Denzel Washington has played a police officer in over a dozen films. While he might not be a cop in real life, the actor stands in support of them and believes those who serve in law enforcement deserve respect.

Police Officers have had a challenging year. The pandemic has made everything that much harder, but their jobs were made worse by multiple Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots around the country. Far left activists and politicians are calling out to defund the police at a time when they need more backup than ever. 

“Utmost Respect” For Cops

While some politicians and actors have been highly critical of those in law enforcement, Denzel Washington is standing firm in his commitment to them. 

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“I have the utmost respect for what they do, for what our soldiers do, [people] that sacrifice their lives,” Washington told Yahoo Entertainment. “I just don’t care for people who put those kind of people down. If it weren’t for them, we would not have the freedom to complain about what they do.”

Washington is promoting his new film The Little Things, in which he once again portrays a cop. While the actor played revolutionary Malcolm X, he is best known for his work as police officers and members of the military. 

His career spans over four decades and he’s been nominated for eight Academy Awards. He won two Oscars, Best Actor for Training Day and Best Supporting Actor for Glory.

Denzel Washington’s Police Ride Along

He credits his longstanding appreciation for those who protect us to police ride along he took in 1991 to prepare for the movie Ricochet

“I went out on call with a sergeant,” Denzel Washington remembers. “We got a call of a man outside his house with a rifle that was distraught. We pulled up and did a U-turn past the house and came up short of the house. He told me to sit in the car, which I was gonna do. I wasn’t getting out. He got out. As he got out, another car came screaming up and two young people jumped out screaming. As it turned out, it was their grandfather. This policeman defused the entire situation by just remaining calm.

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“But it showed me in an instant how they can lose their life. … He didn’t overreact. He could’ve pulled his gun out and shot the people that came up driving real fast,” the actor continued. “He could’ve shot the old man that was distraught and a bit confused, I think he was suffering a little bit from dementia. But in an instant it taught me, and I never forgot it, what our law enforcement people have to deal with moment to moment, second to second.”

A trailer for The Little Things can be watched in the video below. 

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