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4 Million Residents and 10,000 Police Officers


One of the most intense movies I've ever seen. There are some moments when it eases up, but for the most part you're holding your breath. Taylor and Zavala really do see more action in a shift than many officers see in their careers (they even say as much), but LA has 4 million people and only 10,000 officers which makes for a lot more interactions. There are so many occasions when the police really do see people at their worst and the movie doesn't shy away from that. It's an intense watch, but worth it to see what life is like for officers in a major metropolitan area (LA covers about 500 sq. miles).

Food in Films: These guys drink more coffee and Red Bull in one shift than most Wall Street guys probably drink in a week.

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That's misleading, LASD has another 10K. L.A. School Police have another 8-9K, and the surrounding cities and their departments, and don't forget about the CHP. So you're looking at 40k cops/ deputies give or take in the greater L.A. area..

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Fair points but it’s probably still not enough officers.

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Only 10,000? That used to be considered an army. It's one cop for every 400 people. I grew up in some small towns, and we had a lot fewer cops than that per resident.

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Fair point. I bet the folks in your town knew how to conduct themselves better than many big city residents. The anonymity of big cities can lead to some terrible behaviors.

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