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Actor Denzel Washington made his support for police officers and soldiers clear by giving his opinion of people who “put down” our country’s first responders and heroes.
Washington doesn’t echo the sentiments of his Hollywood peers when it comes to movements like Black Lives Matter and “Defund The Police.” The Oscar-winning actor was very adamant about people who degrade police officers and military members.
“I have the utmost respect for what they do, for what our soldiers do, [people] that sacrifice their lives. 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,” Denzel told Yahoo Entertainment.
He was very proud to have portrayed law enforcement in more than a dozen movies, including a film titled The Little Things. He plays a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective with a past, who gets to find his chance at redemption. He went on to explain that his respect for law enforcement was also shaped by first-hand experience after he witnessed an incident during a ride-along in 1991 while researching for the film Ricochet.
“I went out on a call with a sergeant. We got a call of a man outside his house with a rifle that was distraught,” Denzel told Yahoo.
“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.”
“The officer was able to defuse the situation without resorting to any violence,” Denzel said.
“But it showed me in an instant how they can lose their life,” he added.
“He didn’t overreact. He could’ve pulled his gun out and shot the people that came up driving real fast. 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.”
Washington also was praised for something that happened in his private life. Someone captured on video Washington trying to help a homeless man during an encounter with the police in Los Angeles. He was shown trying to mediate the situation between a homeless man and two police officers.
“Denzel drove by, saw the individual in the road, and was worried about his safety,” the officer said.
The actor “pulled over, got the individual out of the road and police officers were called by another person that was driving by and saw Denzel. We intervened, spoke with the individual, and determined that he did not want to harm himself or others, and he was on his way.”
An LAPD officer publicly thanked Washington and said he was a Good Samaritan.
“So Denzel helped us today,” the officer said.
Denzel has also portrayed a U.S. soldier several times during his career. He said he is always looking to make a film about those heroes who “give the ultimate sacrifice.”
