I’d like to plug an important, disturbing and highly instructive film that gets at some little-known truths about police killings and is now available for viewing online: “3 Seconds in October: The Shooting of Andy Lopez.”
“3 Seconds in October” was produced and directed by Ron Rogers and is enhanced by Peter Coyote’s incomparable narrative voice. The 28-minute documentary recently received a regional Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Rogers’ film recounts the outrageous 2013 killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez and its aftermath. Andy was walking down a Santa Rosa-area street carrying a toy replica of an assault rifle when shot by Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy Erick Gelhaus . After Gelhaus’ first bullet hit Andy in the heart, the deputy continued to shoot the boy “over and over and over again” as Andy fell and while he was on the ground.