Season 4, Week 22, of the A&E Unscripted Hit LEO Series

Here’s what you 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 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.)

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 smoke weed out of crack pipe that contains crack residue?

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 a 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 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.

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 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 studio analysts Tom Morris, Jr. and Tulsa PD Sgt. Sean “Sticks” Larkin provide studio commentary at A&E’s network Hq.

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.

This week’s recap was slightly delayed owing to travel.

Live PD, Season 4, Episode 52, March 13, 2020

  • Tulsa, Okla. — Officers respond to report of man with hatchet at bus stop. Multiple tools on ground (although no hatchet). Graphic: “Burying the hatchet.” Subject released with no charges.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Traffic stop; drugs and drug paraphernalia allegedly found. Abrams: “What a long, strange trip that has been.” Lt. Danny Brown to subject about allegedly smoking weed out of a crack pipe: “I’ve never seen that…you smoked crack and weed at the same time.” Abrams: “Shocker–that crack may impact your blood pressure.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputy Corinthian Green respond to report of dog hit by car and interviews complainant. Dog’s name is Sage Rosemary. Graphic: “Where are parsley and thyme?” Abrams (commenting on complainant’s T-shirt): “Remember, this is South Carolina. The Gamecocks are the team there for those of you wondering.”
  • Volusia County, Fla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “During a wild vehicle pursuit…sticks ended up playing a very important role, and I’m not talking about this guy.”
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers execute search warrant at residence for firearms and drugs. Multiple officers enter home. gun found.
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Offices serve felony warrant at motel. Subject detained; she say she is not the subject for whom they are looking. Abrams: “They want to say ‘bye, Felicia,” but she says she’s not Felicia.” Cops conduct search of room. Abrams update: “Well, it seems Felicia went bye. The good news is she’s not Felicia. The bad news is that she has a warrant.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop, light issue. Driver cited for simple possession of a small amount marijuana and receives warning on light. Also warned not to smoke in the car. Abrams: “Cpl. Green citing for the green.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies take main in custody at residence on family violence warrant.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers conduct a thorough, priority search in high-crime area for a man pushing a baby stroller who is allegedly trying to sell baby. Abrams: “This is one of the most disturbing things we’ve heard on the show…It may not come as that much of a surprise based on the neighborhood, but the nature of this particular, potential crime is just terrifying.” Officers subsequently obtain addresses for the mom and try to make contact with her. Investigation — which is being assisted by tips from Live PD Nation — continues.
  • Crime of the Week — Marion County, Fla.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Car search at gas station; open container. Occupant admits to having a small amount of weed.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Bicycle stop; no light. Subject searched. Released with no charges.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers detain subject after report of armed robbery with pipe. Subject keeps yelling “you’re infected.” He is arrested for public intoxication and possible robbery-related charges pending further investigation.

Sgt. Rick Agular and the studio trio provide and update and some insight about this incident:

  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers interview complainant who says three or four guys with gun circled her house. Officers spot white SUV that might be involved and make contact with driver.
  • Tulsa, Okla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A woman who is, you might say, touched by an angel, as well as some meth.”
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Officer Justin Hill responds to disturbance at store and makes contact with subject who is advised he is trespassed from location.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies respond to report of a disturbance at the Honky Tonk Saloon. Security requests man be told to leave parking lot.
  • Wanted segment — Greenville County, S.C.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; no tag lights
  • Nye County, Nev. — Traffic stop; passenger side tail lamp out. Abrams: “Well, sounds like they got the light; just wasn’t yet on the car.”
  • Richland County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A driver left deputies a bit spellbound.”
  • Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies respond to domestic incident, a verbal argument, among family members at residence.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; swerving. Driver has suspended license. Deputy Green tells her to call a licensed driver to come and pick up car. Ticket issued for driving under suspension.
  • Lawrence, Ind. — Officers assist Indianapolis police in searching for three or four armed robbery suspects who bailed from car. Two men detained at gunpoint; two others separately in custody.
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Officers respond to incident at discount store apparently involving gift cards.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Cops make probation check on pedestrian. Heroin allegedly found.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Green makes quick well-being check on several men at motel. They are making dinner. No issue.

End of episode.

Live PD, Season 4, Episode 53, March 14, 2020

  • Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies spot possible stolen vehicle outside convenience store. Three men detained. Vehicle, a van, had stolen tag. Update: All occupants released with no charges; no evidence that the van was stolen.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies respond to respond to disturbance at convenience store. Man detained, says he is “having a bad day.” Abrams points out that Cpl. Kimber Gist was shot five times in the line of duty in 2016 but after recuperating from her injuries, she’s back on the job.
  • Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop; officers allegedly detect odor of weed. Car search. Officer issues citation for expired plate rather than impounding car (officer’s discretion).
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers continue to investigate incident from Friday night in which someone was allegedly trying to sell a baby. Officer Shreef Erfan and Sgt. Agular follow up by going to location where mom supposedly lives, but no one is home. They also make contact with neighbors, one of whom provides a description of the male allegedly involved. Abrams: “So remember, this is one of two addresses associated with the mother of that baby. This is just being characterized as a welfare check…” Investigation ongoing.
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to report of possible intruder at apartment complex. Cops interview witness/complainant.
  • Lawrence, Ind. — Officers respond to report of someone refusing to leave gas station/convenience store. The subject had already left, but cops locate him at another convenience store and question him. Officers issue the man a trespass warning. Graphic: “peep show.” Abrams: “We are actually talking about comparing peeps — which are Easter marshmallow treats — to the softness of the human body. Yes, this is Live PD.”
  • Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies respond to report of someone bleeding in a vehicle. Deputies interview parties on side of the road. Male party claims that the female struck him in the mouth. Paramedic summoned to scene. Update: Woman arrested for domestic violence.
  • Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies respond to incident where food delivery man claims apartment or condo complex resident pulled a gun on him. Possible road rage scenario. Subject is detained and denies having a gun. Deputies advise him to call the police rather than try to confront someone personally in the event of a dispute.
  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers assist in pursuit of fleeing vehicle. Occupants bailed. Pedestrian spotted and questioned. Abrams: “To be clear, this guy may have done absolutely nothing wrong. They’re just looking for anyone who may have bailed.” Update: Pedestrian released with no charges. Several other subjects detained and vehicle located.
  • Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies track possible stolen car. Abrams: “So they’ve got a conservative pursuit policy there in Volusia, but we heard the word ‘carjacking’ on the radio, and that could change everything.” Larkin: “That would definitely change things. That makes it a violent offense…but in most agencies across the country that do not allow us to just chase stolen cars, if it’s something involved with violence, that does allow us to do so.” Vehicle enters neighboring county, and deputies in that county apparently take over the tracking.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop on moped that ran stop sign.
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Traffic stop; meth allegedly found. Occupants may have given false names to police.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Traffic stop; discrepancy in age and date of birth provided by subject. Subject finally reveals his actual date of birth under questioning from Sgt. Mark Medellin. Turns out that the subject has no warrants and is released. Graphic: “Equal to or less than 40?” Abrams: “You know, when I’m gonna lie about my age, I’m just try and shave a few years off; I don’t add 17 years to it.” Morris, Jr.: “But you’re not on probation, so that’s the difference.”
  • Richland County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A guy handing out at a fast-food restaurant, this guy…really seemed to be taking his sweet old time.”
  • Tulsa, Okla. — Officers detain motorist in search for suspects that fled from traffic stop. Officer Grace Hobbs: “She’s freaking out obviously.” Subject: “No; I’m praying in tongues.” Graphic: “Tongue Twisting in progress.” Update: Woman turns out not to be a suspect in the incident and is released.

Richland County, S.C. — Traffic stop. Male driver tells deputies that he is driving his female cousin to meet a man she met on a dating app but they got lost. Abrams: “That’s a little bit confusing, and they seem confused.” Driver allegedly has a suspended license. Deputies suspect that the cousins may be under the influence of some substance. Driver apparently cited for simple possession of marijuana.

  • Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers make well-being check on dog. Resident tells officers that she doesn’t want the dog. Abrams: “Before our dog-loving audience throws an enormous amount of hate her way, just remember, she did call the police. Anyone wants that dog, everyone wants that dog, but she did call the police.”
  • New Orleans, La. — Live Rescue paramedic Dan Flynn provides a corona virus update.
  • Nye County, Nev. — Traffic stop; speeding. Released with warning. Abrams: “The warning is don’t eat your pal’s burger in the car.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “What started as a traffic call for Cpl. Zubkoff almost turned into a traffic accident for him.”
  • Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies search for stolen vehicle based on a ping from a license plate reader.
  • Nye County, Nev. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A report of a couple who’d been dusting, and it had nothing to do with spring cleaning.”
  • Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop at drive-thru. Officer Jason Heiney to subject: “Couple of drinks tonight?” Subject: “No.” Heiney: “You sure about that?” Motorist allegedly tests about three times the legal limit on a portable breathalyzer. Abrams: “This seems like it’s sort of obvious where it’s going to go.” DUI investigation and blood draw to follow.
  • Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to report of someone fighting over buying bottled water at Walmart. Subject had already left when officers arrived.
  • Pomona, Cal. –– Traffic stop; failure to yield. Two men detained.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies respond to multiple reports of a shooting in residential area, but residents say there was no shots fired.

End of episode.

Live PD is on a two-week “Spring Break” and will return on Friday, April 3, with two new departments. It’s not clear at his writing if the show will again expand its coverage or if two existing departments are dropping out.

Also, there appeared to be no Missing segment on Saturday evening’s show, but Live PD released the following tweet on Sunday: