Season 4, Week 12, of the A&E Unscripted Hit Series

Here’s what you missed on Live PD this weekend after the show returned from its holiday hiatus.

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. 

Nine departments are featured this weekend. Pomona, Cal. PD is a new agency on the show; East Providence, R.I., Bradford County, Fla., and Jefferson County, Ala. are out, at least temporarily.

Live PD producers and videographers usually embed in real time with officers and deputies on patrol from eight 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 to refuse to get out of the car during a routine traffic stop?

Live Plus Previously Recorded Incidents

With usually 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 @LivePDMusings 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.

The first thing that officers usually say to a suspect in an adversarial encounter is “let me see your hands.”

Two Beers, Not My Pants, and Other Mantras

“I only had two beers” is a familiar motorist mantra when pulled over and asked about having 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.

The Lingo

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.

In a pat-down, because of the prevalence of needles used by drug abusers, for their own safety, cops always ask if the subject has “anything in your pockets that’s going to cut, stab, or poke me?”

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. Sgt. Mark Tappan and K9 Mattis (Alpharetta, Ga., PD) joined the trio in the studio during Friday and Saturday night episodes as part of the heavy promotion for the new spin-off America’s Top Dog.

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 28, January 3, 2020

  • Nye County, Nev. — Deputies serve outstanding felony warrant. Subject detained dafter allegedly trying to run out the back. Deputies search residence pursuant to search warrant for gun.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Lt. Neal Johnson spotted someone sleeping in a truck outside of motel. Car allegedly reeked of marijuana. Driver uncooperative; flees scene and almost rams cruiser in process. Truck wrecks out. Foot pursuit with multiple deputies and several K9s. Small amount of marijuana allegedly found inside truck. Suspect is still at large, but IDed and faces several charges.
  • Nye County, Nev. — Traffic stop on slow roller. Driver almost hit cruiser. Lt. Eric Murphy: “Right now, it appears we might have a problem with night driving and being older, so I’m going to see if I can work it out.” Abrams: “Not exactly a high-speed pursuit, but nevertheless, she did not pull over to start, and so Lt. Murphy had to assess what was was going on there.” Driver released with warning.
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers serve warrant at residence on older man for drug offenses. Subject taken into custody. Officer Justin Hill to subject: “When I get your age, I’m gonna be partying with the girls. Maybe not as hard as you though.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “There was something amazing that happened earlier…deputies with help from some eyes in the sky…tried to track down a dangerous driver refusing to pull over.” Abrams: “As that car is rolling over, two goals: Arresting and rescuing.”
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to report of intoxicated woman running in and out of sweater.
  • Lawrence, Ind. — Officers respond to disturbance in residence.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to report of Christmas tree on fire in the middle of street. It was extinguished by the time cops arrived. Graphic: “Yule log.”
  • Nye County, Nev. — Lt. Murphy interacts with man (who has been on Live PD before) who says that chase aliens are chasing him. Abrams: “Either this guy has become a real target for these aliens or he could write a great sci-fi novel: one of the two.”
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Traffic stop; speeding. Officer Hill: “You get pulled over so much it’s ridiculous?…Things not to tell a police officer that you get pulled over all the time.”
  • Nye County, Nev. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A burglary suspect had what turned out to be a pretty tire-some excuse.”
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers flagged own for fender-bender; no injuries. Parties told to exchange info.
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Traffic stop; alleged odor of marijuana, K9 alert.
  • Tulsa, Okla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A clumsy passenger treid to convince officers that he was just trippin,’ stumblin,’ flippin,’ and fumblin.'”
  • Missoula County, Mont. — Traffic stop. Driver: “Most nerves I’ve ever had in my life…getting pulled over, it’s so scary…I watch Live PD all the time.” Capt. Bill Burt; “I think that’s hilarious when people start talking about Live PD…they don’t even recognize that I was the guy in one of his favorite stops. That’s funny.” Driver apparently released with warning.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officer Eric Omahony questions driver outside motel in a high-crime area. No license. Omahony: “You’re making me nervous because the way your action…I already told you I’m not trippin’ on weed, right? This is California.” Driver released with no charges. Abrams: So the notebook may be suspicious, but it’s not in and of itself a crime.” Larkin: “A lot of times whether it’s on search warrants, on a person, going through a car, you see things that are often times indicative of something that someone might be involved with. But without that crucial piece of evidence, be it narcotics or something like that, there’s no arrest. You let him go,; you document it for later deals.” Abrams: “And he could be a banker as he says; just lending out money.” Driver released with no charges.
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Traffic stop; expired tags. Officer to occupant: “Why are your pants unzipped?” Occupant: “The zipper broke.” Car search. Graphic: “Drug paraphernalia found.” Officers tell occupant to stomp out weed on ground. Subjects released with no charges.
  • Crime of the Week — Bay Point, Cal.
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Traffic stop — no tag light; driving with brights. Suspended license. Abram: “Oh golly, he’s got Molly.”
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Officers question subject for allegedly trying to break in to a home.

Berkeley County, S.C. (pretaped segment): Abrams: “A ditch led to a ditch.”

  • Terre Haute, Ind. — Bike stop; no light. Released with warning.
  • Wanted segment — Nacogdoches County, Tex.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Traffic stop; non-use of turns signal. Driver wearing “good vibes” T-shirt is uncooperative. Lt. Danny Brown allegedly detects odor of weed coming from vehicle. Car search; bag search. Larkin: “Marijuana laws are changing almost daily across the country in different places. But there in Richland, South Carolina, simple possession of marijuana is still illegal. So if you have the odor of marijuana, the courts have ruled, it gives us permission to search your person, your belongings, and the inside of the vehicle, and that’s exactly what Lt. Brown is doing out there, exercising that right that he has.” Abrams: “So he’s continuing to search. It seems so far all he’s found are some flakes and some ‘good vibes.'” Driver arrested for marijuana possession. Car has expired plates and set to be towed. Abrams: “It seems that lack of cooperation is hurting her now.”
  • Pomona, Cal. — Traffic stop; running stop sign.
  • Pomona, Cal. –Officers interact with people hanging out behind bar.
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Field sobriety testing.
  • Tulsa, Okla. (pretaped segment) — “A truck blocking a parking lot led to trouble for a driver and two passengers.”
  • Richland County, S.C. — Deputies investigate car parked in business lot after areas in high-crime area. Drug paraphernalia allegedly found. End of episode.

Live PD, Season 4, Episode 29, January 4, 2020

  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to report of shots fired. One motorist had bullet hole in his van. Apparently three vehicles were hit, with two victims. Officers surround house that is allegedly involved and order occupants to come up with their hands up. Officer Omahony: “We’re currently doing a surround and call out at this location. Our main priority is to make sure that we don’t have a hostage situation inside, a victim inside, or a potential suspect inside…this is the second shooting that has occurred on this street that we’re aware of…so we believe this to be a gang shooting based on circumstances that we are aware of right now.”
  • Tallahassee. Fla. — Officers respond to respond to report of altercation at buffet restaurant. Graphic: “Brawl you can eat.” Abrams: “It’s always a fine line at an all-you-can-eat buffet about whether you can take stuff with you.” No charges; cops consider it a misunderstanding.
  • Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop; K9 alert. Marijuana allegedly found. Abrams: “Well, I don’t think the elves packed that bag for Santa.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; swerving. Small amount of weed allegedly spotted. Warning for swerving.
  • Missoula County, Mont. — Traffic stop; speeding and swerving. Capt. Bill Burt: “You really are kind of a terrible driver, you know that? Has anyone ever told you that before?”
  • Lawrence, Ind. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A driver was giving Officer Bishop the runaround, literally.” Bishop: “You ran–over roaches?”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies plus K9 search area after report of break-in at scrap yard.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Possible drug suspect who has outstanding warrant ran from police during questioning. Deputy Blanding and Cpl. Laureano subdued suspect has he tried to go over fence.
  • Lawrence, Ind. — Officers respond to report of man inside car in Walmart parking lot who may have overdosed. Narcan administered. EMS called to the scene. Officer Hickey notes that it could be a medical emergency unrelated to drugs but that Narcan administered to “err on the side of safety.” No drug paraphernalia found in man’s car.
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Abrams: “We get a lot of reports of bandits on this show. Now we’ve got a report of a kissing bandit.” Cops respond to report of a drunk man allegedly trying to kiss bartenders in restaurant. Graphic: “Report of unsolicited smooching….report of kiss and run.” Subject had already left, but cops will give him a trespass notice if they can find him.
  • Terre Haute, Ind. — Cops respond to 911 hangup call at residence Couple apparently had dispute with son. Cops ask som to leave the premises for the night.
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Traffic stop; drugs and a gun found. Car has male and female occupants. Abrams: “It seems he’s got a little problem there with regard to the bag, because he seems to want to isolate certain items that were his and others that weren’t.” Larkin: “He’s trying to pick out the thing that has the least amount of potential consequences for him down the road–everything else not his that could be damaging, I guess, in court.” Abrams: “So it seems she’s claiming the gun and the Xanax were hers, which is not inconsistent with what he was saying, so we’ll see what happens there.” Officer Heath Brownell: “Our female suspect has admitted that she has some possible narcotics hidden in her unmentionables, so that will have to be retrieved at the jail.” Abrams: “Sounds like it’s not baby powder.” Both subjects arrested for possession of marijuana and Xanax with intent to distribute plus illegal gun possession charges.
  • Lawrence, Ind. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A mechanic had a pretty paltry excuse for being out with his customer’s car.”
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officer Shreef Erfan responds to report of female under the influence of narcotics causing a disturbance (subject not found).
  • Missing — Port Clinton, Ohio
  • Pomona, Cal. — Man detained by officers. Ammo found in backpack, and cops concerned that he may have tossed a gun. Officer Omahony says the subject is a known gang member on probation and faces multiple charges plus a warrant. Cops search immediate area for possible gun.
  • Lawrence, Ind. — Officer Bishop responds to report of shots fired from two complainants. Gun found on one of the reporting parties. Both of them arrested for illegal possession of a firearm.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Traffic stop; speeding. Passenger won’t answer questions about whether he is on probation or parole. Want get out of car. Cops pulled him out and cuff him. Car search. Officer Erfan: “So this was supposed to be a simple traffic stop. When we detain the vehicle, we have the right to identify everybody in the vehicle. Nobody can take off on us, nobody can self identify themselves. On top of that, she couldn’t provide her registration, her insurance, so that give us the right to go in the car and search for that information, even though she’s telling us it’s in the trunk. We can’t just take people’s word for it, so now what we’re going to be looking for is the registration and insurance on the car.” MV citation issued; couple released with no charges. Abrams: “All that and not it’s just gonna be a couple of tickets–certainly could have been avoided.”
  • Terre Haute, Ind. — Sgt. Adam Loudermilk responds to neighbor dispute over setting off fireworks. Graphic: “January 4, 2020 not 4th of July.” Sgt. Loudermilk asks neighbor to cooperate to tone down fireworks. Abrams: “If you want to frustrate your neighbor with fireworks, it looks like he’s got exactly what you need; at least he’s being honest.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop. No license. Cops ask him to call someone to the scene to pick up car so it won’t be towed. Morris, Jr.: “Looks like he wishes he had sleeves on right now.”
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Officer Hill interacts with three teens who were playing a hide-and-seek type game called “Manhunt” that apparently prompted complaints. Officer Hill: “Listen, it’s an innocent game of Manhunt, but you know, if you walk in people’s yards, stuff like that it causes a problem..you gotta understand; you can’t be running in people’s yards because then they call us.” Hill advises teens to take it in inside which they agree to do.
  • Nye County, Nev. — Traffic stop by Deputy Cody Murphy; car using hydraulic shocks on street.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies check on man behind building who is carrying a hammer and flashlight.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Update on incident last night about guy who was sleeping behind the wheel of parked truck. He fled and then wrecked out, and he is still at large, but he left his cell phone behind. Deputies have allegedly identified him and ask the public’s help for information on his whereabouts.
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Officers arrest motorist who fled on foot after vehicle pursuit. EMS summoned after subject complains of chest pain. Subject has a felony warrant plus an additional charge for eluding. Officers say it is unclear if vehicle was stolen.
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Numerous cops assemble outside motel to begin staging to arrest attempted murder suspect. Warrant is officially for “shooting with intent to kill.” Larkin: “…I can tell you what they’re not gonna do. They are not gonna go up tot he door on this. They will stay out there. Time is on our side. They gotta contain the site, and they’ll try to bring him out.” End of episode.

Bonus Live PD wraparound episode airs on Wednesday evening, January 8, as part of the heavy promotion for the America’s Top Dog spin-off.