Season 4, Week 17, of the A&E Unscripted Hit LEO 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 starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time on the A&E television network (unless an additional, “bonus” episode airs.) .
With about 40-plus cameras, Live PD producers and videographers embed in real time with officers and deputies on patrol from eight or nine 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 of the pithiest quotes from the participants follows below.
But first, the good idea/bad idea of the week: Is it a good idea or a bad idea to leave a gun in an unattended car with the engine running?
Live Plus Previously Recorded Incidents
With usually about 40 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.
Note: Embedded tweets do not in any way equal or imply endorsement of their content.
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 suspects 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.’”
As this blog has previously reported, local politicians and activist groups have complained that the show puts their community in a exploitative, false light. This political pressure has in the past led to some departments terminating their contract with Live PD. Currently, several city councilors in Tulsa aren’t fans, although others say it improves community relations and recruitment.
According to the Tulsa World, “A Tulsa police officer at the police station monitors the live video footage as it is being filmed and can disallow footage in real time if deemed appropriate. TPD can disallow footage for several reasons, including safety concerns and to ensure that undercover officers and confidential investigative tactics are not made public.” The Tulsa World itself has separately editorialized against Live PD.
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, particularly if the driver appears tipsy.
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 (with a camera crew) 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.
Parenthetically, males and female drug users often tend to conceal their stash in their private parts, making for some awkward if not disgusting pat-downs.
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.
Suspects in custody can sometimes go from combative and brazen to remorseful to tearful in a matter of minutes.
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 television media or politics after they retire from full-time law enforcement.
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.” Subjects often address cops as “bro” or “dude.” And instead asking subjects where they live, officers ask them where they “stay.”
They also try to reassure 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?”
When asking a subject about drugs or other contraband, an officer often advises that “honesty goes along way” in the context of possible reduced (or no) charges.
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.
High-speed chases are common, as are slow-roller who initially don’t pull over in a traffic stop. In the latter scenario, drivers often try to make it to their driveway or apartment complex to avoid getting their car towed in addition to whatever other traffic infractions, warrants, or misdemeanors or felonies that might be in play.
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. Based on how often cops find these devices, the digital scale business must be very lucrative.
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 typically clutch and/or use their phones at all times no matter what, even officers are trying to talk with them or or even when they’re 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. Or it’s in the car rather than in their wallet.
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. This is called officer’s discretion.
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 “Let’s get in a break” 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.
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 or observations made by cops or Live PD, or anyone on Twitter for that matter, may be incorrect, and no endorsement here is meant or implied.
Live PD, Season 4, Episode 42, February 7, 2020
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers search area for passenger who fled from stolen vehicle on foot. Driver in custody.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies enter home at gunpoint after neighbor reports open door. Home cleared; no one there. Homeowner advised to secure door.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — “During a pursuit…deputies received some very unexpected help.”
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Traffic stop; suspended license. K9 deployed
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputies respond to possibly domestic dispute between mother and daughter. Graphic: “Where there is a will there is a way.” Not a law enforcement matter. Apparently longstanding family issues involved.
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers respond to report of tuxedo-wearing man who allegedly exposed his genitals at McDonald’s. Graphic: “Report of indecent exposure.” Subject had already left the restaurant when officers arrived on the scene but they search area for him.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies spot running car outside apartment complex where a previous shooting occurred. Gun in car on front seat. Deputies go from apartment to apartment trying to located owner. Female driver who apparently has a CCP subsequently detained and arrested for unlawful carry of a firearm.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officer Justin Hill responds to report of disturbance at drug store. Officer Hill escorts man in wheelchair out of shop.
- Nye County, Nev. — Officers respond to report of burglary in progress at storage area. No intruders found but there are signs of forced entry. Burglary unit to investigate further. Abrams: “Suspected grow house.”
- Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop. Car search; marijuana allegedly found. Officer Stuart Bishop to subject: “No matter how much I want to help you out, you are not helping yourself right now. ” Subjects released with no charges and no ticket. Drugs and scale apparently disposed of.
- Richland County, S.C. — Allegedly someone was shining a light in the eyes of deputies. Deputy Durrell Barry interacts with subject. “I asked you when you smoked, and you said my ride dropped me off…” Subject tried to run but was taken into custody. Allegedly had gun and marijuana on person. “I just don’t like this jail sh*t, Bro.” Deputy Barry: “You got a gun on you and marijuana…gun and drugs, and you say I’m messing with you? You gotta be kidding me.” Abrams: “Part of the bad decisionmaking there is that [Dep.] Durrell Barry is a former tight end for Clemson, so running from him was probably not the best idea.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. –Traffic stop; driver admits to drugs in car. Car search. Abrams: “He was ‘riding dirty,’ but the fact that he was honest is probably gonna help him out a little, I think, in terms of what happens to the car.”
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers make probationary check on subject at residence.
- Pomona, Cal. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Officers were trying to track down a stolen car when things went completely off — well, actually — on the rails.”
- Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop; running red light that almost caused accident.
- Lawrence, Ind. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A beef between brothers turned out to be not so rare.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; swerving. K9 alert. Car search.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Traffic stop on slow roller for speeding. Officer Jamey Martinez spots driver trying to eat weed. Apparently in Florida, this turns a misdemeanor into a felony for evidence tampering charge. Abrams: “When they say, you should eat your greens, I don’t think that’s what they’re talking about.” Driver and occupants released . Officer Martinez gives verbal warning to driver to always stop for blue lights. Abrams: “It seems all we had here was a little late night snack, and that’s about it. They didn’t find anything else, so they’re all being cut loose. No charges here.”
- Crimes of the Week — Kansas City, Mo., Chelsea, Mass., and Charleston, S.C.
- Tulsa, Okla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Officer Ross encountered a woman with a car of the future, but it was no Delorean.”
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to neighbor dispute over broken window at trailer park. Officers make contact with both parties (and on-again, off-again couple who live in separate trailers) and mediate the situation. No charges.
- Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop; failure to use turn signal. Officer Bishop: “Why you guys in here playing hot seat, Man?” Bishop: “Most obvious swapping of seats between the two front-seat occupants that I’ve ever seen in my life. They admitted he’s suspended, which is why they did it.” Driver receives citation and released along with the other occupants.
- Lawrence, Ind. (pretaped) — Abrams: “A passenger took off on foot but for all the wrong reasons.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Tyler Clark and Deputy Austin Longieliere respond to scene as backup after passenger fled on foot from traffic stop and was tased by another officer. Two subjects detained; the passenger apparently still at large. Drugs allegedly found in bag. Larkin: “The big question always in these type of deals: Why is the guy running? Does he have outstanding warrants, is there something in the car that he left behind, or does he have something on him…”
- Crimes of “Convenience” (new pretaped segment) — Melvindale, Mich.
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers respond to dispute at pizza restaurant. One subject detained.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies assist in changing motorist’s tire. End of episode.
Live PD, Season 4, Episode 43, February 8, 2020
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers search for suspect with felony warrants who fled on foot. Officer Hill: “If you’re running from the police, man, you’ll jump that fence. The height ain’t the issue.”Cops search apartment with open door and broken window, but the location is unrelated to suspect. They set up a perimeter in neighborhood.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies conduct foot search for armed robbery suspect.
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers and K9 respond to school alarm and search location. Larkin point out that false alarms at Tulsa schools are rare.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; brake light out. Driver declines voluntary car search; K9 called to the scene. Deputies then spot glass pipe on ground, which provides probable cause for search without a K9 sniff/alert. Abrams: “And it sure was on our camera too. We may have seen it before the deputies saw it. She was stepping on it; that’s for sure.” Female occupant charged with meth possession and other narcotics charges; the other occupant released with no charges.
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputies respond to residence on report that someone on Facebook said she is being held captive. Graphic: “Possible domestic violence.” No one comes to the door. Deputies force entry and arrest male. He is charged with domestic violence and false imprisonment.
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers search illegal casino after subject claims he was robbed there. Graphic: “All bets are off!”
- Richland County, S.C. –Traffic stop; car ran stop sign. Marijuana allegedly found under center console. Abrams: “So it seems that he is taking responsibility for that marijuana, although I bet his mother will not be happy about the account.” Driver and passenger both arrested for simple marijuana possession.
- Bradford County, Fla. — Officers respond to fire in residential area. Fire Department responds and extinguishes fire.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; no tag. Abrams: “Lot of things with license plates. We see plates that don’t match the vehicle. We see outdated plates, bu it’s not that often we literally see no plates.” Morris, Jr.: “And who decides to get in the car and ride with the guy with no plates? You’re just rolling the dice; maybe we’ll make it there, maybe we won’t.”
- Tulsa, Okla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Police attempted to track down a guy who turned out to be a real trash talker.”
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers respond to report of fight in parking lot. Suspect had already left; victim already at hospital. Officer Ross gets multiple hugs from bystanders. Abrams: “It’s not that often that a police officer rides to the scene and gets hugs from everyone. It’s gotta be a pretty good feeling.” Suspect later arrested at residence and claims the victim was the actual aggressor in the encounter. Ross to suspect: “Can I tell you something, Man? A lot of people make bad decisions in a split second. Whether they’re good or bad people, they make a bad decision. There’s a difference between a bad person and a bad decision. So today, you probably made a bad decision, and you went too far beating on somebody.” Abrams: “So he’s got his defense, but as of right now, it seems the police [are] saying they have sufficient evidence based on eyewitnesses, etcetera, to arrest him.”
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputies respond to domestic incident between roommates. Elderly man allegedly pulled loaded gun on caretaker’s husband. Deputies charge the man with assault with a gun and possibly resisting arrest.
- Wanted segment — Houston, Tex.
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers search for four individuals in car, one of whom may have brandished a gun at a pedestrian. Search comes up empty.
- Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop. Officers allegedly find marijuana, scales, a large amount of cash, and a bottle of pills. The marijuana by itself would have just been a misdemeanor.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies search for back-seat passenger who fled on foot.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to residence where a woman wants a male to leave the house. Dispute centers on a $900 bracelet. Graphic: “He should of went to Jared.” Officer Hill advises the man that if he wants the bracelet returned, he needs to file a lawsuit in civil court, and that this is not a police matter. Abrams: “…a little bit of legal analysis here to tell you that if he gave it to her as a present, he’s gonna have a tough time getting it back.”
- Pomona, Cal. — Traffic stop; erratic driving. No license. Driver arrested on outstanding warrant.
- Tulsa, Okla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A guy on his way to his mama’s house took a bit of a pit stop.”
- Missing segment — Roswell, N.M.
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers respond to a hit and run on a pedestrian. Victim appears okay. No one among a group of teens apparently took video or a picture of the vehicle or the plate, although the victim gave cops a description of the vehicle.
- Pomona, Cal. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A bizarre call involing a man of few words and several grunts.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Slow-speed pursuit of car (with tag light out) that initially doesn’t pull over. Driver detained at gunpoint. Field sobriety testing likely.
- Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop; K9 deployed.
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers search for man who bailed from pickup truck after a pursuit. With the assistance of a police helicopter, cops find him hiding in shed behind residence. Abrams: “They got him, and they clearly know him.” End of episode.
