Utah-based award-winning documentary makes TV debut in May

(Scott Christopherson)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Early August, 2014: Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri, is shot and killed by a police officer, setting off protests that last well into the fall.

Mid April, 2015: In Baltimore, Freddie Gray dies after being arrested and then transported in a police van.

In the middle of it all, the South by Southwest Film Festival in March of 2015 gives its Best Documentary award to a pair of BYU filmmakers for their work titled "Peace Officer."

Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber, however, say their work, which has been generalized as a piece about the militarization of police, didn't really start that way. Instead, it was the story of former Utah sheriff William "Dub" Lawrence that caught the attention of the pair.

"We didn't set out to make a film about the militarization of police. Rather, we met Dub and were compelled by Dub's story and took it from there," Christopherson said.

"We think that's how documentaries can be most effective, when you come into it without a preconceived agenda and are just looking to ask questions, raise questions and hopefully find some answers," Barber said.

"Peace Officer," which has been presented in limited showings in movie theaters nationwide, is now available on Hulu Plus and will make its PBS debut May 9 on the program "Independent Lens."

Lawrence is the focus of the film.

Lawrence was the Davis County sheriff in the late 1970s and is credited with forming Utah's first SWAT team. Ironically, years later, Lawrence's son-in-law died after a standoff involving the same unit in 2008.

"It really inspired Dub to kind of go on this crusade to look at what's gone on with police in America. Had it not happened, we might not have Dub as much of an advocate," Christopherson said. "I think Dub was really able to experience what it was like to be a victim in a SWAT raid through his son-in-law.

"He developed a lot of empathy for other people who have experienced similar things and who have lost loved ones on both sides — both police and regular citizens," Christopherson added. "He's kind of made it his quest to make sense of it and improve the situation. He's really pro-police and wants to improve how police are trained and how they interact with citizens."

Although the finished product was unveiled in the midst of a series of well-publicized police standoffs, the documentary took two-and-a-half years to make. Both Barber and Christopherson are full-time faculty members in the Theater and Media Arts Department at BYU.


There were times when we wondered if this was a Utah story or a national story.

–Brad Barber, filmmaker


"When we were making the film, there were times when we wondered if this was a Utah story or a national story," Barber said.

"Audiences we've shown this to around the country and around the world have really responded to the fact that the events take place in a pretty small town," he continued. "In other words, these kinds of changes in the way police use SWAT and other tactics are changing all around the country — in small communities and big cities alike."

Utah screening

Leading up to the PBS airing of "Peace Officer," a screening of the film will take place at 7 p.m. on May 3 at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. Lawrence, Barber and Christopherson plan to attend that screening. Listen for this story on KSL News Radio.

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