Dedicated Police Officers in the Film, End of Watch

End of Watch (Ayer, 2012) is a film which follows the lives of two police officers, partners Brian Taylor
and Mike Zavala, in the Los Angeles Police Department. The movie is shot in the style of a documentary
and because of this the film centralized on these two officers and their patrols. When the film began
Taylor and Zavala had just successfully apprehended two suspects in a high speed car chase which they
were praised for by other officers and members of the department. From then on out the officers made
a number of impressive arrests, rescues, and discoveries the two partners made throughout the film.
Unfortunately for the Taylor and Zavala, their successfulness in investigating and apprehending locations
and suspects of a drug ring…show more content…

A handful of less exciting, yet more realistic, aspects of crime were experienced by Taylor and Zavala
during the film. They once reported for a noise complaint as well as respond to a welfare check of an
elderly woman. There was even discussion between the officers of their difficult and tiresome schedules
which added to the stress of Taylor being recently married and Zavala recently becoming a father. These
events are more similar to the day-to-day occurrences which police officers deal with in real life. Some
of the functions of patrol can be seen in these events, such as, “[maintaining] public order within the
patrol area” and “[aiding] individuals and care for those who cannot help themselves” (Seigal & Worrall,
2012, pg. 207-208). There are also problems of policing found among these events, such as job stress
which includes the “pressure of being on 24 hours per day leads to stress and emotional detachment”
(Seigal & Worrall, 2012, pg. 259). Incidences like these may more accurately represent more common
duties and stressors of police officers.