The Unscripted LEO Series Airs Two 2-Hour Episodes
Here’s what you missed or may have missed on Live PD this past 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 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 the need to adapt the show to social distancing protocols and other limiting factors, this weekend’s episodes were two hours long. Live PD has indicated that it is operating on a “substantial delay” with officers and production crews “taking extra precautions,” and, it seems, with more reliance on pre-taped segments.
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 bad idea to double-park a car smelling of weed while carrying illegal drugs? Or separately, is it a good idea or bad idea to bail on foot from a traffic stop with a driver’s license left behind in the car?
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,” or earlier this week, last week, or a few or several weeks ago.
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.
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 proven guilty 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.
Parenthetically, officers’ facial hair seems to change from week to week.
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.
Officer’s discretion also can play a role in more serious charges or potential charges.
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 56, April 17, 2020
Departments featured in real time are located in Richland County, S.C., Pomoma, Cal., Lawrence, Ind. (which did not appear in any live sequences), and Berkeley County, S.C.
- Pomona, Cal. — Cops approach three guys who are in a park that is closed owing to coronavirus restrictions. Pat down and backpack search. Drug paraphernalia allegedly found. Subjects released with warning. Sgt. Mark Medellin with the summary:
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies spot car stopped in the middle of the road blocking traffic. Driver apparently either has no license or is not carrying it. Lt. Danny Brown: “Car reeks of marijuana so we’re gonna search it.” Deputies allegedly find a baggie containing 5-1/2 tabs of ecstasy “that looks like children’s vitamins.” Driver arrested for ecstasy possession.
- Richland County (pre-taped segment): Abrams: “Sgt. [Robert] Furgal was called to a love triangle of sorts.” Larkin: “First of all, the love triangle between the three of us, we never have these type of issues…” Morris, Jr.:”Nothing says ‘I love you’ like an anti-fungal itch massage.”
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to report of stolen vehicle left outside home. Cops interview witness/homeowner. Abrams: “She may have left a stolen vehicle there, but before leaving, just did a little bit of lawn care.” Officer Manny Rodriguez summarizes the call.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pre-taped segment) — Abrams: “What started as a traffic stop for failure to maintain a lane turned into a serious pursuit.”
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies search another car parked in the road on the same street as the previous sequence that smells of marijuana. Lt. Brown: “Smells green.” Car search. Marijuana and “a lot” of ecstasy tabs allegedly found. Abrams: “So that would mean back to back ‘smelled marijuana, found ecstasy’ in exactly the same place.”
- Pomona, Cal. — Traffic stop; window tint violation. Abrams: “If all he’s got is a vape pen in the back seat, then this should be a quick investigation.” Driver released with no charges.
- Volusia County, Fla. (pre-taped segment) — Larkin: “This past week, deputies…responded to a domestic call, and to say they had their hands full is a severe understatement.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies pursue vehicle that allegedly ran red light at 100-plus mph. Car crashed out, driver detained. Cpl. Kimber Gist with the update.
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to shoplifting call at convenience store. Subject detained for theft investigation. Store declines to press charges; subject released.
- Richland County, S. C. (pre-taped segment) — Abrams: Deputies “conducted a traffic stop on a driver they were very familiar with.”
- Homestead, Fla. (new department, pre-taped segment) — Abrams: “A deputy [sic] attempted to sniff out a suspect who apparently fled after a car crash.”
- Pomona, Cal. — Traffic stop; brake light out. Furtive movements of some ind inside SUV according to officers. Driver and passengers detained. Drug paraphernalia allegedly found in vehicle. One of the occupants does some rapping. Abrams: “No tickets, no charges, but apparently still gonna face the music.”
- Wanted Update (Gig Harbor, Wash.) and new Wanted segment for “bare-bellied bandit” (Houston, Tex.)
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to argument about unleashed dogs in park. Graphic: “Doggy dispute.” Cops mediate between subjects; no charges.
- Los Angeles, Cal. — Police Chief Michael Moore provides coronavirus update.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies respond to report of man and woman fighting in street in residential neighborhood. Deputies interview male victim who is bleeding from head. EMS summoned. Female party had already left. Abrams: “Well, he was honest about the fact that he was under the influence, which may explain why he doesn’t remember all of the details of exactly what happened there.”
End of episode.
Live PD, Season 4, Episode 57, April 18, 2020
Departments featured in real time are located in Richland County, S.C., Williamson County, Tex. (returning to Live PD for the first time since last summer), Pomoma, Cal., Lawrence, Ind. (which again did not appear in any live sequences), and Berkeley County, S.C.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies respond to domestic dispute at residence. Apparently the son disagrees with his dad’s girlfriend about how the household is being run. Lawnmower noise in background makes the conversation hard to hear, however. Graphic: “Lawn still being mowed.” Sgt. Furgal provides a summary; deputies will document the incident, it is essentially a civil matter.
- Pomona, Cal. — “Report of menacing on street” by a man allegedly with a knife. Multiple officers respond and take down subject. Subject may only have been holding a brush. Officer Eric Omahony: “It sounds like at this point he’s just upset with his mom. So we’ll see what’s going on from here.” Abrams: “Alright, so we’ll have to see if this becomes more than a brush with the law.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop. Dep. Austin Longieliere detects marijuana odor from subject’s feet. Subject: “They stink, but not like weed, Man.” Longeliere: I got a strong whiff when those dogs came out.” Shoes/socks search; nothing found. Subject released with just a warning to get windshield fixed. Graphic: “Lawns still being mowed.”
- Jefferson County, Al. (pre-taped segment) — Abrams: “Cpl. Deanna Marshall pulled over a driver for a traffic violation, but an expired tag proved to be the least of his worries.”
- Williamson County, Tex. — Lt. Grayson Kennedy makes contact with man walking on highway median and provides safety warning. Man is carrying a sign that reads “Good karma 50 cents.” Abrams: “Selling karma in the era of corona.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies pursue car allegedly involved in purported kidnapping. Vehicle stopped at gunpoint; three occupants detained. Investigation determines that it may have been an argument between a couple. Larkin correctly surmised (see below) that such calls are often a non-physical dispute between a couple (i.e., along the lines of “hey, get in this car”) — rather than a stranger kidnapping — called in by a passerby or friend. Female does not wish to press charges. Dep. Devonte Carr provides the update:
- Crime of the Week — Calif. Highway Patrol
- Richland County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Deputies pulled over a man who’d been laying down rubber, and it had nothing to do with his driving.” Abrams: “A true believer in better safe than sorry.”
- Lawrence, Ind. (pre-taped segment) — Lawrence K9 officers and cops from neighboring jurisdictions wish youngster with health challenges a happy birthday.
- Richland County, S.C. — Traffic stop on vehicle at gas station. Deputies question occupants. Released with no charges.
- Clay County, Fla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Det. Stivers encountered a man a bit down on his luck.”
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to report of car vs. house. Vehicle has significant damage on driver’s side. Subject detained. Abrams: “Well, no doubt there was a crash there, but you can tell they’re trying to see if they can definitively identify that guy as the driver, because that would certainly impact what charged might be applicable here.”
- East Providence, R.I. — Brief taped clip with Insp. Craig Sroka and family.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies respond to domestic incident; woman apparently kicked out of apartment by boyfriend. Deputies stand by while woman removes several baskets of personal items and awaits ride from friend to another place to stay.
- Detroit, Mich. — Police Chief James Craig give update on his own recovery from the coronavirus and gives update on law enforcement activities in city during the pandemic.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Attempted traffic stop, but vehicle flees. High-speed pursuit. Suspect subsequently abandons car and foot bails. Deputies search for suspect on foot, set up perimeter, and deploy K9.
- Nye County, Nev. — Larkin interviews Det. Bryan Cooper upon his release from the hospital after being shot in the line of duty.
End of episode. Note: the Missing segment was not included in the broadcast, but Live PD issued the following tweet:
