Tuesday’s episode of The Resident on Fox returned to the Black Lives Matter trope of the racist cop quick to pull his gun on innocent black men.
In the episode titled “Now What?,” a white cop pulls over Dr. AJ “The Raptor” Austin (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) while he’s driving in the car with a young black man he is mentoring named Trevor. The cardiothoracic surgeon tries to keep Trevor calm, but things spiral as Trevor talks back to the cop and walks toward him. The twist? Right as the cop points his gun on the men, a scooter comes out of nowhere and hits him.
Austin: No, no, put that back.
Trevor: Are you kidding? We got to record what happens.
Austin: Trevor, listen to me. Stop. Okay, this is how it's gonna go. You only speak when spoken to. It's only "Yes, sir" or "No, sir," and keep your hands in plain sight at all times. This is not a request. Morning, Officer.
Officer: Sir, are you aware that your right taillight is out?
Austin: Yes, sir. I'm sorry about that, Officer. I ordered the part from Germany. It should be here tomorrow. You know, it's kind of hard to track down European vintage car parts locally.
Officer: License and registration, please?
Austin: Sure.
Officer: And then I'm gonna need you both to step out of the car, gentlemen.
Austin: Easy, all right? Just easy.
Officer: Keep your hands on the car where I can see 'em, gentlemen.
Trevor: Oh, I cannot wait till your pasty ass finds out what he does for a living.
Austin: Hey, Trevor, chill.
Officer: What was that?
Trevor: I mean, all you see is two Black men in a car that's a little too nice, so it must be stolen, right? Or we must be into something illegal.
Austin: Trevor, easy. Trevor...
Trevor: And once you run the plates, and they're clean, suddenly you'll remember that we fit the description of a wanted Black man wearing a shirt and pants, between five-one and six-eight.
Officer: You might want to calm down, son.
Trevor: Oh, I'm not your son.
Officer: Son, put your hands on that vehicle.
Trevor: Stop calling me "Son."
Officer: Get your hands on the car!
Austin: Trevor, back up! (Tires screech) Call 911.
Dr. Austin keeps the police officer alive and gets him to the hospital.
At the hospital, Dr. Austin explains, “Officer Winnaker pulled us over and out of the car for driving-while-black, then he pulled his gun out and he got hit by the scooter.” He insists he is ok to continue working on him, “I saved the guy's life once already. I am not gonna lower my batting average to .500, patient's bad intentions notwithstanding.”
After the cop survives surgery and is stable, Trevor questions why the doctor helped him.
Trevor: So, um, how many times did that cop almost die in there?
Austin: MM, by my count, three.
Trevor: Right, right. So, um, why'd you go above and beyond and give this guy the chance to destroy a few more brothers down the road?
Austin: Look, the best I can do in the face of ignorance is be better. My excellence is the best revenge.
Trevor: So you think this guy is gonna change his worldview because a Black doctor saved his life with his "Excellence"? Come on, man, that's naive.
Austin: Whoa, hold up, slow your roll. It's not about the cop, Sherlock. It's about me. Saint or sinner, they all get treated the same underneath my knife. In the sanctity of my or, there is no place for moral relativism. When the world around me is irredeemable, I am a righteous man. What kind of man do you want to be?
Dr. Austin has the right attitude and conducts himself with the utmost professionalism, but the entire episode buys into the BLM assumption that all cops are “irredeemable” racists with “bad intentions” looking to “destroy a few more brothers” for “driving-while-black.” Just one more episode to add to the BLM pile.
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