JASON HARNEY: HOW ONE COP TURNED HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER INTO AWARD-WINNING LAW ENFORCEMENT FILMS

Exclusive Interview
By: Lori Cooper

Q. Please tell us a little about yourself and your law enforcement career with The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, retired Sgt. Jason Harney. 

A. I began my career with the LVMPD in 1991, having served as a member of the 72nd Military Police Company in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Over the next 23-1/2 years, I worked a wide variety of assignments, including patrol, field training officer and detective. After a promotion to sergeant in 2002, I spent the final 13 years of my career as a first-line supervisor with assignments as a patrol sergeant, academy sergeant, recruitment supervisor and field training sergeant.

Q. Did you always want to pursue a career in law enforcement? What led you to becoming a filmmaker?

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A. The most significant influence in becoming a police officer was my father, Lt. Steve Harney, who retired in 2004 after serving 32 years with the Nevada Highway Patrol. Without his contributions to my life, I never would have had the direction necessary to become a police officer. I learned the technical side of filmmaking with members of the LVMPD Video Production Unit during my time off, resulting in opening my production company, Lightning Digital Entertainment, in 2003.  I worked part time doing commercials, training videos, and events, with the plan of honing my skills in preparation of taking on larger film projects after retiring from LVMPD. Becoming a filmmaker after retiring was always the goal. 

Q. In terms of law enforcement-related films, tell us about your filmmaking career as it relates to those titles.

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A. Since I began film production full time, I have been fortunate to produce, direct, edit, and write three feature documentaries and a six-part docuseries.  Aside from my debut film, the last three projects relate directly to my previous occupation.  In 2018, I met with author and LVMPD Detective Bradley Nickell, who had recently chronicled one of his biggest cases in a well-received true crime book called “Repeat Offender.”  After reading it, I contacted him and pitched the idea of adapting his book into a feature-length documentary film.  We made the film, also titled “Repeat Offender,” over a period of about six months, releasing the film in June 2019 across all of the major Video On Demand platforms.  Detective Nickell’s relentless effort in putting away for good one of Las Vegas’ most notorious career criminals is a story of exceptional detective work and unparalleled dedication to our profession. It was an honor to tell this story.

Also during 2018, I met with retired LVMPD Lt. Randy Sutton, who was in the early stages of creating a nonprofit to benefit injured and disabled police officers.  He knew I had become a filmmaker and wanted to explore producing a feature documentary that would tell the stories of injured cops throughout the country who were treated poorly by their agencies and workers comp, while also suffering from the devastating effects of PTSD. The resulting film, named after the nonprofit, was “The Wounded Blue,” the stories of six cops throughout the country involved in critical incidents who were left to cope alone by their agencies, often leading to tragic consequences. There is no question this is the most important film I’ve done thus far. Released in March, 2019, “The Wounded Blue” is also available on all of the major VOD platforms.  We followed up the film with a six-part docuseries called “Voices of the Blue” which premiered on YouTube in May 2020, with a deeper dive into police PTSD and cumulative trauma. 

Q. Why have you chosen to focus on documentary filmmaking?

A. Working within the documentary realm means the opportunity to tell stories that really matter and are important. Many times, we are helping to give a voice to the voiceless, while bringing critical issues to the forefront that would otherwise be ignored by the mainstream media.

Q. If you had one opportunity to work with anyone in the film industry, who would it be and why?

A. Many filmmakers have influenced my work. James Cameron tops the list, but having already had the opportunity to collaborate with Detective Bradley Nickell on “Repeat Offender” and Lt. Randy Sutton on “The Wounded Blue” has provided me the kind of film career highlight that won’t easily be surpassed.

Q. Please let our audience know how they can reach you.

A.You can find me on Twitter @JasonHarney72 and @LDE_Films or visit my website: www.LightningDigitalEntertainment.com.