The Unscripted LEO Series Returns to Its Regular Format After a Four-Week Hiatus
Here’s what you missed on Live PD this past weekend after the top-rated reality show returned from a three-week break and then last weekend’s special editions devoted to coronavirus first responders.
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 in a given week).
With typically 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 social distancing protocols and other limiting factors, Friday night’s episode was one hour, followed by a two-hour Saturday night installment. Live PD says it is operating on a “substantial delay” with officers and camera crews “taking extra precautions.” Both episodes featured a higher number of pretaped segments than usual probably because only four agencies were under coverage.
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.)
In an article published on March 19, the New York Times described the show as follows:
“Live PD cuts between footage of police officers around the country as they make traffic stops (suspected D.U.I.s, busted taillights), respond to calls (domestic disputes, gunshots) and go on high speed chases (on foot, by car).
“It’s all brought to the viewer live-ish. There’s a delay, in case something unusually gruesome happens.
“The mission of the Live PD is to provide ‘transparency of policing in America,’ said Elaine Frontain Bryant, the executive vice president and head of programming for A&E. “It feels like entertainment with purpose,” she said…
“The show gets by with showing some of the worst moments of people’s lives without their consent because it’s live, according to an A&E spokeswoman. ‘Live PD follows news gathering standards like any news organization — your local nightly news show or newspaper — would in covering a story,’ she wrote in an email…
“According to Nielsen data, Live PD averaged nearly 2.4 million viewers last season, which was its third…”
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 try to allegedly do lines of meth on the counter of a cell phone store?
Live Plus Previously Recorded Incidents
Again, with usually about 40 live feeds coming into the studio, most segments 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 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 an exploitative, false light. This political pressure has in the past led to some departments terminating their contract with Live PD.
Rules or No Rules of the Road?
Many subjects (i.e., individuals with whom cops make contact) appearing 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. They sometimes yell over over that “I didn’t do anything” or words to that effect.
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.
Many 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 or when a subject gets 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-rollers 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. This is 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, subjects typically clutch and/or use their phones at all times no matter what, even when officers attempt to talk to 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 say that they have a picture of their license, registration, or other required documents on their phone rather than in its 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 analysts Tom Morris, Jr. and Tulsa PD Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin provide commentary remotely from their homes rather than from the studio at the A&E network Hq. in New York City.
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 about the incidents 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 54, April 10, 2020
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Steve Zubkoff makes traffic stop on dirt bike operator with young son. Friendly warning.
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to family disturbance at residence. Woman hanging out of window as cops arrive on the scene. Morris, Jr.: “Family issues existed before the pandemic are magnified by the close quarters and the lack of options of getting way from each other.” Larkin adds that his department has seen an uptick in family disturbances.
Officer Alex Nguyen provides a summary:
- Richland County, S.C. — Cpl. Mark Lauerano reminds convenience store of social distancing rules.
- Richland County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “What started as a traffic stop turned into a wild high-speed pursuit.”
- Clay County, Fla. (pretaped segment with new Live PD department) — Abrams: “Deputies were called to investigate a feud between neighbors.”
- Richland County, S.C. — Lt. Danny Brown and other deputies alleged investigate suspicious vehicle outside motel in what Brown describes as a known drug trafficking location. Driver had already left. Car search. Drugs and paraphernalia allegedly found. One of the two passengers detained. Man who was yelling at deputies from upstairs also detained.
- Williamson County, Tex. (a former Live PD agency) — Sheriff Robert Cody gives an update on new coronavirus-related jail procedures.
- Berkeley County S.C. — Deputies pursue vehicle that fled from police. Vehicle stopped, and driver detained. Vehicle apparently caused a watermain break.
End of episode (Lawrence, Ind., PD, the fourth department, did not appear in any sequences).
Live PD, Season 4, Episode 55, April 11, 2020
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop for speeding on driver who turns out to be Cpl. Corinthian Green’s high school friend or acquaintance. Abrams: “I’m guessing this is a reunion that driver probably didn’t want to have.
- Pomona, Cal. — Office make probation check on subject in convenience store. Subject is very cooperative. Meth and meth pipe allegedly found. More meth allegedly found after car search. Abrams: “Again, the problem there not just they found some meth, but also that he is on probation.” Officer Eric Omahony to subject; “The good news is you’re probably gonna get put in a sober living program after I take you to jail today…the bad news is you’re gong to jail…the even-better news is that I didn’t find your gun, so that’s good.”
- Tulsa, Okla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Officers were called to a cell phone store, and then things went completely off the rails.”
- Lawrence, Ind. — Officers respond to domestic incident and interview subjects. Couple allegedly have or had COVID-19. Abrams: “Well, that’s gotta be a little bit concerning for the officers there. Certainly gonna want to make sure to keep their distance in this situation.”
- Clay County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Deputies attempted to get to the bottom of a brutal knife fight.”
- Volusia County, Fla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Deputies pulled over a drunk driver who apparently just wanted to see his wife.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies respond to 911 hangup call at trailer park. Wife says that husband began trembling after working out. EMS summoned and “gowns up” upon arrival. Abrams: “You can tell Cpl. Zubkoff there asking very specific questions related to COVID-19 to try to rule that out as a possibility there because first responders are certainly expected to arrive there — trying to get as much information as he can. It sounds like those are not symptoms consistent with it, but still they’re gonna want to take great care there.”
- Crime of the Week — Ohio Highway Patrol
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to possible drive-by shooting in residential area. Officers investigate and seal off crime scene and search for suspects. Shell casings found on ground.
- Tulsa, Okla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Police had their hands full with a woman who apparently had more than one too many.”
- Walton County, Fla. — Update from special edition on tablets for seniors.
- Gwinnett County, Ga. — Sticks Larkin interviews Master Deputy Mike Baker from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office (a former Live PD agency) on how COVID-19 has changed community policing.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies assemble at motel to serve search warrant on subject for alleged serious felonies. Subject detained.
- Wanted segment — Gig Harbor, Wash.
- New York City — Morris Jr.. interviews Capt. Patrick Amersbach, the commander of the USNS Comfort medical unit about COVID-19 treatment efforts.
- Pomona, Cal. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “An indecent exposure suspect was apparently playing hard to get.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Update from the police pursuit sequence from Friday night. A deputy suffered injuries when the suspect allegedly drove into him. He sustained severe but non-life-threatening injures and came through surgery well.
After a return to Richland County where Senior Deputy Addy Perez asks argumentative man on third floor of motel to go back into his room, end of episode.
