Event Registration | View the Film

The Center for Civil Rights and Racial Justice and Pitt Law’s Office of Equity and Inclusive Excellence will be sponsoring a panel and interactive discussion about the progressive policing techniques presented in the HBO documentary Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops. Professors David Harris (Pitt Law), SpearIt (Pitt Law), and Gabby Yearwood (Anthropology) will share their perspectives under the moderation of Joint Degree Candidate and CCRRJ Student Advisory Board Member Jordan Fields.

Officers Ernie and Joe’s beat is San Antonio, a landscape of strip mall chapels and freeway overpasses. Ernie and Joe are the heart of the San Antonio Police Department’s Mental Health Unit. Launched in 2008, the unit uses crisis intervention techniques to assist people experiencing severe mental health issues. Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops reveals how these techniques are being applied in an American urban environment – as well as the officers’ own struggles with mental health, trauma, and crisis.

Clips from the HBO documentary will be shown. It is recommended that attendees view the full film in advance. Light refreshments will be provided.

Trigger Warning: Please be advised that the film addresses issues of police violence, mental health, domestic violence, substance abuse, suicide, and suicidal ideation.