Season 4, Week 21, 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 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.)
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 lead police on a high-speed chase, crash your vehicle and flee on foot, but leave your high school diploma 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.”
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, for example, 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 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. Cpls. Deanna Marshall and Brandon Sunday of the Jefferson County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office (formerly one of the Live PD-covered departments) join the trio this weekend. JeffCo Sheriff Mark Pettway also sat in for a few segments.
Volusia County, Fla., joins the show for the first time; Bradford County is apparently out, at least temporarily.
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 50, March 6, 2020
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to report of alleged battery on security guard. Foot pursuit. Man detained after being tased, but he is not the suspect. Search continues for original suspect. Using suspect’s left-behind cell phone, officers arrest man at frat house who they believe is the suspect. He potentially faces disorderly conduct and resisting charges.
- Berkeley County, Fla. — Traffic stop; deputies allegedly detect marijuana odor. Probable cause car search. Couple released with warning only for apparent equipment violation.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers make well-being check on allegedly inebriated couple at residence that was reported by Uber driver. Officer Justin Hill: “It’s gonna take him three years to get downstairs if he don’t fall cause he’s drunk.” Man allows cops to enter residence to check on girlfriend. Hill: “Drunk girl, boyfriend, college, alcohol, and the house is nasty.” An update from Hill plus commentary from Larkin:
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; tail light issue.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Deputy Longieliere attempted to track down a driver who fled during a traffic stop.”
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputies respond to report of allegedly intoxicated male trying to drive away from casino in pickup truck. Abrams: “Like we’re just talking here about, the transport vehicle, a.k.a. you’re not riding in my vehicle.”
- Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop; speeding.
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to report of man with knife at apartment complex. He is search and has a piece of metal tubing among his items, but no knife. Cops release him with no charges.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies respond to report of disabled truck which turns to be be a driver asleep behind the wheel. Baggie of white powder allegedly spotted on man’s lap.
- Tulsa, Okla. — Officers respond to theft of booze from liquor store. Suspect arrested while hiding in car outside of motel. Officer Darrell Ross: “He was kind of turned sideways like a little fish in the seat.”
- Jefferson County highlights and brief Q&A (one of three of the latter tonight).
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop on moped for tag issue. Man allegedly admits to small amount of meth possession.
- Richland County, S.C. –Lt. Danny Brown spots vehicle stop on side of the road and detects odor of weed. Driver is very cooperative and forthcoming about the weed allegedly on his person and in the car. Weed allegedly found on driver and in vehicle after car search. Weed confiscated; driver receives ticket and released.
- Crime of the Week — Philadelphia, Pa.
- Volusia County, Fla. –– Offices serve outstanding warrant at residence. Subject arrested on a no-bond, felony narcotics charge.
- Tallahassee, Fla. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “You know, they say the key to staying warm is to dress in layers. Earlier…the layered look seemed to serve a much different purpose.”
- Richland County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “You know the expression ‘don’t press your luck?’ Well, apparently one gentlemen earlier…may have been a bit unfamiliar with that concept.”
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to store where an alleged shoplifted was being detained in the security office. According to Sgt. Rick Agular, subject will be charged with petty theft and a released on a ticket once cops identify him at the police station.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to possible domestic incident.
Pomona, Cal. — Officers respond to report of woman screaming (which turned out merely to be a neighbor’s baby) and suspicious man hiding in bushes in apartment complex. Officers search area but don’t find the man.
- Wanted segment — Chicago, Ill.
- Richland County, S.C. — Lt. Brown gives motorist a tutorial on legal lights under state statutes.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to report of fight between stepdad and stepson. After investigation, no charges filed.
- Pomona, Cal. — Officers search for woman who is allegedly crawling on the roof of garages at apartment complex, but are unable to spot anyone.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop; suspended license. Voluntary truck search.
- Volusia County Fla. — Traffic stop on vehicle that originally tried to leave scene. Deputies question couple in truck that is parked nearby the original stop. K9 alert on truck.
End of episode.
Live PD, Season 4, Episode 51, March 7, 2020
Abrams: This has been quite a night. We’ve had two shootings, at least two pursuits, a Mustang that’s a mess…”
- Lawrence, Ind. — Traffic stop on vehicle that initially wouldn’t pull over. Driver detained at gunpoint. Driver claims she was rushing home to protect grandkids from their mother. Released with no charges. Separately, police take vandalism report at residence in question.
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputies respond to report of fight in what appears to be a trailer-park area. One man is covered with blood. EMS summoned to transport him to hospital. No charges filed in connection with fight, however.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to drive-by shooting in park. Two victims. Officers assist EMS in treating them and also interview witnesses. Investigation ongoing. Both shooting victims are listed in stable condition.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies respond to report of boyfriend v. girlfriend home invasion. Front door kicked in. Subject had already left the location but deputies are seeking warrants for him.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop on vehicle with four occupants. Drugs allegedly found. One subject arrested. Someone called to scene to get car because none of the other three apparently have a license. Abrams: “So that is a hug that wonder whether it was well-received.”
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies respond to dispute at motel over the keys to a rental car.
- Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies serve felony warrant at residence for possession of firearm or ammo by a convicted flown. Subject taken into custody.
- Pomona, Cal. — Traffic stop on motorcycle for failure to yield and running stop sign. Released with no ticket.
- JeffCo Q&A (one of two)
- Nye County, Nev. — Traffic stop on El Camino for well-being check (driver had an earlier dispute at local bar). Driver released with no charges.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “A young man allegedly brought a knife to a birthday party, and it was not to cut the cake.”
- Volusia County, Fla. — Traffic stop on vehicle that initially pull over. Failure to move over for emergency vehicle. Deputy Royce James: “This is her first time ever getting pulled over. She was freaked out. Didn’t know what to do, so we’re gonna give her a little education, and let her get on her way.”
- Lawrence, Ind. — Officers spot man passed out in van in parking lot. Possibly huffing.
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officers respond to report of four men shooting at car or home. Possibly just one shot. Investigation to be handed over to detectives.
- Richland County, S.C. — Highway pursuit of Mustang going about 100 mph. Vehicle wrecked out; driver and passenger fled on foot. Deputies search for them.
- Pomona, Cal. — Probation check on subject outside liquor store.
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies search residence for someone who may have been breaking into cars. Location appears clear.
- Wanted segment — Milwaukee, Wisc.
- Pomona, Cal. –– Officers respond to report of robbery in progress at phone store. One man detained who denies doing anything wrong. May not have been any actual robbery. He is released with no charges. Sgt. Mark Medellin to subject: “I’m glad we were able to figure out your gang name. It’s always a plus.”
- Tulsa, Okla.. — Traffic stop. Driver taken into custody on nine warrants, two of which are felonies.
- Pomona, Cal. (pretaped segment) — Abrams: “Police pursued a biker who was refusing to pull over.”
- Tallahassee, Fla. — Officer Hill pulls over van with rowdy kids hanging out of the window and admonishes driver and passengers for unsafe driving practices. Ticket issued. Hill: “[You can be] stupid in college, but don’t be stupid stupid.” Larkin points out that both officer discretion and the ticket book (“a little coupon”) can be effective policing tools depending upon the circumstances.
- Missing segment — Richland County, S.C.
Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies respond to home where some residents may have been screaming.
End of episode.
