Ever since the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police last Monday, May 25, Americans of all ages, genders and skin colors came out on the streets of over 140 cities around the country to protest police brutality and systematic racism. While the majority of protesters come with peace, many police officers resort to violence and sweeping arrests in an attempt to control the situation. At this point, the situation whole speaks for itself loud and clear — we need some kind of police reform, and soon.

In the wake of the current sociopolitical climate, many have come forward to acknowledge the problematic ways in which police have been portrayed onscreen for decades. It all started when multi-hyphenate Tom Scharpling, an executive producer behind the long-running police procedural Monk, acknowledged he also had a role to play in propagating an inaccurate and biased depiction of law enforcement officers at work via a statement released on Twitter:

“If you—as I have—worked on a TV show or movie in which police are portrayed as lovable goofballs you have contributed to the larger acceptance that cops are the implicitly the good guys,” he wrote. “Most shows don’t portray the brutal shit—much less the racism—that goes on daily. I worked on MONK, that’s what we did. Goofy good guy cops for eight seasons. Not saying you should necessarily be ashamed of your work, it’s comedy/entertainment, I get it. But we need to be mindful of the implications of this attitude going forward. We also need to PAY UP.”

If you – as I have – worked on a TV show or movie in which police are portrayed as lovable goofballs you have contributed to the larger acceptance that cops are the implicitly the good guys. Most shows dont portray the brutal shit – much less the racism – that goes on daily. 1/3

— scharpling (@scharpling) June 1, 2020

Scharpling also shared a link to a fundraising page that splits donations between a dozen of organizations that aimed at fighting racism and police brutality across the country, encouraging people those who feel culpable to make a contribution. “If you made your living portraying cops as harmless heroes, consider giving $$ to support what is right and just, to contribute to actual change,” he added.

A few hours later, Griffin Newman has joined in with a $10,000 donation to the Community Justice Exchange that will be distributed to local bail and bond funds to assist with the release of arrested protestors. The actor who played a detective on two episodes of Blue Bloods almost a decade ago also added a $1,000 tip for the ActBlue Charities staff: “If you currently play a cop? If you make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in residuals from playing a cop? I’ll let you do the math.”

Following the footsteps of Scharpling and Newman, Brooklyn Nine-Nine costar Stephanie Beatriz (the show’s Detective Rosa Diaz) has entered the movement, pledging a total of $11,000 to the #FreeThemAll Emergency Response Fund. Both Newman and Beatriz encouraged other TV cops to give back.

https://twitter.com/GriffLightning/status/1267666336731324416

I’m an actor who plays a detective on tv.

If you currently play a cop?

If you make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in residuals from playing a cop?

I’ll let you do the math. (Thanks @GriffLightning for leading the way). pic.twitter.com/Xxf3dU0urF

— Stephanie Beatriz (@iamstephbeatz) June 2, 2020

Other entertainment industry figures have contributed since. Former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Céline Robinson has also contributed $5,000 to Community Justice Exchange, plus $500 tips. “I am not an actor who plays a detective on tv. But I wrote a few,” she said in her Twitter statement. “My partner and I have benefited from the depiction of police. We have made a donation to the @bailfundnetwork.” Will Martin, who played a background sheriff on an episode of The Rookie, donated $100 to the cause — about the amount he earned for making a brief appearance.

https://twitter.com/TVCeline/status/1267804777599119362

I was a background sheriff on this episode of The Rookie. I’m in one shot and think I made $96 let’s call it an even hundred to BLM LA pic.twitter.com/eAZq7olzGh

— Will Martin (@mrwillmartin) June 2, 2020

Even some people from the viewer crowd decided to pitch in. “I’m not an actor,” tweeted Laura The Internet Explorer. “But I did watch all 434 episodes of Law and Order SVU over a six month period last year and my repentance is long overdue.”

I'm not an actor but I did watch all 434 episodes of Law and Order SVU over a six month period last year and my repentance is long overdue. pic.twitter.com/2Y0LAUZ3nE

— Laura The Internet Explorer (@snotgirl69) June 2, 2020

Color of Change, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization, has published a disparaging report about the biased and unrealistic depiction of police on crime shows. Based on an exhaustive study of 353 episodes of television from 26 different scripted TV series in the 2017-2018 season, the report has concluded that “the crime TV genre — the main way that tens of millions of people learn to think about the criminal justice system — advanced debunked ideas about crime, a false hero narrative about law enforcement, and distorted representations about Black people, other people of color and women.”

The report continued: “These shows rendered racism invisible and dismissed any need for police accountability. They made illegal, destructive and racist practices within the criminal justice system seem acceptable, justifiable and necessary — even heroic. The study found that the genre is also incredibly un-diverse in terms of creators, writers and showrunners: nearly all white.”