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.

 [Best viewed in Google Chrome.] 

At least compared to episodes with non-stop action and drama, this OPL installment was perhaps relatively uneventful. The toddler in the bar, a police pursuit of a stolen vehicle, an attempted warrant execution, and an individual who voluntarily hopped into a patrol car did, however, prompted a significant amount of viewer interest/social media attention. Bigfoot also made an appearance. Scroll below for details.

For background information about the reality documentary series On Patrol: Live (i.e., Live PD 2.0), that airs on the Reelz channel (which is available 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.

On Patrol: Live Summary for December 6, 2024 (#OPL Episode 03-39)

Please review this important DISCLAIMER.

Incidents in order of appearance:

  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Rachel Salka and other units respond to a report of a burglary in progress at an apartment complex. Deputies allegedly spot a bag of weed in parked car. Cpl. Salka makes contact with the complainant and advises her to call/text 911 if her ex returns to the location. Cpl. Salka: “Apparently her ex-boyfriend used her vehicle as a stowaway for the marijuana that he was carrying around around with him. Sure, sure, sure.” The weed is seized for destruction.
  • Richland County, S.C. — On a traffic stop, Master Dep. Andrew Kroto gives a motorist a warning in connection with a driver’s license issue. The driver’s mom to pick up the car. As Dep. Kroto is getting to drive off, a man tries to open the back door of the patrol car. The apologetic man also says he fell; apparently he received stitches to his head. Dep. Kroto: “You can’t just be opening people’s cars, though; you get what I’m saying?” OPL host Dan Abrams: “We were just talking about the fact that they released him that way from the hospital?” OPL studio analyst Tom Rizzo: “Clearly he’s a bit disoriented; he thought he was in an Uber.”

“You can’t just be opening people’s cars, though; you get what I’m saying?”

  • Daytona Beach, Fla. –Ofr. Eddie and Sgt. Christopher Maher conduct a traffic stop on a car with alleged illegal hub-cap strobe lights. Car search. The motorist is released with a warning. Ofr. Lee: “We’re just gonna seize the weed and cut him loose. He’s valid so we’re not even gonna start writing a bunch of tickets or anything…we’ll get him out of here on his way to start his Friday night.” The weed is tagged for destruction.
  • St. Lucie County, Fla. — Dep. Sydney Jenkins conducts a traffic stop on a minibike. “I pulled him over for driving an unregistered motor vehicle on the roadway. He didn’t consent to a search, so we just let him off with a verbal warning.”
  • Knox County, Tenn. — Dep. Alex Larue and other units conduct a traffic stop at gunpoint on alleged burglary suspects and take them into custody.
  • Humboldt County, Calif.. — Dep. Luis Bonilla and Sgt. Shane Steele, among others, plus a drone and a K9, converge on a residence to serve an arrest warrant on an attempted murder suspect. OPL cameras experience technical glitches during this incident. After making the appropriate announcements and then searching the residence, it turns out that the suspect is not there.

Listen to Abrams and then Sgt. Steele provide background on the suspect and this potential encounter:

Before LEOs determine that the suspect is elsewhere, Tom Rizzo outlines the police strategy at the property: “They have a plan A, B, and C, and they’re gonna, as you heard, they’re gonna have air,  they’re gonna have ground, they’re gonna have less lethal, they’re gonna have every type of scenario covered, because the person’s already obviously shown a potential for violence, meaning the underlying offense for the warrant.” Abrams: “And the last time the person escaped.” Rizzo: “So they have basically every risk-aversion tactic that they’re gonna have, and they’re gonna have that deployed, but if you heard, they’re gonna clearly communicate the roles for each — which way are we going — so that they don’t want to have to communicate that when it’s time to go into action.” OPL co-host Curtis Wilson: “They’ll also have extra patrol around that area..so again, as Rizzo said, every area is gonna be covered.” Rizzo: “And then I’m gonna guarantee there’s gonna be a medical component to this team that’s gonna be there in the case that they need an emergency evacuation.”

  • Toledo, Ohio –– Ofrs. Heather Smith and Tyler Picking respond to a report of a stray dog outside a residence. Cops place the pooch in the back of a patrol car; Ofr. Smith and the homeowner who had called in feed the dog treats.

Monroe, La. — The High Enforcement Apprehension Team (HEAT) squad detains a man in connection with drugs at an apartment complex. “Don’t play stupid with me?” The subject is arrested on drug-related charges.

Listen to Ofr. Trey Goins’ recap of the incident:

  • Humboldt County, Calif. (pre-recorded segment) — Abrams introduces the segment in which Dep. Karl Morton responds to a disturbance at a motel by quipping that there was “some confusion at the Bigfoot Motel about where a guest could enjoy his room and his bong.” Dep. Morton resolves the matter peacefully when the guest agrees to leave. “Talking with the manager and the gentleman here. It sounds like there was a miscommunication or misunderstanding between him and the manager about which room. Somehow he ended up with another room number and password. She said he was bouncing between both. So a situation like this, we just show up, keep the peace, and make sure no one gets hurt, and no one gets out of hand.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Cpl. Salka and other units respond to a domestic dispute in which an armed male allegedly punched his wife. Upon searching the area, Cpl. Hunter Rogers detains a man at gunpoint. “He dropped it when we made contact with him. We were able to take him into custody without incident. The victim –she was checked out by EMS, refused treatment. At this time, she doesn’t wish to prosecute the matter, so we’re gonna get him some mental evaluation, hopefully get the help that he needs tonight.”
  • St. Lucie County, Fla. — Dep. Jenkins investigates a possible burglary in progress and searches the area for possible suspects.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Sgt. Maher along with Sgt. Mike Bryant conduct a traffic stop. Pills allegedly found which the motorist insists are doctor prescribed. Abrams: “I’m rooting for this guy; I hope he has a legitimate prescription.” The man’s wife texts an image of the prescription to the subject’s phone, and Sgt. Maher advises the motorist that he can retrieve his pills on Monday at the police station upon showing his ID and the prescription bottle. Some weed that was allegedly found is tagged for destruction. Abrams: “Yes…so he’s in the clear. And we’re happy because, as we said, we were rooting for this guy.”
  • Triple Play #1 — a Bloomington, Minn., pursuit.
  • Knox County, Tenn. — Dep. Alex Lane conducts a traffic stop on a truck at a gas station for an alleged non-functioning tail light. The driver is detained. OPL caption: “Drug paraphernalia found.”
  • Monroe, La. — Sgt. Scotty Sadler and other units successfully search for a car that was allegedly stolen from a gas station thanks to information from the owner’s wife’s tracking app. Traffic stop at gunpoint after a pursuit and the car being boxed in by police vehicles; the suspect is detained and Mirandized. During the chase, the suspect allegedly almost hit Sgt. Sadler’s vehicle head on. The stolen car appears to have significant front-end damage.

Listen to Ofr. Jonathon Daniel’s recap of the incident:

Abrams: “Curtis, you heard Sergeant Sadler there talking about the fact that someone they’ve dealt with before, and he said every time they deal with him, he’s got some sort of medical emergency.” Wilson: “That’s that thing we call jail-itis. They want to delay as much time as they can before they hear the jail bars. It happens a lot.” Abrams: “And Captain Rizzo, we were talking about the fact that it’s great they got him, good police work, great that they have the tracker, et cetera. But for the victim here, the hassles just start here.” Rizzo: “Sure; it stinks. There’s various states that have victim crime compensation funds because we try to recoup the funds that they’re gonna now be on the hook for, right? A deductible for your insurance, everything like that. So it’s like you get victimized twice per se.” Sgt. Sadler later visits the home of the driver and his mom and suggests that they consider pursuing a civil lawsuit against the suspect.

  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Devante Smith manages to open the gate padlock at a storage facility so that a couple who were locked in there after hours can leave. He then secures the gate. OPL caption: “No locksmith required.” Dispatch had notified the keyholder. Abrams mentions that this kind of call has occurred before on OPL.
  • Knox County, Tenn. — Dep. Larue and other units respond to a report of shots fired that might have occurred in connection with a domestic dispute. Abrams: “A couple fighting, a man shoots into the ground, and may have been drinking involved, but again, still a very serious potential issue there.”

Listen to Dep. Larue’s initial synopsis of the incident:

  • Richland County, S.C. — Cpl. Shannon Tolman and other units respond to a shots- fired call. The Fire Department also responds to the same location in connection with a structure fire. A male and a female are detained on scene.

Cpl. Tolman summary: “Looks like this fire was actually set intentionally…it’s gonna be some type of domestic or civil dispute between persons. One of the females that we pulled out of the car was involved in an altercation that started up there, which started the fire initially. She might have something to do with the fire. This is still all under investigation with CFD* and CPD.* But we were able to detain them. We got them away from the gun. Everything’s secure for the city right now. Firefighters are safe. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters. So hopefully, we can keep this locked down for them, and they can figure it out.” Abrams: “So not surprisingly, it seems that structure fire was connected to the shots that were fired.” [*city of Columbia, S.C.]

  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Lee assists other cops on a traffic stop in connection with a possible stolen car. The two occupants are subsequently released with no charges.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Salka makes contact with parents at a bar on a report that they brought their three year old into the establishment while they allegedly drank and played pool. Cpl. Salka to parents: “Just for his safety, a bar is probably really just not ideal.” Cpl. Salka subsequently explains that “The child didn’t look like he’s in any harm or any danger. It is a little odd, obviously, to have a child at a bar. I’d probably disagree with the decision to bring a child to a bar but, legally speaking, we don’t really have anything we can do about that tonight.”

“It is a little odd, obviously, to have a child at a bar.”

  • Triple Play #2 — a Columbus, Ohio, pursuit.
  • BOLO segment — Philadelphia, Pa., murder suspect.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpls. Salka and BJ Nelson conduct a traffic stop on a slow roller that pulls into a driveway. An irate female motorist is detained; heavy bleeping. Car search.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Sgt. Maher and Ofr. Lee pursue a fleeing vehicle that allegedly might be involved in a shooting. Ofr. Lee successfully deploys stop sticks. The search continues but the car might have gotten away, however.
CLICK HERE for the #OPL 03-40, December 7, 2024, recap.

Note 1: There were Internet service outages during the preparation of this recap, which may have affected the content.

Note 2: Owing to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, no recaps for the November 29-30 OPL episodes were compiled or published here.