Gil Scott Heron’s famous poem/song, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, ends with the poignant verse, ‘the revolution would be live.’ Written in 1970, Heron could not have known that amateur cell phone footage captured by regular people would explode virally on social media creating a digital revolution.

In her powerful directorial debut, COPWATCH, journalist turned director, Camilla Hall, offers a rare view and intimate access to WeCopwatch, a citizen activist group, who uses simple video cameras and cell phones to capture police mis-conduct. “Copwatch focuses on the people behind the lens and how their lives have been impacted by the simple act of videotaping. It’s not as much about what happened in front of the cameras, but it’s about those who stood behind them and how their lives have been impacted since videotaping” shares Hall. “Copwatch is also about a sense brotherhood that developed through the shared trauma of standing up to police brutality.” There are several intimate moments throughout the documentary like this one on one conversation between Ramsey Orta and Kevin Moore, where the two men discuss the emotional burden of cop watching and relive the moment that changed their lives.

Today citizen activist groups like WeCopwatch are using simple video cameras and cell phone to capturing police mis-conduct. Many of them have created programs to educate and empower communities to use their cell phones and video cameras as a community defense tool. The mere presence of WeCopwatch, on the scene watching and recording helps to deter police brutality.

Featured in Copwatch are Jacob Crawford (WeCopwatch co-founder, Oakland) and 3 of its members:Ramsey Orta (Eric Garner, Staten Island, NY), Kevin Moore (Freddie Gray, Baltimore MD), and David Whitt (Wecopwatch co-founder, Ferguson, Michael Brown protests) whose videos exploded virally on social media and global/news networks outraging a nation and further inspiring the Black Lives Matter Movement and human right protests.

Ramsey Orta

The world watched in horror as Eric Garner was pinned down, his face pressed into the pavement. An illegal choke hold left Garner gasping for his final words, “I Can’t Breathe, I Can’t Breathe.” If Ramsey Orta hadn’t captured the entire ordeal, we would be left only with the police account and his family without the video evidence. Orta is the only person from the scene of the fatal Staten Island arrest to go to jail is currently incarcerated. Ramsey recently filed against for NYPD from prison.

Kevin Moore

In Baltimore, Kevin Moore, awoke to the piercing screams of his friend and neighbor Freddie Gray. Startled, he grabbed a camera, ran outside, filming as police dragged the injured young man into the back of a paddy wagon. Gray would die from the injuries and Kevin’s video, like those before his, aired on global news outlets and spread virally. Like Ramsey, Kevin became an immediate target and was arrested shortly after he filmed the video while attending a protest.

Jacob Crawford and David Whitt (We Copwatch Co-Founders)

The 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant on the BART platform in Oakland left the city shaken. Jacob Crawford (WeCopwatch co-founder), who had spent over 15 years documenting police activity became even more committed to cop watching. He traveled to Ferguson, MO., after the death of Michael Brown for the protests there and befriended David Whitt, a young father who lived in the complex where Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police. Compelled to take action, Whitt started filming the police encounters with protesters after Michael Brown’s “Hands Up” shooting and joined Crawford to co-found WeCopwatch.

As WeCopwatch expands nationwide, they continue to educate and empower civilians, teaching them how to use their cell phones and video cameras as a line of defense. Through “Copwatch College,” the “7 Rules To Know When Recording Police posted on their website wecopwatch.org, WeCopwatch is changing how citizens respond to police brutality, and educating communities to record and protect.

Copwatch is executive produced by Oscar-winning duo, TJ Martin and Daniel Lindsay (Undefeated), Jacob Crawford, Patrick Hamm, Tirrell D. Whittley, produced by Matthew Perniciaro and Michael Sherman for Bow and Arrow Entertainment and distributed by Gunpowder & Sky under its FilmBufflabel. 2017 Emmy Award winning composer Kris Bowers composed the film’s score.