The cast of Brooklyn’s Finest was well protected on set, by New York gang members.

The movie, which follows three New York cops through one chaotic week, is shot on location in the rough area of Brownsville, New York, which has long been plagued with poverty and crime problems. Starpulse says director Antoine Fuqua (who also helmed Training Day) feared for the safety of his cast and crew, so he recruited the gangsters to protect stars Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke.

Fuqua told the World Entertainment News Network, “We would be filming and then you’d hear gunfire and people running up the street. It was very real to be around a lot of that stuff. We were protected by some gang members that we had relationships with that I talked to. I’d go in and meet with drug dealers, gang members, Neighbourhood Watch people, community centers.”

And though the going was treacherous, Fuqua said many Brownsville residents were very accommodating and saw the filming as beneficial to their community.

He added, “The older people, including gang members and drug dealers who have children now, understand the importance of not letting anything happen in this neighborhood because their kids get to see something positive. They get to see people showing a work ethic by working on the movie and that you don’t have to be the movie star or the director; you can be craft service. So we got a lot of respect.”

Brooklyn’s Finest also shot on locations in Queens and Manhattan.

It is scheduled for release on March 5.