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Flint Town (2018) documentary poster

Documentary Style

Topical

Flint Town

Why Watch

Two years of unprecedented access inside a police department stretched to breaking point. Essential viewing about what happens when America leaves its cities behind.

Year

2018

Type

series

Episodes

8

Language

English

Director

Zackary Canepari, Drea Cooper, Jessica Dimmock

Genres

PoliticsSocial IssuesInvestigative Journalism

Summary

In 2015, Flint had 98 police officers for 100,000 residents—down from 300. Filmmakers embedded for two years to watch what happens when a city breaks down.

The series follows cadets in training, veteran officers navigating community distrust, and a police chief fighting for funding while violent crime spirals. Through ride-alongs and behind-the-scenes access, the documentary captures both police perspectives and community anger at a system that abandoned them.

What emerges is a portrait of what happens when American communities are systematically neglected—where poverty, political dysfunction, and infrastructure collapse create conditions no police force can solve alone.