How can you expect people of color from that area to be kind to you, when you have drones watching over them, raid their homes with the slightest of evidence and have a dozen cops with military arsenal walking around them all the time? You don't see doctors with syringes up in your face, just in case you'll need them or a firefighter with a hose pointed at you, in the eventuality that you'll be set on fire.The government. should calm down from its obsession towards weapons if they want the citizens to give up theirs. I have a feeling that soon we'll watch another documentary from Ferguson called "Winter on Fire part 2".The U.S. forfeited a long time ago from the race of 'the greatest country in the world', but won the 'we have a lot of weapons, though' race and this weird fetish will cost them in the long run.

A documentary with the creepy mood of a horror film, this un-narrated collection of 'on the scene' footage everywhere from the streets of Ferguson during the protests after the police killing of Michael Brown, to US Senate hearings about the selling (or giving) of high end military equipment to the police forces of small cities and even small towns. (One town got 2 armored vehicles from the US Government, even though the whole department is only one cop!). The film looks at how the militarizing of smaller police forces, far from reducing danger, not only wastes tons of taxpayer money, but more importantly helps foster and conform an atmosphere of fear and suspicion between the police and the citizens they serve. The government gives no training in the use of the equipment, and despite the statement that the tanks and high powered automatic rifles aren't supposed to be used for riot control or the suppression of citizens, that seems to be exactly what it does get used for (since terrorism is basically a non reality in these towns, as, mostly, are murders). There's also exploration of ever growing police surveillance of public spaces (facial recognition software meaning you really are never alone), and predictive technology that seems to be heading us right towards the 'pre-crime' dystopia of 'Minority Report' (most chilling line of the film "How do you tell a mother that her unborn child has a 50% chance of committing a murder by age 18? What is she supposed to do with that?' asks a developer of this technology. (Not to mention – what if you're wrong?!?) Generally, the film is low on facts and figures (although there are some real jaw droppers), but that's OK. Other films have focused on the hard details. This film focuses on what having these weapons and abilities as part of day-to-day policing does to us all --not only citizens but even the police themselves. (I appreciated that the film doesn't feel 'anti-cop', and even showed empathy for officers receiving mixed signals from their superiors and the US government as to how they're supposed to do their jobs). I liked that it was clear that these trends trouble people on both the left and the right. Having an over-equipped literal 'army' watching our every move seems to trouble citizens and even politicians of many stripes.A chilling and important film about how law enforcement has been evolving in the US, and where it could easily go in the future if we're not all very careful.

Worth watching. There has been a militarisation of the US police no doubt. The problem lies in the biase of the film makers. This is not a journalistic documentary, but a propaganda documentary. They have clearly misrepresented their intentions when filming Police. They clearly have an anti-white racist agenda towards Police. They targeted small town USA, where most folk and Police are White Americans. and the militarisation of the Police in these areas is unnecessary. Conveniently ignored the real problems of Policing. They have produced a documentary that is typically liberal. Focused on the exceptions to the rule, and not the rule. Blatantly anti-white racist. I wouldn't be surprised if George Soros was the money behind this circus.

Do Not Resist is actually several films, as the narrative unwinds on the truth of police militarization, training, and the future of policing with 24 hour aerial surveillance and the ability to track movements. It is surprising how much is contained in barely over an hour. From Ferguson, where a line of armored vehicles approaches a protest line, to the deep south, and preparations for a SWAT raid. A dealer is confirmed at the house, and "we" expect a serious haul. But no, afterward we are told that such raids are "50-50;" a thorough search only a little personal use pot is discovered in a book bag. To small town New England, where the city council debates a "free" armored vehicle from surplus military stockpiles, and then to the surplus vehicle boneyard. A Senate Hearing room. A SWAT "convention" in Florida, and a training seminar with Dave Grossman. He promises a crowded room of police that the best sex they'll ever have is on their most violent days on the job. An airplane over Baltimore, tracking every vehicle and pedestrian in real time downloads to police. There's so much, ultimately too much, to easily process it all; the ultimate lesson is that the venue of a particular police action doesn't matter. This is how modern American police train and act.Surprisingly, filmmaker Craig Atkinson does not provide any narrative. The real people on the screen are the entire narration. The transitions are not particularly smooth, and the film packs so much into 72 minutes that I wonder how complete it is. There is no judgment, just reporting in their own words. It turns into a compelling story. It is easy to see why it won Best Documentary at Tribeca.