Traffic Stop (2017) User Reviews

An important topic, but poor case to use.

[thethomasboy · 4/10 · 17 February 2018]

The topics of systemic racism, police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement are supremely important (especially in today's America), which is why I was so disappointed in this weak and slanted documentary about the "brutal arrest" of Austin school-teacher Breaion King. Police incidents boil down to the human beings involved, their backgrounds, perceptions and subsequent actions/reactions.

This would have been an excellent opportunity to explore those by profiling both King AND Officer Richter, to solid context for understanding the issue and finding a solution to it. Instead director Kate Davis choose to go to great lengths placing King in the warmest light possible for cheap shock value. The result is an emotionally manipulative profile featuring iPhone videos of her daughter's ballet recital, tearful stories of her struggles of being raised by and then being a single-parent, and the most out-of-context news coverage possible.

On top of this, (while unfortunate,) the arrest video clearly shows a suspect trying to get out of a ticket, being uncooperative, and playing up the scene for any cameras present. In response, the Officer is compelled to escalate in order to do his job, and did so in a calm, respectful tone of voice without his gun, tazer, baton or punches. A cop asking you to stay in your car, or put your feet inside (to close the door) is not unreasonable. But trying to frustrate a cop so much that he won't write you a ticket IS unreasonable. As a relatively mild misunderstanding, this was an opportunity for both sides to LEARN, to tamp down fear on both sides, and create a better bridge of understanding.

Instead of elevating the conversation, the director does harm to her own cause and sets us back on this important issue. First: It will be quickly dismissed by Blue Lives Matter supporters for what it is: a propaganda piece with an (unfortunate) but not brutal ordinary traffic stop with a difficult suspect. Second: it lends credence and legitimizes right-wing docs like "Obama's America" (2012) by saying all docs are political.

This is a disturbing trend in "Documentaries" these days: Heavy-handed, thinly-sourced, and purposefully unbalanced clearly intended to sway viewers based on a political agenda. Documentaries have the potential to become the new "investigative journalism," for the short attention span audiences of today, educating the electorate, and pulling people out of their bubbles. If you strongly believe your 'side' is right, showing the entire truth should bear that out. Save the fact-picking for historical dramas.

Horrible case to spotlight

[dominicdeschambault · 4/10 · 3 December 2018]

This is a great example of people not taking responsibility for their actions.1. She sped 2. She tried to avoid being pulled over 3. She took an attitude with the cop and didnt listen to his orders. 4. She immediately goes to the police brutal excuse as she cries out for a black cop.

Now, I definitely believe the officer could have handled it better. But to make this specific case the basis for this argument is weak.

How did this get nominated

[texaszena · 4/10 · 21 February 2018]

While the producers of Traffic Stop tried to use this incident to show the police as evil and the arrested black woman as unjustly mistreated, watching the actual dash cam video from the police cruiser, one can clearly see the woman refusing to follow instructions and then resisting arrest for no good reason. She wasn't mistreated. All she had to do was follow the lawful instructions of the police officer and she would have been sited for a traffic violation and then on her way. What happened to her was her own doing and no documentary filler of her teaching school or going to church will change that. However, it is also apparent that the officer quickly lost patience with the woman who was refusing to cooperate.

It was interesting that her probing dialog with the transportation officer taking her to jail seemed designed to gather material for the documentary. Her actions from start to finish weren't normal and after the arrest almost seemed calculated. Was this planned in advance or just a spur of the moment decision to get something on the police. Whatever the reason, the documentary comes off as one-sided and transparent. Not worthy of your time. How did it ever get nominated for an Oscar? Oh, right. It's Hollywood were no anti-social behavior goes unrewarded.

This is an Oscar nominee?....... What?

[hknakna-204-45166 · 3/10 · 18 February 2018]

The topic is so now. We can't let it slide when police get it wrong without remorse and without serious efforts to improve practices and help the communities it serves to heal. This film, however, will do little to move us down the track. In fact, it may hurt the cause.

Breaion King gets pulled over for a traffic violation. Right out of the gate, she starts getting cute with the officer saying ridiculous things like (paraphrase), 'I'm already stopped so can you still pull me over?' SMH. He proceeds to respectfully ask her to get back in the car and hand him her license. She remains belligerent, combative and non-compliant until finally he is forced to go to the next level. No pun intended but that means 'force'. Everyone knows how situations like this go down but we're supposed to believe that she's naive and innocent.

The best part is that while scenes from the police dash-cam of her continued bad behavior come in and out so do scenes where she makes claims for her intelligence. It almost makes me wonder if this situation/arrest was somewhat calculated on her part. I agree with another poster here, this film plays into the hands of certain folks who say that liberals in general are over politicizing identity politics.

A better film might be one in which a split screen shows dash-cam footage of how an officer behaves under similar circumstances with a white suspect and with a black suspect. This film, at the very least, is lazy.

A poor excuse for a documentary

[lizagna · 2/10 · 19 February 2018]

This was a tragic incident, and the officer could have done a better job of handling this perhaps, but he was not the one who initiated the obstreperous, violent behavior.

The star of our show, Breiaon King, was a jerk from the beginning and did not help her own cause. King could have taken the simple traffic citation (she admitted later in the movie she'd been speeding, but from the moment she was stopped tried to weasel out of the responsibility and behaved reprehensibly) and been on her way to work. She was initially uncooperative and inflammatory without provocation, then when things really went south, she went into Drama Queen Victim, throwing more fuel on the fire.

Then there's the poor quality of the film itself. Kate Davis chooses to show a lot footage in the movie that is completely off-topic. Like yeah--I really need 3 minutes of watching from inside King's dark garage the garage door opening, her pulling out, then the garage door closing. Thanks, Kate. Wonderful. A bunch of family photos. Watching a video of her toddler's ballet recital. How were these even relevant? You wasted my time, Davis. This was better filmed than the feature-length documentary Strong Island (on Netflix), but was just as guilty of using a bunch of superfluous filler. And at least Strong Island, regardless of how badly executed, was telling a story of genuine victimization and racial injustice.

Thank you, Kate Davis, for showing Breaion in church quoting Bible scriptures and the many, many times she was so sweet with her indoor voice. I love how you showed her in her classroom, assuring me of how fantastic she is with children and teaching future generations. Why didn't you show these times as a split screen juxtaposed with her screaming obscenities and swinging/kicking at the officer way before there was any provocation to do so and kicking at the inside of the car?

A poor excuse for a documentary--I can't believe that HBO, which usually has a high standard, has picked this up.

This does NOT support the "victim's" at all.

[kjhott-78228 · 1/10 · 6 February 2021]

The "victim" was rude, obnoxious and it seems like she was just trying to weasel out of getting a ticket. The police officer's explanation of the event was honest and spot on. The victim actually lied but she's still the victim? I don't think this film does anything to support the concerns over police brutality and racism.

before vs after

[HEFILM · 3/10 · 3 March 2018]

Most of this film is made of footage of our victim and what a normal helpful person she is, by the end when you have her and young kids frolicking in slow motion you know you are in the land of Hollywood fantasy.

There have been cases of police brutality which lead to people being killed where the victims did less to the police than our victim does here. And I had a friend get arrested for behaving in a lesser manor than our victim does here after a traffic stop.

They do show the video of the incident--it seems they show it mostly without editing though you can't tell for sure. The officer is shown explaining what happened after we see it for ourselves and his account matches what we saw--unlike our victim saying "he's lying."

The question here is why does this seemingly nice normal woman--who has a relative who is a police officer--immediately rudely question and disobey the cop from the very start. There is nothing shown here to indicate that because she is black she immediately, maybe even just and valid reasons for behaving this way and being in a state of fear and distrust of police from the start. It's also worth noting that though she swears and continues to fight and kick even when put in the car on her own, while non of the police ever raise their voices or use any racial slurs--even while talking to themselves.. There seems to be nothing in her own past to show police racially mistreating her or her family or friends or that there is any thread of violence or crime that affects her.

The best scene in the film is a conversation she has--from police video--with another officer who takes her in to be arrested. It's a fascinating conversation more so than anything in the after-the-fact interviews with her or any point the film is trying to make. In the conversation it's clear that both, her and the cop, have racial bias and lack information about the other side.

It just seems like the filmmaker wants to portray our victim as saintly almost, but she does so without ever having out victim explain her own illogical actions when confronted. If she has a relative who is a cop it's especially baffling the way she behaves and that she doesn't at some point say, hey my relative is in your shoes.

There could be another point here or one the film accidentally makes, she complains that if you google her all that comes up is video of the incident and this case, though she still has her normal job and life, so how much real impact has it had on her life other than, as she says, photos of her when she was a model no longer pop up first.

There is no talk about if she spent any time in jail for this incident--I assume she didn't as otherwise they'd certainly mention it as it would ad to their case of cop vs. regular citizen who just happens to be black.

So she is to be pitied because her old modeling pictures don't come up now? Is that tragic? I suppose this could or may work best as a film showing how not to behave when you encounter a cop as even a relatively minor incident like this will haunt you through the media and internet long after whatever happened matters to you anymore.

Interesting but biased

[katiebaker-62198 · 21 February 2018]

I was excited to watch this but within the first 10 minutes could already distinguish this was not a true documentary, rather a political view and biased storytelling. Using the old trick of emotional attachment was way too obvious.. Breaion's own recounts and commentary of her own life became a 30 minute boasting party of "look how great and wonderful I am". All relatablity to her as a person went out the window with her arrogance. I left feeling... not pity towards her, not anger toward Law Enforcement like she wanted but rather a greater disconnect to her life and story than before. It's a documentary and for that I found watching the footage from the incident the most interesting thing about the film. However, I was highly disappointed in the lack of unbiased storytelling and would have appreciated Breaion taking ownership and accountability for at least one of her actions..I wanted to and would have related more to a person who can show me they aren't perfect yet are still good. When someone claims and attempts to show their life as all good and they do no wrong, it's unrelatable. Sad to give this such a low rating!

Powerful

[apollack11 · 9/10 · 13 February 2018]

Although anyone can enjoy and be impacted by this film, as a defense attorney, it really spoke to me, and I am glad this documentary was produced. It is about a traffic stop for speeding that turned violent. What made it unique was how it humanized the person who was stopped, a 112-pound schoolteacher named Breaion King, showing her life and personality, and hopefully will cause an incident of excessive use of force by an officer, combined with potential racial factors that may have influenced the incident, to be brought home to the viewer in a more meaningful way. I think the film highlights all the more why video recordings - both in-car and body-worn cameras - are extremely important and should be required by law.

Absurd.

[phoenixbolt · 1/10 · 16 February 2018]

Featured on HBO, which states it's 'Oscar Nominee'

Was hoping it was a documentary that blows the lid off police brutality, and racism within the countries police force. At least hoping someones tragic story of being murdered by cops for being black be told on the main-stage for the world to see. Nope, nope and nope.

It's some black women's crocodile tear filled story about why she should get to walk away from traffic stops and resist arrest.

Steven Seagal (the cop) doesn't have the decency or patience or awareness and logic to give the women a chance to realize her own stupidity and gets all Ike Turner on her for not listening to his godly commands promptly..

This could have been watched on youtube in 30seconds and forgotten about in 1 second.

Oscar nominee. Wow. Today I learned fluff can be nominated for an Oscar. Im sure Oscar nominees are picked from facebook polls.

Unfair arrest????

[katekap · 1/10 · 14 April 2019]

This was an example of someone who felt they should get away with speeding. Nothing more than that. All her background info was soft focused bio, it didn't in anyway explain why she acted like an a-hole when she was caught speeding? I disliked her and her complete over reaction to being caught. Yeah i get it, she wanted to get away with it. Comparing herself to Trayvon was wholly pathetic.

Disappointing

[dgray-01694 · 1/10 · 4 March 2021]

I thought we were going to see video of cops doing wrong.....and instead I saw a video of a teacher that wanted to talk back to police, then be resistant to commands....then resist and fight. When you don't follow commands........you get forced.

Not worthy of a documentary

[jennrotman-504-89837 · 2/10 · 26 May 2018]

So a cop does a traffic stop, lady does not follow directions and fights them the whole time and we have a documentary about her? She was in the wrong and the officer was doing their job. This is trying to get people riled up about something that didn't happen in this case. And she needs to stop referring to herself in the 3rd person.

Total biased documentary... skip it -- just ridiculous

[MovieCriticOnline · 1/10 · 27 February 2018]

I watched the first 3 minutes and I didn't see any big problem with what the police officer did. She was asked to step back in the car. She was hesitant and began with excuses why not to. Then the officer saw she was lying (had no wallet to go to the store) and he became suspicious.

He asked for driver license several times and she argued and didn't comply. He then tells her to get out of the car, and she resisted.

BTW, this is actually how majority of these so-called abuse cases. They don't comply with lawful orders and resits arrest, and then complain the cop uses force.

Why did we need the background sob story building up to this? Totally useless for this story. and where was the cop interview?

There are definitely unjustified abuses, but from what I have seen they are rare.

Not Racism

[Astaroth22 · 17 July 2020]

Look, clearly this woman was doing everything she could to resist the stop. However, she was doing so passively prior to the officer using force. Was she disrespectful? Yes. Frustrating him? Yes. But police are supposed to protect the public and only use the minimum amount of force necessary if it gets to the point when it's needed. Why not wait her out or attempt to de-escalate instead of using force because she refused to put her foot in the car? That should never have been the "final straw" during this encounter.

Next, I am quite certain anyone of any color who acted like this would have been treated in the same way by this particular cop. There's a certain attitude in some that they "don't have to put up with it." I wholeheartedly disagree. Police signed up for the job and should fully expect to deal with difficult people so I submit a true professional wouldn't have handled it this way.

The bottom line is that although she was responsible, the heavy handed response was completely unnecessary. A skilled officer could have used this opportunity to showcase what the badge actually stands for. That way she only walks away with a ticket and the Officer's ass isn't buried in paperwork and OIA investigations.

The DISGUSTING Reviews on this site explain why this doc was important

[trudesoto · 8/10 · 24 February 2018]

** FIRST- It should be noted that the officer involved was found to have claimed "RESISTED ARREST!" against citizens, more than any other officer in that locality. He was later fired for AGAIN making false claims in another one of his arrests that got physical. Sadly, those reviewing this documentary SHORT watched and reviewed AFTER already deciding what side they were on.

THE DOCUMENTARY- This is a 30 minute doc! A short.is not an investigation of everything. This case has been investigated and the officer was fired for MULTIPLE INCIDENTS besides King's. This was a 30 minute "Story in the life of ......" this woman, which is why there are more shots of her raking leaves in her yard and talking than video footage of the incident.. Ms. KING and all the police cam video have been seen and analyzed to DEATH. This film short was about addressing the PERSON not the crime! If you don't care about Ms. KING or you hate her (as a"black woman with crocodile tears") then , sure -you will think this 30 minutes is a waste.

**But , AGAIN, it's a short about a PERSON who was at the center of a police brutality incident - not a 30 minute doc on POLICE BRUTALITY. **

I rate this doc high as a case study of an INDIVIDUAL involved in a high profile case. The doc address Ms. Kings own underlying issues with race and color and being judged by people. She has SENSITIVITIES and "issues " that a viewer could argue made her question and challenge this officer when he stopped her. If the makers of this doc had been trying to protect Ms. King, they wouldn't have purposely added that she has everything from race insecurities to "daddy issues" (her father was verbally abusive and demeaning). The documentary also shows footage of King -after being grabbed and body slammed- asking why she was arrested, where her car would go, if there are cameras to show what the officer did.....all while she rocks forward and appears wound up and irratic. This also, could have been removed from the doc if the makers were trying to create a 100% FLATTERING piece -it wasn't.. The film makers wanted the viewer to decide. To ask- "if she's so hurt , why isn't she crying more? Why isn't she asking for a doctor? Why is she lobbing 100 questions at ANOTHER cop- when she just got beaten for doing that in the first place?!" ** This doc-short purposely leaves the door open for the viewer to judge the PERSONALITY of Ms. King in the video versus her in her life AS SHE DESCRIBES HERSELF. The police video is there, of course. It shows that Ms.King was NOT RESISTING ARREST or trying to get out of a traffic ticket. She was just questioning nearly EVERYTHING the officer said (while also cooperating with certain things like showing her ID ). It was as if she resented being told what to do. Not nice. But also not resisting arrest or "reprehensible behavior "- as one reviewer here claimed.

Ms. King is heard asking question after question- then challenged the officer on why she had to put her feet back into her car. For this , she was viciously grabbed and body slammed. Later, the officer lies to an arriving supervisor and is heard saying the Ms. King took a "haymaker" swing punch at him and he HAD TO TAKE HER DOWN.But the video shows the officer yanked her out of her seat belt and out of the car to assault her.....for being shrill and irritating.

There is also footage of another cop telling Ms.King that her situation occurred because police are afraid of blacks due to THEIR violent behavior. The irony of a 112lbs black woman being BEATEN, cuffed, and arrested by police for being irritating and mouthy , THEN being told that it happened because her RACE is violent- is part of what makes this 30 minute film thought provoking.

**Sadly, after reading the reviews here- there still seems to be a lack of understanding of the problem and how serious it is for cops to BRUTALIZE certain people for being mouthy (while certain race higher income brackets routinely snark at cops for inconveniencing them ("I pay YOUR salary!"). Police brutality is NOT just about black males being beaten or killed. And it's dangerous , in light of the criminal histories and presence of guns, knives, or drugs in cases of black MALEE being beaten by police - to make police misconduct about BLACK MALES as THE victims. As, a cop says to Ms.King while she is cuffed..."Blacks are more violent.". This fact is centered around black MALE behavior. Letting black males OWN police brutality is a great way to aid COPS in dismissing claims that THEY are the bruts.

Ultimately, this doc wanted to present this PERSON. It did so in the arty, poetic way that documentary SHORTS often do- not just this one! Short films don't have time for the hardcore , investigational stuff. EXAMPLE : A documentary on Child prostitutes will cover the men involved, follow the money, investigate parents, poverty , tourists, drugs. A documentary SHORT may be 15 minutes out of 30 minutes showing child prostitutes playing with toys or crying. This is a DOCUMENTARY SHORT!!! And a good one.

Important topic, poor example

[tylerjnewman · 1/10 · 21 February 2018]

It was clear that the person was evading the cop and not cooperating. The cop acted unprofessionally after his patience wore thin.

Making an issue where there isn't one.

[alanperkins-39535 · 1/10 · 11 June 2020]

The clear motive of this documentary is to make you believe a huge racial injustice has taken place. The problem with that theory is that the entire confrontation between the woman and the officer was caught on a dashcam and the officers microphone. As soon as she was confronted with the information that she was being pulled for speeding, she became angry and belligerent. At no point was she cooperative and the resulting tussle was entirely her own fault. It's the kind of documentary that you might expect from an independent filmmaker with an axe to grind, but for HBO to get involved with this nonsense is quite disappointing. Only half an hour so worth a look for a giggle, but if you are looking for a serious insight into police brutality, racial injustice etc, you won't find it here.

GARBAGE

[katelynnteef · 1/10 · 4 February 2022]

A politically correct "documentary" of a woman from a minority breaking the law, not complying with direction wanting sympathy and a free pass.

Don't waste your time with garbage like this.

Great topic, but not a great case to use

[sean-48013 · 2/10 · 25 February 2018]

Any reasonable person knows the topic is a real issue. And there are moments where we get to see the perspective of both a cop and the driver without it being wrapped in all of the emotional overdrive and posturing that oozes out of the rest of the film.

With a different case this same format might have worked really well. This specific traffic stop's footage doesn't tell the story that needs to be told. It might actually serve to convince people in the opposite direction. Instead I have to wonder if the production team watched the dash cam footage. Did they edit it in believing they knew what it portrayed? Or were they so blinded by passion for the topic that they felt Breaion's life story would cause us to excuse her choices?

Either way, it's sloppy. Hopefully future filmmakers take more care to ensure the dashcam footage matches the story they build.

Looks to me like a desperate attempt to stir up trouble

[Horst_In_Translation · 2/10 · 16 March 2018]

Kate Davis' "Traffic Stop" is an American 2017 half-hour documentary that managed an Oscar nomination this year and actually lost out to another film in the documentary short category that also has the word "traffic" in the title. Oh well, as for this one here it is about a Black woman who refused to cooperate properly during a police control and we get the video footage of this and the rest is basically all about manipulating the audience into thinking what a likable honorable person the woman in the car was. Oh well, I do think both sides did not act accordingly here. Yes the police officer was over-the-top violent perhaps, but if you refuse cooperating like she does and then even try to hurry up the cop, then sometimes you get what you deserve and it is not like she carried away any injuries from that event. Besides if you are in the police car, it may not be the best idea to constantly scream and, even worse, kick the equipment. Obey the officer's orders 100% is the best way to handle the situation and get it over with quickly and not act like a brat all the time. Given the "victim's" intellect, she really should know that. Don't let them fool you. This is NOT an example of racist violence or even a hate crime as some may want to declare it. Sucks to see the Academy fell for it, but then again with liberal Hollywood full of shame these days because of (alleged) racism, it is not too surprising it managed the nomination. Luckily, the far more deserving project won the category. What else is there to say about this one. Completely aside from the subject, I also think the physical execution here felt very mediocre and the film had very little to offer apart from it being among the most controversial Oscar entries this year. You have to decide for one side here, indifference is not an option. For me, it was a lot of hullaballoo to be honest and a situation that definitely does not deserve a film made about it. The moment when the film hits rock-bottom really is when they even get a reference to the Trayvon Martin case in here. Oh boy, this could not have been any more disrespectful really and even if you say that the young Black American was shot and murdered in cold blood (which I don't), then it is the most disrespectful thing to compare what happened to him and what happened to Breaion King. I give this one a huge thumbs-down. I have not seen everything obviously, but this one we got here is a definite contender for worst Oscar-nominated movie this year. A failure from pretty much every perspective.

Illustrates how the left is making minorities fragile and ignorant of the law.

[random-70778 · 22 July 2020]

In every state in the US, and in every country in the world, you have to produce a drivers licence if behind the wheel of a car and stopped by law enforcement on a public road. Refusing to produce one based on lack of a warrant means you are nothing ore than an idiot and do not know what a warrant is.

RACE CARD

[sam-38905 · 10/10 · 21 June 2022]

Unbelivable

With the new changing attitudes of how one carries themselves in public and how they completely disrespect and disobey police officer's orders has seemed to become an everyday occurrence. Definiely sends up a red flag on one creating a situation to use the police brutality discrimination card.

The moment police see this happening, they should back away from the hostile situation and call for Task Force backup.

In the dosumentary she even continues to prey on an additional policeman who had to transport her (the one she liked) by asking him his thoughts on racism. She is trying claim this as black discrimination. But, you notice she did not lash out to his remark. She was a perfect citizen all of a sudden. Clearly she was in fact well educated with alledged police brutality issues, so why hadn't she done her part in protecting herself against any possibilities. Redflag.

Another red flag is how she kept looking at the camera in the police car when she was carrying on, trying to see if she was being filmed or not. And, then asking about the video coverage outside and if it video in the incident would be covered. She had known when she jumped out of the car and approached the policeman that she would be on film and where she could start her nonsense. She was not sure if the video would wide angle.

Police departments need to find a new approach on dealing with the Race Card signs. It is a shame that a police officer can't sue these people individually and fight back somehow. But decent, law abiding, respectful people don't fight. They don't carry violent tendancies.

And, personally I am disgusted with hearing about it in my everyday existence. Protect people like myself from enduring this.

Maybe something came out of this that might sink in to her well educated narcassist brain and that is not to be speeding anymore. Unless, of course you run out of the City of Austin's tax payer money you were awarded of $425,000.

Terrible Waste of 30 Minutes that I Could Have Pent Watching Paint Dry!

[shanedickerson-78127 · 1/10 · 2 August 2018]

This woman is evasive and non conforming from the start. The film spends 90% of the time highlighting this "victims" life as an angel in the community. Only, the "community she seems to participate in is strictly African American or minority based leading me to believe she is the racist one. The other 10% proves why if you act foolish and don't follow simple commands from the police you end up in jail. Of course there was a money grab and subsequent payout to keep the rest of the African American community in Austin from burning down their own city. Made me angry and discredits real cases of discrimination or racism that does go on from time to time.

Totally biased 'documentary'

[dmack-5 · 1/10 · 22 July 2020]

Refused to comply, resisted and went straight to using the race card. Most of the half hour is creating an image of her through rose-tinted spectacles. Ends saying that the traffic cop is still patrolling the same area - BECAUSE HE DID NOTHING WRONG!