About the Documentary

ERNIE & JOE is an intimate portrait of two Texas police officers who are helping change the way police respond to mental health calls. The film takes audiences on a personal journey, weaving together these officers' experiences during their daily encounters with people in crisis. Guns tucked away, Ernie and Joe de-escalate confrontations, divert people to desperately needed mental health services, and save lives.

Watch the trailer.

To host a screening of ERNIE & JOE: CRISIS COPS and/or to bring Officers Joe Smarro and/or Ernie Stevens to your community (virtually or in-person) please email: eandjoutreach@gmail.com or visit https://ernieandjoethefilm.com/outreach.html.

Featured Organizations

Silent Cry Inc. - https://silentcryinc.org/
Silent Cry Inc. is a New York based non-profit organization that takes a holistic approach to aftercare form mass incarceration, gun violence and trauma. We understand that the quality of care is the single biggest factor for impacting and invoking changes. We support affected children and families during and after a challenging period. We use our skill sets and experiences to continuously tap into what is happening in the community. We understand the challenges people face in the process of self-development and when overcoming grief. 

SolutionPoint+ - https://solutionpointplus.com/
Marine Corps Combat Vets, mental health police officers, instructors, and counselors, we are a team privileged to help others pull through the mental health struggles that we also have faced.

Studies support the fact that one in four or one in five adults living in the US qualify for mental health diagnosis. If 20-25% of adults qualify for a mental illness, we must accept the idea that we encounter people in this group, every day. In jobs, schools, homes, hobbies, churches, social activities, etc.

We know people are typically reluctant to change within any organizations, but if we can successfully nudge a cultural shift within a vast law enforcement agency, there is hope for any company or corporation. If we stop focusing on how frustrating or broken any system may be and individually own our portion, proven progress can be made in the right direction.

Partner Organizations

Institute for Justice and Opportunity - https://justiceandopportunity.org/
As a champion of institutional, structural, and personal transformation, the John Jay College Institute for Justice and Opportunity (the Institute) opens doors and eliminates barriers to success for people who have been involved in the criminal legal system. We create access to higher education and pathways to satisfying careers. We advocate for the right to housing, employment, healthcare, and other human rights too often denied people with criminal convictions.

From Punishment to Public Health Initiative - https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/p2ph
From Punishment to Public Health (P2PH) is a unique collaboration led by John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), in partnership with over a dozen key stakeholders focused on addressing the overuse of incarceration and its many public health impacts. Since its founding in 2013, P2PH has leveraged its platform to highlight the endemic social and structural problems that lead to criminal justice involvement, and to position public health interventions to be successful and held accountable to better health, safety and social outcomes. We do this by hosting regular working groups of government, private and non-profit agencies that share a common set of clients but struggle to create a streamlined, client-centered array of programs and services that empower individuals, families and communities toward health, prosperity and overall well-being.