Copaganda: Deconstructing the GRPD TV series on HBO/MAX – Episode #6

Editors Note: The fact that Episode #6 aired on Tuesday night, while people were at the Grand Rapids City Commission meeting to verbalize their disgust of the GRPD and the GRPD’s repression of people pushing back against the system, is worth noting. You can also see my deconstructions of the previous 5 episodes at this link. 

Episode six begins with audio from a 911 call, where someone has just heard gunshot. According to the All Access PD: Grand Rapids series, they only investigate gun violence, which is a very small part of what the GRPD actually does.

The episode quickly resorts to body cam footage of a young African American who was just shot, while her sister is heard screaming and being restrained by the GRPD from getting to her sister’s body. This was nothing but trauma porn, and a disgusting display of what the GRPD and the producers of the show wanted to communicate.

The scene cuts to Chief Winstrom talking to the camera saying he is shocked that it is a 15 year old girl and that he is, “emotionally invested in this case.” Always the PR guy. Winstrom again shows up and says his primary concern is to be there for the family. 

The GRPD get the video footage from the scene and the person who was the shooter is a young African American male. 

For the next few minutes the GRPD is then seen talking with the parents of the victim. Why would they use these grief stricken parents at this moment?

GRPD cops then pontificate and shake their heads over why people would not want to talk to them. This is all happening while Chief Winstrom does the voice over in the introduction of this TV series, where he says he is building community trust. Please.

Then scene cuts to another shooting in the southeast part of GR, where you see lots of cops with weapons drawn and they bring out several young Black people, whom they are treating as suspects. At one point, a Black cop is reading the rights to a young Black suspect.

The GRPD then seeks out Jemar Sterling, who does violence prevention work with urban youth, who says that people in his family aren’t happy that he is talking to the cops.

The next scene uses GRPD body cam footage of cops charing a young Black man, which just happened to be the primary suspect in the shooting that this episode is centered around.

The GRPD then hosts a Press Conference, which leads to a call identifying someone who was a witness. The cops then interviews the witness, who identifies a suspect, which leads to the GRPD gearing up to go after the suspect. The cops surround a home and the suspect finally comes out with his hands up. The suspect is a young Black male. 

The next scene is two white cops interrogating a young Black male, with one of the white detectives providing commentary for the viewers. The Black suspect is then charged with second degree murder, while the detective is seen calling the victims mother, saying, “this was a good day.”

The episode ends with members of the victim’s family holding a celebration for the girl who was killed, which included releasing balloons. 

With this week’s episode, it communicates that the only shooters and victims are BIPOC,, plus some of the video footage used communicates the message that there are Black gangs roaming the streets of Grand Rapids. This show will definitely contribute to fostering and maintaining stereotypes about Black people, since the audience will no doubt be predominantly white. Once again, I’m still waiting for the episode showing how the GRPD monitors community organizers and organizations to suppress any form of dissent against those challenging systems of power and oppression.