BIO

Don Sikorski is an Emmy-nominated investigative journalist, filmmaker, and executive producer with over two decades of experience documenting the American criminal justice system. His body of work spans feature films, broadcast television, podcasts, and long-form journalism, often placing him inside police departments, federal agencies, and the courtrooms that shape our understanding of crime and justice.

Sikorski began his career with the feature-length documentary Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops, a groundbreaking exposé of a NYPD-FBI intelligence unit that had the hip-hop industry under surveillance. Released by Universal/Screen Media Ventures in 2007, the film set the tone for his career—examining the intersection of culture, surveillance, and institutional power.

He followed with Article 32, a harrowing documentary chronicling the true story of seven Marines and a Navy Corpsman charged with murder in Iraq—known as the Pendleton 8. In 2010, he developed Ransom City, a series embedded with the Phoenix Police Department’s HIKE Unit (Home Invasion Kidnapping Enforcement), exploring cartel-connected kidnappings in Arizona.

Sikorski has continued to document law enforcement and criminal organizations from inside the system. He served as Director of Development at Big Fish Entertainment, where he helped launch Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan, a Navy-backed series chronicling EOD teams on deployment. He later executive produced VH1’s Black Ink Crew and CNBC’s American Vice, which focused on underground economies in New York.

His feature film The Infiltrator (2016), starring Bryan Cranston, dramatized the true story of an undercover customs agent infiltrating the Medellin drug cartel. This was followed by City of Lies (2017), a film he executive produced starring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker, which delved into LAPD detective Russell Poole’s investigation of the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.

In 2017, Sikorski was named Co-Executive Producer of A&E’s Live PD, where he worked with six departments across the country to deliver real-time police broadcasting. That same year, he helped develop The Trap Chronicles (VH1) and Who Shot Biggie & Tupac (FOX). His investigative lens returned in 2019 with True Life Crime (MTV), an examination of the controversial death of Kenneka Jenkins in a Chicago hotel.

In 2020, Sikorski launched The Dossier, a 10-part true crime podcast that investigated the LAPD cover-up of Biggie Smalls’ murder. The series was met with critical acclaim and cemented his role in narrative audio storytelling.

In 2022, Sikorski joined Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions to executive produce Watchdogs, a four-hour documentary on policing and public trust in Chicago. That summer, he also executive produced Supreme Team, a Showtime docuseries on the rise and fall of one of hip-hop’s most notorious crews.

In 2023, Sikorski founded Criminal Minded Media, an incubator for long-form journalism, podcasts, and documentary storytelling. To date, it has released over a dozen projects across true crime, policing, politics, and culture.

In 2024, Sikorski launched Justice Translators, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting families navigating the criminal justice system—particularly those impacted by violent crime or forced to engage with law enforcement as victims or community members. The organization bridges gaps between citizens, victims, and the agencies tasked with serving them, offering resources, education, and advocacy.

Most recently, Sikorski serves as Executive Producer and Showrunner of Police 24/7, a primetime broadcast series on The CW Network that provides an unfiltered look inside police departments across the country. Now in its second season, Police 24/7 has aired over 50 hours of network television and continues to evolve alongside the national conversation around policing.