The Political Insider

While many on the Hollywood left today support the “defund the police” movement, actor Denzel Washington says that law enforcement and members of the U.S. military deserve our respect. 

Washington has played an investigator or police officer in many movies, both as a hero and a crooked cop.

‘I Have The Utmost Respect For What They Do’

In a recent interview with Yahoo to promote his new movie “The Little Things,” in which he plays a good cop, Washington was asked about how he feels about police officers in a time when they receive so much criticism.  

“I have the utmost respect for what they do, for what our soldiers do, [people] that sacrifice their lives,” Washington said.

“I just don’t care for people who put those kind of people down,” Washington added. “If it weren’t for them, we would not have the freedom to complain about what they do.”

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Washington said his respect for the police law began early in his career with his 1991 movie Ricochet.

In that movie, he played Assistant District Attorney Nick Styles. In preparation, Denzel did a ride-along with an LAPD officer that stuck with him.

“I went out on call with a sergeant,” Washington said. “We got a call of a man outside his house with a rifle that was distraught.”

‘It Showed Me In An Instant How They Can Lose Their Life…He Didn’t Overreact’

“We pulled up and did a U-turn past the house and came up short of the house,” the actor recalled. “He told me to sit in the car, which I was gonna do. I wasn’t getting out.”

“He got out. As he got out, another car came screaming up and two young people jumped out screaming,” Washington said. “As it turned out, it was their grandfather. This policeman defused the entire situation by just remaining calm.”

“But it showed me in an instant how they can lose their life,” he explained. “He didn’t overreact.”

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‘I Never Forgot It, What Our Law Enforcement People Have To Deal With Moment To Moment, Second To Second’

Washington said, “He could’ve pulled his gun out and shot the people that came up driving real fast. He could’ve shot the old man that was distraught and a bit confused, I think he was suffering a little bit from dementia.”

That’s when it occurred to Washington what law enforcement officials have to deal with every day.

“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,” Washington said.