In partnership with:

Police on Trial
May 31, 2022
Airing at 10/9c on PBS & on YouTube
Streaming at 7/6c at pbs.org/frontline & in the PBS Video App
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On Tuesday, May 31, FRONTLINE and the Pulitzer Prize-winning staff of the Minneapolis Star Tribune will present Police on Trial: a new, 90-minute documentary that examines one of the most pivotal events in the history of race and policing in America.

Two years in the making, the documentary draws on unique on-the-ground reporting and filming, from the earliest days after George Floyd was killed, to the trial and murder conviction of Derek Chauvin, to the ongoing struggles for police accountability and reform.

It features never-before-published video of prior uses of force by Chauvin; exclusive interviews with former senior police officers who say they faced repercussions for speaking out about problems within the department; and intimate conversations with members of George Floyd’s family, as events unfolded over time in Minneapolis.

From director Mike Shum (American Voices: A Nation in Turmoil), producer Marcia Robiou (Whose Vote Counts) and a team of reporters from the Star Tribune, Police on Trial is part of FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative, an innovative effort to support and strengthen investigative reporting in communities around the country, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Police on Trial was produced in association with the Center for Asian American Media and is supported by The WNET Group’s Exploring Hate initiative.

This special collaboration offers a one-of-a-kind view of a police killing that echoed around the world, by the Star Tribune reporters and photojournalists who covered it day to day and were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for their work. It is also a deep work of accountability journalism that brings to light numerous warning signs about Chauvin that Minneapolis police did not act on.

Police on Trial reveals that Chauvin’s troubling use of force was the product of a system and culture that enabled bad behavior, and it shows the difficulty the city has had enacting lasting change, despite vocal calls for reform — a problem confirmed in a scathing new report from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights that found the city’s police has engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination over the past decade and failed to hold problem officers accountable.

Two years since the murder of George Floyd, Police on Trial is a timely examination that speaks not just to what happened in Minneapolis but to problems with policing around the country.

Police on Trial will premiere Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at 10/9c on PBS stations (check local listings). The documentary will also be available to stream at pbs.org/frontline, in the PBS Video App and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel. Police on Trial is distributed internationally by PBS International.

Subscribe to FRONTLINE’s newsletter to get updates on events, podcast episodes and more reporting related to Police on Trial.

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Credits
A FRONTLINE production with Five O’Clock Films in association with Mike Shum Productions and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). The director and producer is Mike Shum. The producer and reporter is Marcia Robiou. The narrator/reporter is Libor Jany, along with reporters Andy Mannix, Liz Navratil, Liz Sawyer, Chao Xiong. The senior producers are Frank Koughan and Callie Wiser. The executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

About FRONTLINE
FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 100 Emmy Awards and 26 Peabody Awards. Visit pbs.org/frontline and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more. FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Park Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. FRONTLINE’s filmmaker-in-residence program is funded by the Hollyhock Foundation. FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative is funded with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for Police on Trial is provided by The WNET Group’s Exploring Hate Initiative, with principal support by Sylvia A. and Simon B. Poyta Programming Endowment to Fight Antisemitism, and additional major funding from Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Charlotte and David Ackert, The Peter G. Peterson and Joan Ganz Cooney Fund, and Patti Askwith Kenner. For a complete list of funders, please visit pbs.org/exploringhate.

About the Star Tribune
Star Tribune Media Co. is a locally owned, award-winning media company serving Minnesota and the upper Midwest. Star Tribune fields one of the largest local newsgathering teams in the U.S., with 240 full-time journalists. With the most-visited local news site, 100,000 digital subscribers, and the fourth-largest Sunday and third-largest daily circulation metro print newspaper in the U.S., Star Tribune reaches more news consumers than any other Minnesota media brand. For more information, visit www.startribune.com.

About Center for Asian American Media
For over 40 years, the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) has been dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. As a nonprofit organization, CAAM funds, produces, distributes, and exhibits works in film, television, and digital media. CAAM’s award-winning public TV programs are seen by millions of viewers a year across the United States, including 47 documentary shows in the last four years and more than 300 films since 1982. The director of programs for the Center for Asian American Media is Donald Young. The executive producer of the Center for Asian American Media is Stephen Gong. For more information, please visit www.CAAMedia.org.

About The WNET Group
The WNET Group creates inspiring media content and meaningful experiences for diverse audiences nationwide. It is the community-supported home of New York’s THIRTEEN – America’s flagship PBS station – WLIW21, THIRTEEN PBSKids, WLIW World and Create; NJ PBS, New Jersey’s statewide public television network; Long Island’s only NPR station WLIW-FM; ALL ARTS, the arts and culture media provider; and newsroom NJ Spotlight News. Through these channels and streaming platforms, The WNET Group brings arts, culture, education, news, documentary, entertainment and DIY programming to more than five million viewers each month. The WNET Group’s award-winning productions include signature PBS series Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend and Amanpour and Company and trusted local news programs MetroFocus and NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi. Inspiring curiosity and nurturing dreams, The WNET Group’s award-winning Kids’ Media and Education team produces the PBS KIDS series Cyberchase, interactive Mission US history games, and resources for families, teachers and caregivers. A leading nonprofit public media producer for nearly 60 years, The WNET Group presents and distributes content that fosters lifelong learning, including multiplatform initiatives addressing poverty, jobs, economic opportunity, social justice, understanding and the environment. Through Passport, station members can stream new and archival programming anytime, anywhere. The WNET Group represents the best in public media. Join us.

FRONTLINE Press Contact:
Anne Husted, FRONTLINE, Manager, Public Relations and Communications
frontlinemedia@wgbh.org  |  6173005312

Star Tribune Press Contact:
Steve Yaeger, Chief Marketing Officer and SVP Circulation
steve.yaeger@startribune.com |  651-357-3036

Center for Asian American Media Press Contact:
Donald Young, CAAM, Director of Programs
don@caamedia.org | 415-863-0814 (x105)