'Tommy' Episode 5 addresses the deep-rooted fear people have of the police and their reluctance to seek help
There is a perpetual antagonism of the police by the general public. As we saw in the first few episodes, the LAPD comes across a lot of people who are scared to face the police. Even Tommy points out every now and then, and so do other characters on the show, that with more stringent regulations and biases of the preceding management, many people find it difficult to trust the police force.
CBS's latest crime procedural is a look into one of the country's popular police departments, which sees its first-ever female chief. This is a big development for LAPD and yet, it has not managed to change people's mindset. People are still afraid of encountering a cop, let alone relying on them to get things done.
Here is a very strong reaction from a user on Twitter, who comments on how racially biased the police is today. He says, "I definitely don't like the police at all, I think they do crazy stuff like shooting black people in the back or killing unarmed black people and getting away with it!”
Unfortunately, it's not just one fan on social media.
Even in the episode 'To Take a Hostage', we hear the councilwoman point out the same concern to Ken Rosey when he reaches out to the local politician to pass a bill for a budget raise for the department. It wouldn't be wrong to say that she is right when she says, "People are scared of uniforms". Her rationale lies heavily on the fact that LAPD has been harassing the citizens based on racial profiling. As someone responsible for the welfare of her citizens, the councilwoman thinks that there is no need to add more such manpower to the force and waste money.
If you observe around you or even in fictional stories on television like these, you will see how the society at large is fearful of the police. Whether it is for community, racial, religious or other reasons, or just because people have lost their faith in the defense department, the local police has become an element of perpetual apprehension of people.
Keep watching 'Tommy' every Thursday night 10pm/9c, only on CBS.
