Season 4, Week 11, of the A&E Unscripted Hit Series
Here’s what you missed on Live PD this weekend.
Live PD is the ratings-winning, three-hour law enforcement ride-along show that ordinarily airs fresh episodes on Friday and Saturday evenings (with occasional bonus episodes on other nights) starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time on the A&E television network.
Live PD producers and videographers embed in real time with officers and deputies on patrol currently from 12 different U.S. police departments and sheriff’s offices.
Given its often intense action, unpredictability, danger, plus quirky and humorous, and sometimes mundane, interactions between cops and citizens, Live PD is perhaps the closest thing that even approaches appointment TV anymore in the fragmented entertainment space. (Live PD has also spawned several spin-offs.)
A Live PD recap with some the pithiest quotes from the participants follows below.
But first, the good idea/bad idea of the week: Is it a good idea or bad idea for a driver to flee a traffic stop after already handing over his driver’s license to the officer?
Live Plus Previously Recorded Incidents
With about 50 live feeds coming into the studio, most segments are broadcast on a reported five- to 20-minute tape delay. When nothing of interest is happening in real time, pretaped segments air, which Live PD describes as incidents that happened “earlier.”
For viewers, Live PD is addicting, which perhaps is an unfortunate choice of words in this context. While millions of Americans experiment — and more than experiment — with drugs when younger, Live PD reveals a self-destructive cohort hooked on narcotics (and/or booze) well into middle age and beyond.
Many thanks to Twitter users @TLivepd, @LivePDFans, and @LivePDPundit along with several other Twitter feeds for the embedded clips and images.
As the Live PD disclaimer indicates, not all outcomes are known or final, and criminal charges, if any, may have been reduced, dismissed, or never filed.
When alleged criminal activities are depicted on Live PD, all persons are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.
Controlled Control Room Chaos
Don Cesareo, the founder and president of Live PD producer Big Fish Entertainment, told Deadline Hollywood the following:
“Live PD is one of most enjoyable shows to produce because it’s such a challenge. We do a lot of prep work in terms of the field, but really what happens is that you show up on a Friday night and settle into the control room and all of the camera feeds come up and the show starts and we don’t have a run down and have three hours of TV to create. The easiest way to describe it is like having eight live breaking stories at the exact same time, but you don’t know all of the details. There’s an energy and controlled chaos that works.”
According to Cesareo, “The show originated after he and his team came across police departments that were live tweeting patrols.”
Variety has more background from Cesareo:
“You could say Live PD was born out of necessity. Executives at Big Fish Entertainment, the production company behind it, realized that at a time when more TV viewers were moving to streaming services, a program that had to be watched live would be more compelling. The team noticed police departments across the U.S. ‘were providing these timely updates over the course of an evening’ to local residents via Twitter, says Dan Cesareo, who formed Big Fish. ‘We found it fascinating.’
“Getting things right took time — even after Live PD launched. Producers had to get access to police departments. Once they got on air, they had to learn to steel themselves against the temptation to jump from one feed to the next whenever a conflict or action appeared to be in the offing. ‘When you do something new that hasn’t been done before, there’s not a road map,’ says Cesareo. ‘It took us four to six months, probably, just to get comfortable with our own setup.’”
Rules or No Rules of the Road?
Many subjects who appear on the show in law enforcement interactions are covered with tattoos (as are the cops more often than not), love cigarettes, and often have warrants.
They often carry contraband on their person and/or in their vehicles, the latter which are often unregistered and/or uninsured. That’s why cops often begin an interaction by asking if there is anything illegal in the car.
Transporting contraband such as controlled substances plus no valid license/registration is usually an ill-advised combination as is contraband plus vehicle equipment malfunctions.
Alleged drug traffickers who fail to abide by routine traffic laws or, as noted, lack working vehicle running lights or other related equipment, can also wind up in big trouble following a probable cause search.
Two Beers, Not My Pants, and Other Mantras
“I only had two beers” is a familiar mantra from motorists pulled over upon being asked by cops if they had anything to drink that evening.
Another mantra is “not that I know of” when cops question a subject as to whether there might be illegal drugs in a vehicle or even on their person. In the alternative, subjects also often claim that drugs “belong to a friend” or it’s “not my car.”
From time to time, they also claim that the pants that they are wearing in which cops find drugs belong to a friend.
Separately on the subject of wardrobe, males who appear on Live PD often don’t take the time to put on a shirt even when a cop shows up at their front door.
“Not my jacket” or “not my purse” are also familiar refrains. Sometimes “not my car” also is part of the cop-citizen dialogue.
In addition to the drug epidemic across across the country as well as alcoholism, the obesity epidemic is also frequently on display.
When a subject begins a sentence with “I’m going to be honest with you, officer,” or the equivalent, you can generally expect that things will quickly go sideways.
Some mouthy subjects argue themselves into an arrest (i.e., talking themselves into handcuffs) even when cops are about to let them go with minor infractions, citations, or just a warning.
Some suspects seem more concerned about smoking one last cigarette before jail than they are about going to jail.
Several of the cops, many of whom are impressively observant when they question subjects or investigate crime scenes, have become social media celebrities as a result of their participation in Live PD. Some of them may have a career in media or politics after they retire.
As an aside, officers across the country have a tendency to ungrammatically add the preposition “at” to the end of a sentence. I.e.: “Where do you live at?” or “Where is he/she at?”
Cops often address subjects as “bro,” “dude,” “bud,” “man,” “partner,” or “boss.” And instead asking subjects where they live, officers ask them where they “stay.”
They also try to reassure some detainees that handcuffs come off as fast as they go on if a subject is cleared.
Expect the Unexpected
Traffic stops — the primary but not the only enforcement actions seen on Live PD — are often like a flea market. Viewers never know what the officers might find inside a vehicles after either a consensual search or a probable cause search pursuant to a K9 alert or for another legal justification.
Apart from drugs and weapons, among the weird items they often find include bottles of presumably clean urine used to circumvent a drug test. Sex toys also show up from time to time.
Moreover, as suggested above, no license, no registration, and no insurance consists of a trifecta in many of those stops. (A disproportionate number of pick-up trucks seem to have issues when stopped by law enforcement officers).
For law-abiding motorists sharing the road, the recurrence of non-insurance scenarios has to be disturbing.
Mismatched plates, expired (and/or doctored) temporary tags, and the like are also frequent infractions.
In addition to a cigarette fixation, you’ll also note that subjects are typically clutching and/or using their phones at all times no matter what, even officers are trying to talk with them or or even when getting cuffed.
Excessively tinted windows beyond what is legally allowed increasingly constitute a safety issue for officers in traffic stops.
Driver’s License Optional
Somehow in America, a valid driver’s license became an optional credential for many motorists. Driving with impunity while suspended has become a thing.
Motorists sometimes claim to have a valid driver’s license, but for some inexplicable reason, they aren’t carrying it with them. Or it was stolen. Is it any wonder that the cops often ask the person behind the wheel if he or she has a drivers license on them?
Occasionally drivers will say that they have a picture of their license, registration, or other required documents on their phone rather than in their physical form.
Officers often give break to those who are driving illegally, however. Sometimes cops will allow the motorist to drive directly home or call another licensed driver to the scene to take over behind the wheel.
Judging by these traffic stops, driving while buzzed seems to be a growing, as it were, problem across the country. Weed laws vary significantly from state to state. Some jurisdictions have decriminalized possession of small amounts.
Some, but not all, of the subjects that police make contact with express excitement about being on Live PD (although occasionally they think they’re on Cops).
In switching quickly from sequence to sequence, and as you’ll see below, Live PD does not always provide an update of how cops resolved a particular encounter, if at all.
As alluded to above, K9s well trained in drug detecting and human tracking regularly assist cops in their investigations on Live PD. Note that because of changes in the laws of some states, K9s in certain jurisdictions no longer get weed-sniffing training.
This Weekend on Live PD
If you’re wondering what happened on Live PD this past week, a recap/summary of Friday, and Saturday night’s Live PD editions follows, along with some of the best quotes.
Host Dan Abrams — he of the puns and the double entendres — and regular studio analysts Tom Morris, Jr., and Tulsa PD Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin provide studio commentary as usual.
Again, please understand that what is depicted on the show, and summarized below, including but not limited to any arrests, constitute mere allegations. Initial assessments made by cops or Live PD may be incorrect.
Live PD, Season 4, Episode 26, December 13, 2019
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies respond to report of drugs being sold at motel. Foot pursuit; suspect got way. Deputies question unrelated man (Deputy Garo Brown allegedly smelled marijuana) who slams door in their face. Graphic: “Negotiations through window.” Brown: “If we gotta come in her with the key, we done talking…was I going to mail you a letter.” Man opens door and is arrested for possession. Abrams: “Keep in ind that Deputy [Donnyray] Campbell was going to find the manager there to get permission to go in and evict him in essence, so they would have been able to go in anyway. That’s the difference being in a hotel vs. being in an apartment complex or someone’s home.” Deputy Campbell examines surveillance footage in manager’s office to determine which room the original suspect fled to. He makes contact with room but suspect is no longer there.
- Mission, Tex. — Officers respond to house on fire. Fire department extinguishes blaze. Firefighters also revive dog that was found in home. Abrams: “The good news is that no one was hurt, and the fire did not spread to the houses next door.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to report of fight at dollar store. Cops question subjects. Officer Brian Smith: “This is all over rudeness — is that what I’m understanding?” Abrams: “So it seems that it was a fight between an assistant store manager and a patron there, and it appears that the assistant store manager is admitting that she was the first one to hit anyone, but they’re going to keep investigating.” Smith: “You’re the responsible person here; you have to set the example.” Abrams: “I guess that’s a different way to serve a customer, but she’s now being arrested.”
- Jefferson County, Ala. — Traffic stop; seat belt violation. Cpl. Sunday to driver: “What’s wrong? You look very nervous…put [the seat belt] on next time, okay, and I won’t bother you, alright?” Passenger seems reluctant to identify himself. Car overheats during stop. Abrams: “One of those rare occasions where maybe someone’s glad that they got pulled over because if they hadn’t, they might’ve gotten stuck somewhere based on the fact that something just blew.”
- East Providence, R.I. — Subject questioned in connection with a report that someone allegedly pulled fire alarm at McDonald’s. Subject: “Of course I drink; I’m an alcoholic, dude.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies pursue car that fled from traffic stop. Car wrecked out in woods. Cops removed him from vehicle. Driver is throwing up. EMS responds to scene. Abrams: “Let’s keep in mind–this is someone who fled from police and was involved in a pursuit. But it looks like he’s pretty sick.” Larkin: “Is he intoxicated or is the vomit and being disoriented from the collision with the trees there?” Morris, Jr.: “We really don’t know know he fled, but he’s obviously not in very good shape right now.”
- East Providence, R.I. — Officers respond to report of disturbance, apparently a fight between two men. One man has facial lacerations. Officer Rainville: “If you drank, you’re not sober. Very simple, right?”
- Bradford County, Fla. — Traffic stop; speeding. K9 alert. Car search.
- East Providence, R.I. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “On a map of Rhode Island, East Providence and Central Falls are about seven miles apart, but according to one man…there’s a lot more that separates these two places.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; defective brake light and driver seems lost. She was just checking out Christmas lights in neighborhood. After a brief conversation, deputy sends her on her way.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pretaped segment): Abrams: “A man on a moped led an officer and his K9 on a wild pursuit.” No tag light. Subject: “I have a drug problem.” Deputy: “You got more than that now.” Subject subdued by K9 and faces approximately five charges including resisting arrest and failure to stop.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to trespassing report. Subject asked to leave but in the process knocks over motorcycle in parking lot. Abrams: “Well, I think whenever the owner of that Suzuki sees this on Live PD even if there’s not overt damage, they’re not going to be happy.”
- Crime of the Week — Ohio and Oregon.
- East Providence, R.I. — Officers respond to residence where man was handcuffed as a joke. Cop releases cuffs. Officer Rainville: “Honestly, I thought that was gonna go a totally different way.” Abrams: “Now I get the gloves. It took me a second to understand why they’re putting on gloves. It’s because the cuffs were found in a port-a-john.”
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Cops grapple with subject at apartment complex. Subject arrested for interfering with an investigation.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; defective equipment. One of the passengers bailed. Cpl. Zubkoff: “That was super sketchy, wasn’t it.” Driver allegedly admitted to smoking weed. Occupants (two males, one female) detained. Abrams: “So critical choice there not to chase the passenger who fled.” Larkin: “It’s really not much of a choice. If you’ve got multiple occupants in the car. You don’t know why this guy has run. If you do chase after that guy, you lose him, your car is going to drive off. You’re going to lose that car, and pretty much you’ve got nothing. So the smart thing to do until you’ve got other [officers] there is stay with the car. Let’s find out why this guy ran. Maybe you can figure out who he is. He might have warrants or something like that based off your conversations with two people in the car.” Morris, Jr.: “And wait for backup to arrive because you still have three other people there.” Abrams: “And he’s there alone.” Abrams: “If he actually rant to the house — I guess he thought it was a ‘safe house’ — that was not a good idea because now he may have just added a charge and not helped his friends here who are now gonna be forced to answer a lot more questions than probably they would have.” Car search; gun found. Possible unlawful carry charge against occupant.
- Mission, Tex. — Traffic stop; no lights. No driver’s license. Car search after officer smells weed. Driver arrested for possession of controlled substance (cocaine). Larkin points out as a general principle that bringing drugs or any contraband into the jail that are concealed on a subject’s person results into an additional felony charge.
- Nye County, Nev. (pretaped segment): “In Nevada, it can be legal to grow up to 12 marijuana plants per household but just for personal use. In certain cases, that can be a fine line, and then there’s this guy…” Morris Jr.: “And a lot of indoor grow operations get busted because there is an unusual spike in electrical usage at that residence, and the power company reports that to the police. Also, spikes in water usage can also be a tip-off because you have to use a lot of water — hydroponics — and you need a lot of electricity, and you have to run lights 24 hours a day to run a grow operation like that.”
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to report of fight. Subject arrested for resisting.
- Jefferson County, Ala. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “During a traffic stop…deputies smelled something kind of funny.”
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputy Chad Barrett spots wild horse on shoulder of road and guides him across road into woods. Graphic: “Horse whispering in progress.” Abrams: “I guess that would qualify as a horse with no name.” More horses show up which he guides to safety. Barrett: “Unreal. They were just over here hanging out.” Graphics: “Who let the horses out?” “Leaving the neigh-borhood.” One horse poops as it crosses the road. Barrett: “Oh, than you. Appreciate that. Oh, that’s why you think of me? Alright, that’s nice. I like you.”
- Wanted segment — Hollywood, Fla.
- Terre Haute, Ind. — Cops question allegedly intoxicated man for alleged public urination. Subject: “I haven’t urinated anywhere.” Officer: “Okay, how did your pants get wet?” Abrams: “Sometimes the physical evidence can be overwhelming.”
- Jefferson County, Ala. — Traffic stop; failure to maintain lane on highway. Vehicle fled prompting pursuit. Driver bailed. Foot pursuit. Driver tased and taken into custody. Cpl. Marshall: “reeks of marijuana.” Deputies allegedly find weed in car. Deputies suspect that family members may have removed more drugs from car during foot pursuit. Abrams: “If that proves to be true, that would end up being an obstruction of the investigation which they are continuing now.”
- Tulsa, Okla. — Vehicle pursuit. One man detained. Car search. Officer Justin Finney: “Nothing substantial in car…not exactly sure why he was running, but appears that he’s intoxicated…”
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to traffic accident involving Leon County Sheriff vehicle.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Lt. Neal Johnson approaches suspicious vehicle (truck) in lot. Occupants allegedly smoking weed. Lt. Johnson: “Your nervous or high as a kite.” End of episode.
Live PD, Season 4, Episode 27, December 14, 2019
- Terre Haute, Ind. — Officers respond to reports of shot fired in neighborhood. Bullet fired into house. Cops gather info from victim and look for shell casings and bullet fragments. Case turned over to detectives and crime scene techs to continue investigation.
- Bradford County, Fla. — Deputies respond to report of woman walking in the middle of traffic. Woman, who deputies claim is intoxicated, hit by truck. EMS summoned.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies pursue pickup truck that fled from traffic stop. Truck found abandoned. Deputies search area for suspect. Driver handed over driver’s license at stop, so he will eventually be located. He has warrants.
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers respond to report of man rolling around the ground in front of a fast-food restaurant. Officer: “Stop pulling your arm away.” Subject: “I’m not pulling sh*t.” Officer: Do you have a history of being intoxicated in public and maybe driving under the influence?” Subject: “I refuse to answer.” Abrams: “Well, I’m not sure they really want him to bend over, and cuffs will kill a buzz, that’s for sure.”
- Missoula County, Mont. — Capt. Bill Burt responds to semi-truck rollover accident during snow fall. Burt: “I’s a food truck, so we don’t have to worry about any type of hazmat.” Driver transported to hospital with minor injuries.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Deputy Clark and K9 Fox were in pursuit of a driver who refused to pull over. Morris: “And it’s a good thing he left the gun in the car when he ran, and had he had that handgun in his hand when he ran when he was facing the officer, this could have gone a lot differently.” Larkin: “During the pursuit, the K9 officer actually used his PA system. He’s making announcements to the driver of the car, the suspect. And he’s telling him, ‘hey, I’m a K9 officer, if you run, we will send the dog,’ and he delivered on it and got the guy in custody.”
- Terre Haute, Ind. — Traffic stop outside residence; mismatched plates, no license. Scuffle breaks out first with one male and then family members. Abrams: “What a scene there. We’ve got a lot to dissect there. It starts out as a traffic stop, and it seems to get escalted when the young man starts cursing at the officer. Now, it is not a crime to curse at an officer.” Larkin: “…There is freedom of speech unfortunately — I shouldn’t say unfortunately — in situations like this….The young man interjected himself in the traffic stop, so it potentially could he’s interfering with an investigation, obstruction, obstructing officers, something like that. The issue really what it comes down to is the number of the people there that are involved. You’ve got multiple people coming out of the house. You’ve got neighbors now coming out, and it’s a safety issue for that officer as well as the other officers showing up.” Morris, Jr.: “And they’re not backing down. They’re very aggressive. The moments that go by when you’re by yourself as an officer with a bunch of people angry at you like that; it seems like it’s taking forever for your backup to get there. You can’t wait for them to get there. Now you see what’s unfolding once more officers arrive. More people in the family want to fight them.” Cops make four arrests.
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputy Barrett gives friendly warning to couple about setting off fireworks that are scaring horses.
- Missoula County, Mont. (pretaped segment): Abrams: “Speaking of fireworks…a guest in a motel gave a whole new meaning to the term ‘shag carpeting.'” Abrams: “The question is whether he’s going to be ordered to remain 500 yards away from any floor-supporting devices in the future.” Larkin: “I’ve heard of rug and tug — not heard of rug and tug — but never rug and tug. I’m just wondering if he’s got rug burns.” [Sticks was going for rub and tug, but he messed up the joke.]
- East Providence, R.I. — Traffic stop. Passenger allegedly has warrants out of Oregon. Officers find key-making kit in car under passenger seat as well as a gun. Both driver and passenger detained.
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputies respond to three-car accident. It appears that no one was injured. One driver apparently arrested for DUI.
- Tallahassee, Fla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Police were called after a woman complained that someone had been clowning around in her shed.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; two subjects detained. Meth allegedly found.
- Terre Haute, Ind. — Officers respond to report of armed robbery and interview two victims outside suspect’s home (who is not there). Morris, Jr.: “It seems that they were trying to sell a gun and they the got robbed at gunpoint for the gun, the AK-47, and apparently they know what house they went into after they robbed them.” Later, a suspect shows cops a cell phone video that purports to prove he’s innocent.
- Wanted segment — West Springfield, Mass.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to report of verbal domestic incident.
- Missoula County, Mont. — (pretaped segment): Abrams: “On rare occasions, a driver can actually get out of a charge by claiming entrapment, but that was not one of the cases earlier…”
- Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop, K9 alert. Officer Matt Hickety: “[K9 Axel] doesn’t know it’s your mama’s car. All he knows is odor. He’s alerting on odor…odor is not illegal.” Abrams: “I could watch that dog do that door trick 1,000 times and still, every time,, say that’s awesome.” Larkin: “I still can’t get my kids to close the door.” Driver and passenger released with no charges.
- Tulsa, Okla. — Traffic stop on truck. Driver is on federal probation. Car search. After being identified, female passenger is taken into custody on two felony warrants. Driver released.
- Tallahassee, Fla. (pretaped segment): Abrams; “During a traffic stop earlier, police really had their hands full.”
- Missoula County, Mont. — Capt. Burt responds to alarm at closed business.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to report of at least three shots fired at residence. Abrams: “That’s now the second house that we’ve seen that’s had at least a shot fired at it tonight. They will continue investigating.”
- Lawrence, Ind. — Officers respond to noise complaint at apartment and issue warning. Subject who says he is a heavy metal musician with a YouTube channel: “Can a guy not have a good movie going? It’s not even loud?” Graphic: “Head bangers having a ball.” Subject: “It’s kinda sad that people will complain about a little bit of noise when I can create music that’s so freakin’ loud in a recording studio without anybody ever hearing it; what a miracle, right?” Graphic: “Stuck between a rock and a silent place.” Abrams: “I can honestly listen to his talk for another 15 minutes, but unfortunately we’ve got other places to go, and this is really less about policing and more about music, and this is not a music show.”
- Jefferson County, Ala. — Traffic stop; foot bail and search. Subject found, tased, and taken into custody. Vehicle turns out to be stolen. Driver charged with receiving stolen property an attempt to elude. Passenger charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
- Missing segment — Pauls Valley, Okla.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop. Deputies find white substance in baggie that allegedly tests positive for meth. Driver taken into custody.
- East Providence, R.I. — Officers try to mediate domestic issue between boyfriend and girlfriend.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop. End of episode.
Live PD is on holiday hiatus. Live PD returns with fresh episodes on Friday, January 3, 2019, at 9 pm. Eastern time.
Just wanted to say how much I love these recaps! The rundowns make the following weekend replays even more enjoyable. Have a happy holiday and keep up the great work!
Thanks! It’s actually a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.