The Seven Five

Yesterday was one of those Sundays... I was under the weather, and in and out of cat-naps. I woke up at 2 pm and went to the kitchen to warm up an Everything bagel with Salmon Cream Cheese - Delish ! Okay enough with the food xxx talk. While snacking and I decided to look for something good to dive into on tv. Eventually, I ended up finding a documentary called The Seven Five, and it didn't disappoint one bit. 

The Seven Five is a documentary that's approximately close to two hours long - which wasn't an issue for me at all, especially being that it grabbed my attention right away. The streaming service platform that I watched the documentary on acknowledged the film to be presented by All3media in association with Belfor entertainment, and another source cites that Tiller Russel directed it, and Sony Pictures recently purchased.

The acknowledgment is out of the way, so let's get it now. The Seven Five is a story based on a ex New York City Police officer, Mike Dowd, who worked as a cop for the East New York, Brooklyn 75th Precinct in the 1980s. Mike Dowd was an overzealous Caucasian officer who made one of the most dangerous, impoverished slums of America during that time in history his pot of gold by becoming a bigger criminal than any criminal you probably can think of to this very date. 

The film starts off with a flashback footage clip of a younger Mike Dowd being questioned by a judge during the Mollen Commission investigation hearing. Thereafter, it takes the viewers back to ten years prior - the beginning. Police officers Mike Dowd and his partner in crime, officer Kenneth Eurell, patrolled the crack infested streets of East New York Brooklyn together during a time when drug dealers were making a couple of hundred thousands on the daily, when 12 year-olds carried 9mm guns, and when law and order probably was at it's lowest in this particular neighborhood. These two officers officially became partners in 1987 when they immediately started crossing the line and commuting bigger crimes than the so-called criminals that they were supposed to be policing. Dowd and Eurell became so corrupted in a blink of an eye, and once they realized how easy it was for them to commit crimes as officers and get away with it, they leveled-up each time and committed a bigger crime than their last, each and every time. 

According to Dowd, Eurell, and other officers who provided commentary during the film, their weekly pay checks were no more than 650 dollars. Having mortgage, families, and the dire desire to live greater than their means, these officers chose to work do robbery jobs, home burglary, taking bribes from king pins, and murder !

I think the peek of the film was when Dowd and another officer responded to a home burglary call but when they arrived to the scene the intruders were gone, and there was a teenage girl at the apartment alone. Dowd asked her if her mom belonging were gone, she called her mother and asked where were her valuables, the girl then mentions it to Dowd, he finds it, but tells her that it's gone. Thereafter, he makes off with four to five grand after reporting to a scene at an apartment on Hegeman street. They left out and came back after all other officers were gone and the coast was clear. They dressed in Detective attire and gained entrance to the apartment by flashing their badge in the landlord's peephole. Dowd and Eurell found tens of grands and went to Atlantic City clean the dirty money. This became a religion for the two cops. 

Their downfall erupted when the two officers got involved with a big-time Dominican Boss, Adam Diaz and the Diaz organization whom owned many Brooklyn bodegas and moved a few dozens of kilos per day. They ended up working for Diaz by providing inside information regarding raids, competitors, informants, and they even escorted Diaz and his associates from the trap house, to the stash house, to point c for protection against stick-up men.

As every story as such must go, Dowd and Eurell got caught up - well Dowd did, because Eurell... Well, catch the film to find out how it unfolds.

Overall, I give this documentary thumbs up because it left no stone unturned, and the commentary was hilarious lol.

Check your streaming service for availability. Xo