold and who became a rallying point for protests against anti-Black racism and police brutality. "The thing that police want to do more than anything else is contain and control threats to order," says Ford. What we still see in the U.S. and around the world today, from the Black Lives Matter movement to the campus Gaza solidarity movement, is "the use of police as small militaries whose job is to suppress dissent."
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[@levmoses742]

Imagine just taking a 2 weeks of war funding and put it toward education, healthcare, rent control, accessible food subsidies, and mental health services as needed, for 5 years? We’d bring crime and improve life for everyone across the race and class spectrum. But what power structure wanted an educated healthy underclass?

[@Estherbethe1...]

🎯💯🎯💯🎯

[@manatee_flips6811]

do you pay taxes? Imagine not paying for the destruction of the world.

[@kingmelanin7468]

Agreed! I appreciate this stream by Democracy Now because they can usually cover one topic at a time, be it race, economics, or policing without ever drawing conclusions between them all.

[@practicaliching2311]

US defence spending is only 3.4% of GDP. Near an all time low of 3.3%. We already spend multiples of that on health & human services & education. You already got what you want.

[@levmoses742]

@@practicaliching2311You may have never worked in a school or lived off of a teachers salary as a single person. I’ve met many school teachers who can’t afford to live where they work. Many school computers are outdated, and why anyone would be learning out of a trailer in 2024 in the richest country 🤷🏻‍♂️ Your number is based on 2022. Military spending was at 3.5%, it’s now at closer to 5% including increase in pay for service people, with a request of a 2.+% increase as well. So many people going into financial debt over healthcare, and I don’t know how that compares to the increase of families living in cars and basically homeless since 2020. We could spend more on services. The good news this week was that one of the north eastern states gave a tiny tax increase to billionaires and millionaires which brought in some bacon and eggs for the state! We have plenty, we just have a distribution problem. Individuals making under 100k paying less taxes then multi billion $ corporations, doesn’t have to be.

[@Volfan2]

They really pointed a semiautomatic rifle at a child? Wtf is wrong with our country? Disgusting!

[@ExploreXplore394]

The police is out of control.

[@noboy345]

I think remember that being a wrong address the swat officers went too. And I'm not too sure but a baby was injured in a similar or the same incident. Where a flash bang was thrown into a baby room.

[@1harrismccarty]

They point guns at kids every day and demand you respect them for it.

[@renewashington791]

Right! And then the PO had the AUDACITY to tack on the word “Hun” as he Yelled and pointed his RIFLE at a frightened little girl 😢

[@kroderbanshee]

Blacks people been complaining about this

[@sayvorie]

The threat of violence is the primary tool of government.

[@billhanna2148]

Yes we live in a fascist country disguised with a whisper thin veneer of "democracy" hollowed out by corporate greed and its welfare and never ours.

[@Dan-Rather]

You have equal ability for violence, ergo, no threat if you choose to protect yourself. You are choosing to be a victim

[@billhanna2148]

@@Dan-Rather Categorically embiclic statement

[@LindseyHolmes-d9r]

Thank you Democracy Now for bringing the world to me!!

[@manuelbello5806]

Hoping this gets an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Maybe even a win, maybe the Percy Jackson kids should present the category next year

[@AlysonArchibequeDavis-kv1bx]

Right? It’s so important. So well done.

[@manuelbello5806]

@@AlysonArchibequeDavis-kv1bxdamn right

[@PauloAdriano-zo2ng]

Will that do much to change policing in America?

[@larabraver]

Change usually comes about with small, consistent , persistent moves by people. This will add to the efforts. ​@@PauloAdriano-zo2ng

[@shereerabon8551]

Right- let’s strive to make people see this documentary. We can all benefit from the masses knowing what the massa would like to continue.

[@norasalehbusiness9478]

Well done Mr. Yance

[@madpatriot4608]

The police wasn't established to serve and protect, only to uphold, corporate law

[@benjaminfranklin8412]

That is what drug lords and murderers want you to believe

[@kylesuperbaby9616]

Oligarchy

[@kylesuperbaby9616]

@@benjaminfranklin8412The people you were talking about are running this country

[@lacinabakayoko4634]

Slave patrol

[@MWhaleK]

The police were created via partly via divide and conquer. In places like New York City Irish Cops were set upon the Irish and other poor or working-class people.

[@kevinwilliams1768]

wow excellent interview . This documentary is an eye opener, Blessings to Yance Ford for making it

[@ivandejour9806]

Very good segment to highlight what we’ve all known or all known and chose to ignore because it benefits you

[@Kyle_McC]

It’s police power that is unrivaled under the political system. The power just above the police allow this unregulated police power to remain.

[@omboogie1969]

This is profoundly brilliantly done necessary and historical. Thank you

[@GinaRams]

This is what i see when i look at the idf.

[@celestesmith6060]

Many of them trained by the IDF

[@twylamiller6206]

Largest well funded gang in the world.

[@robertafierro5592]

The Police Force began in the middle to.late 1800s in Lower Manhattan, in New York City. The men chosen for this new organization were some of the biggest and baddest bare knuckle street fighters in all.of the Five Points. The huge and hulking men were outitted with large clubs and trungeons. There was no money back then for uniforms yet, so they were issued warm woolen jackets with Copper buttons. No one messed with these guys. They were there to maintain order among the homeless beggars and theives. Remember that during this time period the Wild West was being tamed while London was searching for The Ripper! The South was getting ready to defend their way of life and as usual.our Black brothers and sisters were on the very bottom of the pecking order. One day a Draft Notice was nailed to a wooden fence by City Hall. Once read the bottom line was, if you had enough money, you could buy your way out of fighting in the Civil.War by hiring someone else to fight in your place. The common man went berzerk once the word got out. The Draft Riots became NYC History. The Police are supposed to.uphold the Law of the State. They are supposed to follow the Laws that everyone else follows. There should be no individual situations or worse, Cronyism. Everyone should be following the same Laws. Slowly, Mr Floyd was murdered in front of his own Community. No one should be AFRAID of the Police. The whole idea of that is just INSANE to me.

[@vladimirp9003]

Between The Roman, Persian, Egyptian and now the American Empire I’d say this is the traditional norm. 1 race rises 1 race falls= the ideology we have now

[@oghyeahoo6165]

"Officer from overseer" "This is America"

[@herahagstoz6934]

“Anyone who moves” is potentially dead…. The fact that even small children understand the necessity to lay flat on the ground with their arms outstretched is a testament to the indiscriminate use of deadly force against anyone regardless of circumstance. The pointing of a military weapon at an elementary school child even though the officer is calling her “hon” as she gets up, that’s just insane.

[@Socrates1944]

Ain’t that the Absolute Truth? Police are supposed to Serve and Protect, not Brutalize citizens!! Lord! Have mercy!!

[@Dan-Rather]

When the criminals treat society with brutality, how should we treat them?

[@beratnabodhi]

Interesting that a veteran of the Spanish-American war in the Philippines who militarized that California police department, because it was another veteran of the S-A war in the Philippines, General Smedley Darlington Butler, who did the exact same thing with the Philadelphia police department.

[@LindseyHolmes-d9r]

But I don't understand why there were so few police to stop the protest which got into the senate.

[@barefootincactus]

Puzzling

[@rlud304]

“Protest?” That was no peaceful protest. That was an armed attack

[@beefandbarley]

It wasn’t a protest, it was a white supremicist insurrection.

[@Heather-vg2tq]

I hope it talks about cop city being built in Atlanta!

[@hope.8.]

"He doesn't exactly have any other options for them" is the story of America- lack of options for the great majority. Which is why government needs to be given back to it's people.

[@RAZR_Channel]

1:57 - He's pointing a Gun at a Little Girl....?? WTF..??

[@Fatma-mx6cc]

That is damn shocking and uncalled for!

[@RAZR_Channel]

@@Fatma-mx6cc Watch later on.. he cuffs her... 4-Real... she's like 4 ft high... 50 pounds max...

[@Kelly19850302]

Yeah, yeah yeah black Jesus is coming back anyway for his people and put us back on top forever and ever🖕🏾

[@thorntonwilliams3851]

Dangerous delusion

[@dawnpalmby5100]

The calvery and the targeting of natives is also a great example of the miltiray and policing in the US, and the RCMP in Canada is guilty of the same actions

[@Tonsirton]

I Need To Watch This!!!💯💯💯🤔👈👈👈

[@christopherbrown6891]

Fourteen Indiana police precincts have MRAPs.

[@1848revolt]

Sabotage.

[@shereerabon8551]

Amazing, enlightening and informative show today, as usual. Thanks for sharing this particular episode, today, however. Power!

[@simpletownworx]

Brilliant documentary. Thank you Yance

[@simpletownworx]

5:24 my favourite segment

[@dennismiller5725]

Smedley Butler

[@71suns]

Let's say the quiet part out loud shall we? MALE VIOLENCE IS... Oh... that's right.. WE NEVER SAY THAT OUT LOUD DO WE? It's so 'normalized' we don't even have the capacity to say it even though its blatantly obvious.

[@rlud304]

What are you blathering about? This is not just “male violence.” It’s American policing. This is an America problem. Turns out there are like these whole other ( actual civilized) countries that exist that are not ‘Murica😱. Must be shocking for you🙄

[@cotstu5683]

The solution is we need a “First or Alternative Non-violent Police Unit” to offer American citizens besides the typical everyday“psycho” Law Enforcement cops!

[@jo-annerichardson34]

Fantastic interview. Needs to be seen. Thank you DN.

[@ZeroGods4595]

Realism in action as long as the people are divided.

[@KathleenHandron]

NYPD response after Floyd killing jumped out at me. It shocked me.

[@Tonsirton]

3-Dimensions Of Israel!!!🪬🗿🗿🗿

[@robertodell8900]

Also a history of Union busting.

[@Tonsirton]

Where Do You Think Israel Gets Its Ideas From!!!💯💯💯🙀🙄🙄🙄

[@BericD]

IDF trains US cops to be the way they are.

[@Tonsirton]

@@BericD Vise-Versa.

[@rlud304]

No one needed your clueless opinion today🤦🏻‍♀️

[@sharonXwatkins]

And some citizens in America thinks and believes this is a civilized society🤔😬🧐

[@Tonsirton]

@@sharonXwatkins Only The Chosen Few Like Bidon And His Boss Net And Yahoo!!!

[@Muhdah1972]

Already saved to my watch list as soon as Netflix aired the preview

[@CatBell93]

12:32 even with a note from massa, a Black man could be beat &/r kilt, under certain conditions 😢

[@selalewis9189]

Y’all, if we’re not defunding the police, this is all theory.

[@benjaminfranklin8412]

Some cities defunded the police and homicides, carjackings, and thefts went up.

[@MrDXRamirez]

Recoveries in the American economy are short and evaporate before full employment can be reached is a serious problem. It means that the US economy performs poorly and is unable to sustain long term economic growth and full employment without constant interruptions in the cycle that throw people out of work. Huge chunks of the working class fall into greater misery and deprivation.This makes for a very sick society. People are not pleasant creatures when they are not working and unable to meet their own requirements for life and necessities, they tend to steal, rob, riot, revolt, commit suicide, enact homicides, lose confidence and trust in all basic social institutions, when they no longer can feed themselves or their families, pay rent, utilities, etc. This number of people thrown out of work gets larger and larger as employers shed more of their workforce particularly in those industries where automation solves the problem of high wages employers resist paying, more people are thrown out of work and in industries where automation is not adaptable to the work, migrants are hired. American enterprise slams the door in the face of people of the right to make a living. America has a full employment problem; it cannot put people put people to work unless it is under pressure of war.

[@rohandamclaurin8568]

JESUS IS BLACK AND ALSO HIS FATHER AND MOTHER MARY❤❤❤❤❤

[@rohandamclaurin8568]

AMERIKKKA

[@craigbrowning9448]

A Guru of Modern American Policing is a guy named David Grossman who has his Wolf-Sheep-Sherp Dog complex view of civilians.

[@Volfan2]

Well, looks like my subscription costs just went up by 20 bucks. Netflix has some great documentaries. I couldn't care less about movies or series, unless they're documentaries. I'm addicted to them. Ordered Max just to watch, The Jinx 2.

[@gochuckyourself-yf2rz]

Yeah that's because your supposed to comply at the moment that does not mean you're giving up your civil rights because you have the right to go to court and sue that police organization and ensure that your rights are protected so next time they stop someone who may just happen to be black they can know that they can be sued and they will be sued if they violate your constitutional rights which we have seen over and over and over again . But if you are a black criminal and you're committing a criminal offense the police have every right to stop you and detain you and question you it's called an investigation . Bean black does not give you extra civil rights it doesn't give you extra constitutional rights either .

[@gochuckyourself-yf2rz]

No we must get away and stay as far away as we possibly can .

[@Tonsirton]

💯💯💯👑🎯🎯🎯

[@Dienohmite]

Everytime I see anybody of colour I think of their fears daily and I’m not in their shoes, I cannot imagine how they must feel living in this disturbing and unjust reality

[@practicaliching2311]

Yeah, same for the people that built cities like Newark, Baltimore and Detroit. All those families were ethnically cleansed out of those cities during the 1968 riots which were an extention of the 1804 genocide repeated on a larger scale but with less killing because of the police presence this time. Every time they see POC in their neighborhoods or return to the cities their family built, they are traumatized all over again.

[@sbgskf]

Why does Yance Ford use the phrase "disorderly public" when people are simply making use of their constituional rights of freedom-of-speech and assembly? The Gaza encampments + demonstration were NOT "disorderly".

[@vforvendetta60]

"..policing is related to racism, whiteness.." is just a poor way of going about this topic. Police brutality is the issue. I have lived in Africa and can attest that there is police brutality there. It mostly comes down to people drunk on power.

[@Boomers4Zoomers]

From his lips to all ears.😢

[@lesleedaniel7597]

👍🏾 ✊🏽

[@chuckrogers4917]

what does this have to do with Gaza?

[@Fatma-mx6cc]

Our police forces in America are trained by Israeli forces!

[@sergegainsbourgii1852]

Wonder if the # of views on this gets suppressed?

[@meanderinoranges]

George Kirby OD'd.

[@makerstudios5456]

How can police be tied to slavery if many of the states abolished slavery right after the revolution and many modern cites were founded after slavery was abolished nationwide?

[@Muhdah1972]

Re-watch the interview. FYI the abolishment of slavery made black people free by law but didn't guarantee white society wiuld respect or recognize that right. As proven by the establishment of Jim Crow soon after the end of slavery.

[@Kk-iw4ck]

Gay

[@1848revolt]

Abolish power. Nect question.

[@gochuckyourself-yf2rz]

Okay when was this little documentary made because police have conceded a whole bunch and they've been held accountable a whole bunch and there are innocent police officers in prison today because of criminals whose family members wouldn't be honest about their criminality and the police officer who was just doing their job went to jail for just doing their job . In criminals are not innocent little babies like they're portrayed with their baby pictures when they're trying to exonerate the criminal criminals are little babies little innocent babies their criminals doing criminal behavior .

[@thosethatcan]

Twas top 5 IMHO docus

[@hayatraja7360]

Disclose -Divest 🇵🇸

[@todd77777772000]

Law enforcement uses informants to gangstalk me and many others. No one to turn to.

[@jvjd2284]

1312

[@kylesuperbaby9616]

Comply or else

[@Tonsirton]

'AKU-AKU'🪬🗿