You’ve seen him in “Blue Bloods,” “True Detective” and “The Wire,” but did you know Hollywood actor Jim Klock moonlights as a sheriff’s deputy in Stafford County, Virginia?
This fall, he’s combining both passions for a new documentary at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Museum near Judiciary Square in D.C.
Klock’s first documentary, ‘The Thin Black Line,’ explored the experience of being an African-American law enforcement officer, and CEO Marcia Ferranto told WTOP she was “totally blown away. And I said, ‘We’re interested in creating a very experiential film. … Would you sit on our steering committee and be our creative eye?'”
As a result, Klock teamed with Chris Cassidy (“Out of the Shadows”) and Chris Kenneally (“Already Gone”) to co-produce “Service and Sacrifice,” which visitors will watch as they enter the D.C. museum.
“When we have law enforcement come into this building,” Ferranto said, “we need them to sit in that auditorium and leave feeling honored, and their families sitting to their right and left feeling such pride, around these humans who have chosen this profession. For everyone else in the theater, they’re going to wish they [had].”
Cassidy and Kenneally traveled the nation, interviewing law enforcement officers and family members who have lost loved ones in the line of duty. Local highlights include Alexandria City Police Sgt. Gerald Ford, nicknamed “Neighborhood” after 26 years, and Stafford County Police Sgt. Carol Burgess, the only Black female officer in an agency of more than 200.
“Their stories are phenomenal,” Ferranto said. “Come watch Sgt. Burgess. There’s footage of her within the school systems working with kids, jumping into that healing process [regarding] children’s view on law enforcement. Hearing her words, why she serves, why she does what she does, will help us understand more the human side behind law enforcement.”
You’ll also see the inspiring story of Officer Matias Ferreira, who lost both his legs as a Marine in Afghanistan. “Matias is an awesome human being,” Ferranto said. “He came back home and went through the healing process and never gave up the vision and the calling to serve. He became the first double-amputee law enforcement officer.”
The film also mourns Anthony Dia and Stephen Williams, who were killed in the line of duty. “After watching the film, you feel like you know them,” Ferranto said. “We absolutely feel a closeness to both families. … You hear Anthony [say] to dispatch his final words. Stephen was very much a thought leader in law enforcement and his life was cut short.”
The museum is open to the public Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It’s also hosting a special “Open House” event that is free to the public on Oct. 1.
“There are lots of interactive opportunities,” Ferranto said. “One of our greatest attractions is a situational simulator where the audience can watch lay people in a situation similar to what law enforcement find themselves in daily. … The other simulator we have is a driving simulator. The participant can get into a police car and do a high-speed pursuit.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
