This Weekend’s On Patrol: Live Highlights, Commentary, and Social Media Activity

An On Patrol: Live recap including NYC studio host Dan Abrams’ puns, analysis, and banter with co-anchor Curtis Wilson (a Richland County, S.C., deputy sheriff), and Captain Tom Rizzo (Howell Township, N.J., PD) along with the often-snarky or playful social media reaction, follows.

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In the context of social media reaction (scroll below), noteworthy incidents in this episode include a taser deployment in Monroe, La., two interactions with a McDonald’s fan in Toledo, Ohio, a confrontation with a conveniences store customer in Toledo, Ohio, and a Ring video that appears to corroborate an allegation involving a disturbance in Berkeley County, S.C.

For background information about the documentary series On Patrol: Live (i.e., Live PD 2.0), that airs on the Reelz channel (which is available, e.g., on the Peacock and FreeCast streaming services and on some satellite and cable systems ), click here.

And click here for information on the Live PD vs. OPL lawsuit settlement.

 Agency update:  Inasmuch as OPL labels LEOs with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office as officers rather than deputies, this blog reached out via email to that agency for clarification on the job titles. Knox County Communications Director Kimberly Glenn was kind enough to respond promptly: “The Knox County Sheriff’s Office refers to our Patrol Officers as Officers and Deputies. Both are acceptable. If there is a time that OPL is out with our Investigators, we refer to them as Detectives, except for our Fire Investigators. They are referred to as Investigators.”

On Patrol: Live Summary for December 13, 2024 (#OPL Episode 03-41)

Please review this important DISCLAIMER.

OPL incidents in order of appearance:

  • Toledo, Oho — Ofrs. Cherokee Tabb, Heather Smith, Tyler Picking, and other cops respond to the scene where a man was initially thought to have been shot in the head outside a residence. The officers make contact with the victim in a car as well as his girlfriend in the course of the investigation. Cops render first aid prior to the arrival of paramedics who transport the victim to the hospital. Investigation ongoing.

Ofr. Smith summary: “Originally this call came in as a person shot. He came home, his brother dropped him off, or someone drove him here. I’m not sure if he drove himself. Girlfriend called, thought he was shot, thought he said he was shot. He seems to be a little intoxicated…[unintelligible] at one of the local apartment complexes. Because he seems a little confused now, he’s not able to tell us exactly where it happened. And shortly before this call came in, an area officer ended up hearing six to eight gunshots…around where this could happen. So we’re just trying to piece it all together right now.” OPL host Dan Abrams: “There’s still a lot of questions here. We know for certain that this guy was assaulted in some way, shape, or form, but circumstances surrounding it remain a bit puzzling.”

Ofr. Picking adds that “So right now, we’re not able to get a whole lot of information out of him right now at this point, but what we’re seeing, what we’re being told right now, is he’s got an apartment complex down the road. Actually, a UT police officer heard gunshots in that general area. He’s saying he went to his sister’s house. When he got there, two males approached him, and he said there was some words exchanged when he got in the car. They started hitting him over the head with something, not really sure as to what. But he also said he heard gunshots in the same area that the UT police officers were in. So we’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened at this point. But right now, he’s going to the hospital for further evaluation, and we’re still investigating…”

  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Det. Noah Galbreath conducts a traffic stop for side window tint issue. The driver denies that any contraband is in the vehicle and declines to give consent for a car search. In a pat down, drugs allegedly found on the driver’s person. Det. Galbreath uses code words “where are we going to dinner?” to apparently alert other cops on scene that he found drugs.
  • Det. Galbreath recap: “So, we did this traffic stop for illegal window tint in this vehicle as I pulled out of the apartment complex that we have numerous narcotic complaints about. So, stopped the driver, made contact with him. He denied consent to search the vehicle, which is totally his right. He stepped out of the vehicle as we were gonna call a canine. I asked if I could search him. He gave consent, and in his front right pocket when I searched him, I felt a baggie. And as I pulled that out, I observed a white rock-like substance, which appears to be crack or fentanyl. So, I’m gonna test that, and we’re gonna see. We’re gonna go from there. And I guess there was crack cocaine on the driver’s seat, so we already got probable cause for the search of the vehicle…”

Det. Galbreath subsequently adds that “Well, we’ve basically finished our probable cause search. I believe a little bit of crack or possibly fentanyl is also located near the driver’s seat. He’s the sole occupant; he’s the owner of the vehicle. He additionally had fentanyl in his front right pocket that he consented me searching him and finding. So he’s gonna go into jail tonight for the possession charge. We’re gonna tow his vehicle. And…we’re possibly able to seize his vehicle, due to the acts he’s committing inside of it by possessing the narcotics. So we’ll wrap it up. But he’s definitely most likely selling due to all those baggies that he’s got ready to go. I don’t think he’s [unintelligible] sandwiches in those things.” Abrams: “Enough there for a terrific picnic.”

  • Richland County, S.C. — Dep. Jerry Cullen and other units investigate an alleged hit-and-run accident at a drive-thru. Abrams quips that “he may have to answer questions from police, but he’s not gonna let his food get cold.”
  • Monroe, La. — Ofr. Serenity Smith, backed up by members of the High Enforcement Apprehension Team (HEAT) squad, makes a traffic stop on a car parked on the wrong side of the road. Driver and passenger allegedly flee or try to flee on foot. Ofr. Smith deploys a taser on the driver: “Don’t do that sh*t again.” Cops subsequently take the passenger into custody. Car search.
  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofr. Tabb is apparently flagged down by a man who claims that McDonald’s dining room closing too early equates with discrimination or deprivation of rights. Abrams: “Deprivation of rights. The right to be happy. The right to a Happy Meal.”

Listen to Ofr. Tabb’s interaction with the man:

Ofr. Tabb explains that “we’re just helping this gentleman out. He’s a little frustrated. The McDonald’s doors, they’re locked, apparently, to the lobby. He’s wanting to get himself a Value Fry and a double cheeseburger. Apparently, he hasn’t been able to get his food. So, first world problems in cold weather..”

“Deprivation of rights. The right to be happy. The right to a Happy Meal.”

  • Richland County, S.C. — Cpl. Tim Riley investigates an alleged hit-and-run accident and make contact with the victim. Other units detain a man in a pickup truck who might be a suspect. The state highway patrol arrives on scene to conduct field sobriety testing on the operator of a truck who is ultimately arrested for alleged DUI.

Cpl Riley: “The more and more we talk to this guy — one of the more common things you see in people that are under the influence of either narcotics or alcohol is you always have to repeat things to them over and over again. Very common in DUIs where you have to repeat the same information over and over and over again, and the amount of times that he’s asked about whether or not — he forgets that there’s a witness down there that identified him — he keeps asking if the other person is getting a ticket as well. It’s looking more and more, to me at least, like he could be under the influence.”

Cpl. Riley follow-up: “From my training, he did not do very well on SFSTs at all. Multiple clues throughout the test. Odor of alcohol in his breath. It’s just not good. It seems like that’s kind of what I was talking about earlier…had a little too much, and unfortunately hit somebody, running the red light, because he obviously didn’t see it. He’s under arrest for hit and run as well as driving under the influence, and highway patrol is gonna handle the rest of the collision from here. Luckily, we’re in the area, and we got him. Abrams: “No big surprises there.”

  • St. Lucie County, Fla. (pre-recorded segment) — Det. Ethan Kirk and other units, including a police helicopter, track a car that fled from deputies in a neighboring county. The driver is detained in a traffic stop.

Listen to Det. Kirk’s recap after which Abrams mentions that “the driver is now facing charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding, two counts of child neglect, driving without a license, and they’re still investigating a possible DUI.”

  • Triple Play #1 — a Fall River, Mass., pursuit during which, according to Abrams, a man tried to “escape from police by channeling his inner Santa,” and with a pun-filled narration by OPL co-host Curtis Wilson.
  • Humboldt County, Calif. — As rain falls, Dep. Frankie Rojas conducts a traffic stop for no headlights. “This person is driving in the opposite direction of us. They don’t have any lights on. They still don’t have any lights on. It’s dark. It’s wet. It’s dangerous; they’re driving a black car…”
  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofr. Smith and colleagues interact outside the drive-thru window with apparently the same fast-food fan from the prior encounter with Ofr. Tabb. Officer Picking: “It sounds like there was some type of disorder where they didn’t want him here, but after talking to staff here at McDonald’s, they’re okay with him eating, and then he’s gonna leave the property at that point…” Abrams: “This is a guy who truly loves his McDonald’s food. Look at the way he is so ravenously eating it and even employing the three-second rule.” OPL studio analyst Tom Rizzo: “Well, maybe it’s because the way he metabolizes it.”

“This is a guy who truly loves his McDonald’s food.”

  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Carli Carr and other units investigate a possible domestic incident at a residence and make contact with a couple as well as a victim who is purportedly a cousin. The alleged victim claims that his car suffered damage from a thrown bottle. The male homeowner denies any wrongdoing, and seems to claim that the cousin might have been allegedly stalking or harassing the couple. The homeowner is arrested, however, and supposedly urinates in the transport vehicle.

Cpl. Carr’s initial summary: “I called the complainant, and he was actually around back on scene. He showed me on his vehicle where he said someone threw a glass bottle at his vehicle, damaged it, which you can see. There’s two dents on his vehicle, and there’s shattered glass, right over here, and he says he wants to press charges. So I’m gonna get a little bit more information then he’s probably gonna be going to jail for malicious injury to property…Deputy Nicolo is going to go to a neighbor because we noticed that they have some sort of doorbell camera, and it’s literally right exactly where this took place. So he’s gonna make contact with them and see if they’re willing to give us the footage. That’s gonna help me more in court. But I have all the PC* I need. There’s a broken glass bottle right here, and he’s saying someone threw it at his vehicle. So he will be going to jail tonight. I’ll write the warrants later, and we’ll go before a judge. If the judge signs it, then we’ve got PC.” [*probable cause].

Cpl. Carr additional comments: “He’s trying to plead his case. The fact of the matter is he’s going to jail tonight. I’ve got the PC. There’s damage to the vehicle. There’s proof on the ground, the shattered glass. They want to claim that they are being harassed and stuff, but no one called us here to report that. It seems like a tit-for-tat retaliation type thing. Like now, he wants to press charges for harassment because he’s going to jail tonight. So obviously it wasn’t that serious, but regardless, I’m still gonna let him make a report. We’re just not go with that tonight. He can call when he gets out Monday morning or whenever. But honestly, if he’s on probation, he’s probably not getting out on Monday. But we’ll take a look at that.”

Cpl. Carr subsequently adds that “So he is taking the ride for malicious injury to property. I did place the other gentleman on trespass status at the request of the homeowner. She’s asking; I have to do it. It’s nothing against either party, it’s just the job, and yeah, that’s what I’m here for. He’ll have bond in the morning…” Abrams: “The guy who is being arrested — he and his girlfriend were saying that they’re being stalked by the guy who is the victim, but Carli Carr saying the evidence points to the bottle, and that’s why the guy is now being arrested.”

  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofr. Tabb responds to a convenience store and gathers information from the clerk who suggests that a customer who was “all worked up” was creating a problem. The customer in question had already left the shop. “Abrams: “I always feel for these clerks. They’re working late nights, and you get weird, sometime dangerous, people coming in, and they’re put in a tough position and do a tough job.” Wilson: “And she was willing to work this guy.” Abrams; “Trying to get him the good stuff.” Apparently based on a follow-up call, Ofr. Tabb subsequently makes contact with a man matching the subject’s description at another convenience store. Outside of the store, the man seems uncooperative and winds up getting placed in handcuffs. Heavy OPL bleeping. Abrams: “It seems to me, Officer Tabb was being pretty cool and calm.” Wilson: “Can’t take it personal. You still got to just do your job. And of course, his attitude was a reflection of where he was at the other store.” Abrams: “And he’s just detained.” Wilson: “Right now.”

Ofr. Tabb recap: “He went down to another store. This gentleman apparently had walked in down there, was refusing to leave, giving the clerk a hard time down there. Security down at the store had to assist with getting him to leave. She saw him walking this direction towards this store here, so I stopped in, saw a guy matching the description, from outside. Once he finished in here, kind of giving the clerk a hard time in here, I was just trying to explain to him, ‘hey, they don’t want you back down there. If you’re gonna be down there, I’m gonna take you to jail.’ Trying to get his ID, just identify him, check for warrants. He just started kind of being really indignant, cussing a little bit, being disorderly. When I started getting his information, trying to run him, he just kept trying to walk away, so I went ahead and kind of detained him; he’s acting ridiculous. So at this point, he’s in custody for obstruction. I’ll probably likely just do the report for a criminal trespass down there as well, so if he does come back, they can file charges against him.”

  • BOLO — an escaped Calif. inmate.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Det. Galbreath initiates a traffic stop. In the friendly interaction, Det. Galbreath recalls how he may have previously arrested one of the occupants who got allegedly tased in that incident in the process. “We just stopped this car for the tint. They’re super nice. A couple of people we’ve actually dealt with before. They’re not gonna be issue. I’m just gonna make sure their licenses are good, and we’ll get them out of here.”
  • Knox County, Tenn. –After making contact with the homeowner/complainant who just returned from a trip, Ofr. Ben Monro and other units clear a residence that was burglarized. The master bedroom and bathroom were ransacked. Ofr. Monro gathers further information from the complainant and also tries to figure out how someone got in. “We’ll take her through the house and see if we can figure out what’s missing, and go from there.”
  • Richland County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Deputies pursue and detain a fleeing motorist who hit a deer, a collision that apparently ended the pursuit. The driver says he doesn’t know why he ran. According to deputies, if the driver had pulled over, they might have just issued him a traffic ticket.

Dep. Matt Smith recap: “He’s not gonna be charged with DUI because of certain laws, by the time we get him back to Richland County and put him on the breathalyzer, it’s gonna be over the time limit…so he’s just gonna get charged with reckless tonight, the open containers, failure to stop for blue lights and sirens, and reckless driving.” Abrams: “Sometimes they have the help of a canine. Here they had the help of a deer.”

  • Triple Play #2 — A Reddick, Ill., police pursuit through a cornfield.
  • Monroe, La. — The Heat team including Ofr. Khadeem Dumas-Brown make a traffic stop; two occupants. Cops explain to the men that they are required to ID when stopped by LEOs. Some bleeping. Beers poured out.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Carr returns to the previous location to view Ring camera footage (which OPL airs) from a neighbor’s home that seems to corroborate that the homeowner allegedly did throw a bottle. Abrams: “Now it seemed to resolve any outstanding questions, right? It’s exactly what the guy said happened, right? Hiding in the bushes, comes running out…she was right…” Cpl. Carr to the girlfriend: “I’m not gonna waste my time, I’m not gonna waste taxpayer dollars, to prosecute someone that’s not worth prosecuting. We got him on video, jumping out of the bushes, running up, and throwing that glass at the vehicle…I’m just letting you know what actually happened. I saw it on video. That’s all.” To the OPL camera, Cpl. Carr asserts that “I feel really, really good about that. I felt good about it when the broken glass is in the roadway, but I feel even better now watching it on video. That’s gonna be an easy case to prosecute.”

“We got him on video, jumping out of the bushes, running up, and throwing that glass at the vehicle…”

  • Monroe, La. — Ofr. Smith initiates a friendly traffic stop possibly for speeding. After a license check, the driver is released with a warning. Ofr. Smith seems to really like the driver’s Shakira-style jeans.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Dep. Cullen and other units initiate a traffic. The driver, who allegedly has no license and never had one, is initially detained but subsequently uncuffed and released, although Cullen is initially having difficulty identifying her in the police database. Abrams: “It looks like this woman is being released. This is the one who did not have a license, said she’d been arrested before, and they were trying to figure out who she was. It looks like they have figured out who she is and she is not going to be arrested here, although I’m certain she won’t be able to drive.”
  • Knox County, Tenn. — In a call that was originally about a woman who reportedly said she was flagged down by two men, Ofr. Martin investigates on scene where a car that is flipped over in a wooded area. There are no occupants in the car, and Ofr. Munro wonders why the woman didn’t mention first that a car was upside down in the creek. Tow truck summoned to the scene. Ofr. Munro indicates that “so we’re gonna go hunt down and see if we can find one of these drivers or occupants. They’ve obviously fled the scene for a reason after wrecking the vehicle. They didn’t want a police report for it to document it, so they’re either wanted or heavily intoxicated, so we’re gonna try and track them down.”
  • St. Lucie County, Fla. — Det. Kirk along with Sheriff Keith Pearson and other units conduct a consensual car search as the episode concludes. Some crack rocks allegedly found in the vehicle.
CLICK HERE for the #OPL 03-42, December 14, 2024, recap.