I watched the first 3 minutes and I didn't see any big problem with what the police officer did. She was asked to step back in the car. She was hesitant and began with excuses why not to. Then the officer saw she was lying (had no wallet to go to the store) and he became suspicious.

He asked for driver license several times and she argued and didn't comply. He then tells her to get out of the car, and she resisted.

BTW, this is actually how majority of these so-called abuse cases. They don't comply with lawful orders and resits arrest, and then complain the cop uses force.

Why did we need the background sob story building up to this? Totally useless for this story. and where was the cop interview?

There are definitely unjustified abuses, but from what I have seen they are rare.

Kate Davis' "Traffic Stop" is an American 2017 half-hour documentary that managed an Oscar nomination this year and actually lost out to another film in the documentary short category that also has the word "traffic" in the title. Oh well, as for this one here it is about a Black woman who refused to cooperate properly during a police control and we get the video footage of this and the rest is basically all about manipulating the audience into thinking what a likable honorable person the woman in the car was. Oh well, I do think both sides did not act accordingly here. Yes the police officer was over-the-top violent perhaps, but if you refuse cooperating like she does and then even try to hurry up the cop, then sometimes you get what you deserve and it is not like she carried away any injuries from that event. Besides if you are in the police car, it may not be the best idea to constantly scream and, even worse, kick the equipment. Obey the officer's orders 100% is the best way to handle the situation and get it over with quickly and not act like a brat all the time. Given the "victim's" intellect, she really should know that. Don't let them fool you. This is NOT an example of racist violence or even a hate crime as some may want to declare it. Sucks to see the Academy fell for it, but then again with liberal Hollywood full of shame these days because of (alleged) racism, it is not too surprising it managed the nomination. Luckily, the far more deserving project won the category. What else is there to say about this one. Completely aside from the subject, I also think the physical execution here felt very mediocre and the film had very little to offer apart from it being among the most controversial Oscar entries this year. You have to decide for one side here, indifference is not an option. For me, it was a lot of hullaballoo to be honest and a situation that definitely does not deserve a film made about it. The moment when the film hits rock-bottom really is when they even get a reference to the Trayvon Martin case in here. Oh boy, this could not have been any more disrespectful really and even if you say that the young Black American was shot and murdered in cold blood (which I don't),then it is the most disrespectful thing to compare what happened to him and what happened to Breaion King. I give this one a huge thumbs-down. I have not seen everything obviously, but this one we got here is a definite contender for worst Oscar-nominated movie this year. A failure from pretty much every perspective.

The "victim" was rude, obnoxious and it seems like she was just trying to weasel out of getting a ticket. The police officer's explanation of the event was honest and spot on. The victim actually lied but she's still the victim? I don't think this film does anything to support the concerns over police brutality and racism.