This Weekend’s On Patrol: Live Highlights, Commentary, and Social Media Activity
A recap of the January 11, 2025, On Patrol: Live episode (#OPL 03-46), anchored in the NYC studio by attorney and host Dan Abrams along with co-host Curtis Wilson and analyst Tom Rizzo, follows.
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Focal points of this very active On Patrol: Live episode include a foot chase in Clayton County that consumed significant air time and a highway pursuit in Richland County that ironically culminated in the driver finally pulling over in front of a jail. And the Berkeley County “TikTok lawyer” prompted a robust social media reaction from On Patrol: Live Nation.
OPL did not provide an update, however, on the car fire that opened the show. See below for some potential additional information.
Agency update: The Seattle Times recently published an article about Everett, Wash., PD’s participation in On Patrol: Live. Everett was one of the OPL-featured departments in 2024.
Note: Click here for the recap of #OPL episode 03-45, January 10, 2025.
On Patrol: Live Summary for January 11, 2025 (#OPL Episode 03-46)
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Dep. Abdul Tarik and other units, plus the fire department, respond to a vehicle fire that may involve someone possibly trapped inside a vehicle. Cpl. Carli Carr explains that “we came out here for a pretty serious motor vehicle collision. I was first on scene and attempted to put the fire out, but it was too much. We probably used like four fire extinguishers. Wasn’t able to get to that person in the car, so I kind of focused my efforts on the other two people. They had to use the jaws of life. It’s like all hands on deck out here. Trying to just do what we can for the other two people right now. So highway patrol is here right now. They’re gonna assume the investigation, and we’ll go from there.” Owing to the sensitive nature of this kind of incident, On Patrol: Live discontinues coverage of same. Update: According to a report from Charleston, S.C.-based WCSC, two fatalities tragically occurred Saturday evening in a Berkeley County car accident that seems likely to be the same incident.
- Richland County, S.C. — Cpl. TJ Norton initiates a traffic stop for no headlights.
- Richland County, S.C. — Cpt. Danny Brown makes contact with the operator of what appears to be a pool hall and advises the subject that he needs to obtain a business license/permit from the authorities.
Cpt. Brown recap: “Nothing big. Just educating them a little bit on the business license and stuff. Seem like a good group of people, but we got our ordinances and stuff we got to follow. So we’re trying to educate them a little bit…can’t be loitering…they seem cool.”
- Clayton County, Ga. –Dep. Mikal Jones responds to a report of street racing involving a large number of cars. Dep. Jones explains that “We’re gonna just cruise around the area, because there was 50 of them, and history tells us that they’re gonna go somewhere else in the county. And then we’ll go out and…try to get them.” On Patrol: Live host Dan Abrams: “So they’re gonna start searching now for where those 50 cars, if they’re all still together, may be. I’m sure there gonna be reports pretty quickly of where they are, if they’re still together.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Dep. Tarik and other units serve a warrant at a trailer park. The suspect is taken into custody with the help of a K9. Paramedics summoned to the location. Several other persons are detained on scene.
Lt. Kristin Riddle recap: “We had information from an anonymous source that an individual was involved in an incident with Berkeley County deputies a few days ago where he decided to run away. They got warrants on him for grand larceny and evading arrest. While we were scouting the house and making call outs, the suspect thought it would be a good idea to jump out a side window. Unfortunately for him, our K-9 deputy was right there. So he’s gonna get cleared for the K-9 apprehension yard bite and then will be taken to jail for his charges.”
- Humboldt County, Calif. — Dep. Luis Bonilla and other units respond to a shoplifting call at a gas station/convenience store. A 15 year old is apparently detained on scene in the investigation.
Dep. Bonilla interim summary: “So apparently one of the juveniles took off with an alcohol bottle. His cousin was inside. The owner was not letting his cousin leave until the juvenile with the bottle brought it back. The juvenile came back, and I guess shoulder checked him, and it became a bigger issue. That’s when we got called in.”
- Clayton County, Ga. — Lt. Jonathan Carey conducts a traffic stop on a vehicle that was allegedly traveling at approximately 100 mph in a 65-mph zone. “He said he was just trying to get somewhere, but he’s gonna get a few tickets.”
- Monroe, La. — Ofr. Nathanael Chapman makes contact with a driver in a pickup truck at a closed park. The motorist says he was just listening to music. Ofr. Chapman advises the man that an 8 p.m. curfew is in effect, and the polite driver leaves the area.
Listen to Ofr. Chapman’s recap:
- Daytona Beach, Fla. (pre-recorded segment) — Abrams introduces the segment by quipping that cops “pulled over a driver on a traffic violation, and then things got nuts.” K9 Det. Roger Lawson assists colleagues on a traffic stop apparently for alleged illegal window tint. In the course of the investigation, police allegedly spot a scale with white powder on it in the vehicle’s back seat, which is tested, and they subsequently allegedly find drugs in the driver’s private parts. Det. Lawson: “Upon searching the gentleman here, Detective Smith located said clear baggies with illicit narcotics underneath the gentleman’s balls…he’ll be going to jail tonight for felony narcotics.”
Abrams: “And the baggies contained meth and cocaine. And we were just talking about the fact that it is maybe better for it to be found now than later.” On Patrol: Live co-host CurtisWilson: “Because when you get to the jail, if they find it there, you get these additional charges, so just tell them, because we’re going to feel and touch and make sure that there’s nothing there.” On Patrol: Live studio analyst Tom Rizzo: “I can’t tell you how many times that’s happened. People say ‘well go ahead and search me,’ almost as if it’s a challenge, as if you won’t find it. But to Curtis’s point, that’s why there’s routine checks. You check the vehicle before a passenger or a prisoner and then after, so it’d be a duplicate charge; you’re only adding a charge.”
The detective “located said clear baggies with illicit narcotics underneath the gentleman’s balls.”
- Richland County, S.C. — Cpt. Brown and other units respond to a fight in progress. A knife may be involved. Cops detain a male and a female on scene. According to Brown (see below), the investigation determines that the male, who apparently had called 911, was allegedly the primary aggressor, and he is likely arrested for alleged domestic violence.
- Clayton County, Ga. — Lt. Carey, with Ofr. Jones as backup, makes a traffic stop for alleged failure to maintain lane. Three occupants. The car allegedly smelled of weed. During a car search, cops allegedly spot a rifle and suspected drugs in a bag in the trunk. One of the occupants runs, prompting an extensive foot chase in a residential area through the snow and requiring deputies, among other things, to climb over dangerous barbed-wire fencing. In the course of the search, cops track footprints in the snow and receive tips from nearby residents. Blood is also spotted presumably from fence cuts. Abrams: “Appreciate our cameraperson there making the effort…be safe, please.” He also notes that “officers always in a bit of a disadvantage because of the weight of all the equipment” they’re carrying. On Patrol: Live provides several updates about the search during the show, including that the suspect is allegedly knocking on doors of different houses asking homeowners to use their phone. The suspect, however, is still at large, but cops have identified him.
Lt. Carey recap: “So right now, we do have his ID or have him IDed. We lost his footprints somewhere back here behind this house. We don’t have a lot of resources right now to assist us, so I’m gonna just take out warrants for his arrest, go collect the marijuana and the gun, and go call it a night…we’ll catch him another time.” Abrams: “They have called off the search for now for that guy who fled from them at the traffic stop where they found the drugs and the rifle in the trunk. But they know his name. They seem pretty confident that they’re gonna be able to find him.. “
- Berkeley County, S.C. — At the request of the gas station/convenience store manager, Dep. Tarik disperses motorists who are not buying gas and perhaps allegedly loitering at the location. “Anybody who’s not pumping gas needs to get out of here.” On Patrol: Live caption: “Report of trespassing.” One of the motorists asserts that “I got a lawyer.” Dep. Tarik: “Congratulations…” After two conversations with the individual (Dep. Tarik: “You’re being a TikTok lawyer right now”), that driver leaves the area. Dep. Tarik humorously implies that he could cite the driver for allegedly not signaling. Abrams: “I think there’d gonna be a lot of people watching who are gonna hope that he goes and pulls him over for not signaling.” Rizzo: “Even from a distance, my blood pressure is going up.” Abrams: “Hired a lawyer, driving a BMW…”
“You’re being a TikTok lawyer right now.”
Got lawyer too??? #Oplive #OfficialOnParolLive @REELZ #OPNation pic.twitter.com/pNcZ4Gxx8n
— Maggy May (@MaggyMay1996) January 12, 2025
- Triple Play #3 — A Clayton County, Ga., pursuit.
- Richland County, S.C. — Cpl. Norton and other units pursue a fleeing vehicle that was traveling in the range of 100 mph. The car does use its turn signals, however, during the chase. The driver finally comes to a stop after about 20 minutes in front of the Alvin S. Glen Detention Center. Deputies take the male subject into custody there. Heavy bleeping. On Patrol: Live caption: “Police escort to jail.” Open containers allegedly spotted during a car search. Cpl. Norton advises the female passenger that she needs to call someone for a ride home. When she seems to humorously mention Ghostbusters, he lightheartedly quips that “Can’t call Ghostbusters; they ain’t gonna pick you up.”
Abrams: “This guy just ended a pursuit by driving to the jail.” Wilson: “Now, he had went straight to the sally port, it would make it even easier” Abrams: “I’ve never seen anything like this…” Cpl. Norton: “I’ve never had a chase come into the jail.” Cpl. Norton subsequently adds that “We were in a pursuit with this gentleman, and we went a pretty good little ways. It’s kind of funny because he actually pulled into the jail. Never had a chase into the jailhouse, actually stopped in the jail. So we don’t have to take him far. So we’re gonna start working on some of this paperwork, get him processed, get him taken in. Right now, we’ve got some traffic charges, failure to stop or blue lights, possibly an open container charge…you can smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath, so we’re gonna take a look at that as well. So we’re gonna get everything processed and find out what’s going on with the passenger, because there’s actually a passenger in the vehicle that we did not know about until we got here. So we’re gonna figure out what we got with her, and then we’ll go from there.” Abrams: “They’ve never seen it before. We’ve never seen it before. This is On Patrol: Live!”
“This guy just ended a pursuit by driving to the jail.”
“I’ve never had a chase come into the jail.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Carr, Dep. Tarik, and other units respond to a disturbance at a trailer park in which a female allegedly assaulted another female. Paramedics summoned to the scene.
Cpl. Carr recap: “I responded out here to some sort of physical altercation. The homeowner here was assaulted by someone she let live here. She’s kind of upset right now. She should be. She’s bleeding. As we were pulling up…I guess the suspect was taking off on foot. So we’re just trying to work that out right now. She did call an Uber. The Uber was pulling up to pick her up. So she’s somewhere around here; we just need to kind of figure that out.” Dep. Tarik adds that “…the victim is highly intoxicated. She can’t tell us the full story of what happened. She can’t tell us who the suspect is. Obviously she had a little bit too much to drink, so we gonna have to clear out. If she wants to press charge, she’s gonna have to call tomorrow and file it then. Other than that, we’re out.”
- Richland County, S.C. — Cpt. Brown responds to a report of car allegedly doing donuts in a parking lot and makes contact with with two males. A motorist on scene seems to initially deny that he was driving one of the vehicles. “This ain’t your car even though I saw you getting out of it?” Cpt. Brown also mentions that the subject allegedly made a remark that sounded like an attempted bribe. He admonishes the motorist for his driving: “You’re out here putting everybody’s life in danger including yourself.” He issues tickets, including one for alleged reckless driving; the vehicle is towed. Abrams quips that “cops do not always like donuts.”
“Cops do not always like donuts.”
- Missing segment — West Union, Ohio.
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Lt. Richie Maher and Ofr. Magen Geary, among other cops, respond to a disturbance at a residence. On Patrol: Live caption: “Report of domestic assault.” The male party repeatedly asks cops “what did I do?”
Ofr. Geary summary: “So we got called here for a battery that had just occurred. Unsure the relation between the two parties. I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with the victim yet. Once we got to the subject’s house, he comes to the door. There’s a dog inside, so he may have been a little hesitant with opening the door fully because he didn’t want the dog to get out, which is completely understandable. But once he saw that we were trying to put him in handcuffs to detain him to ask him questions, he wanted to shut the door and run back inside the house. That’s why officers made entry into the house. We had facial contact with him. We know that’s exactly who we’re looking for, so then we went inside of the house to get him, and now he’s detained. We’re attempting to read him his Miranda rights and get to the bottom of what actually happened here because right now all we have is one side. We need both sides to complete the puzzle.”
Lt. Maher subsequently asserts that “She’s drunk. Everyone’s drunk. But he’s accusing her of a battery that occurred last night. And he’s got a mark down his neck where he got cut with a hanger by her. So we’re gonna go throw some handcuffs on her. Then we’ll start that side of the investigation.” Ofr. Geary gathers information from the woman who is also detained and Mirandized: “…so you’re saying he hit you with the hangers?…so you’re saying that he sliced his own neck with a hanger after you guys were arguing about laundry?” The woman also claims that the male allegedly “drinks every day, all day.”
Ofr. Geary recap: “So, we have an argument between two parties. Both of them are somewhat intoxicated on a substance that’s unknown at this time. We can smell the odor of alcohol from both of them, so that’s what we’re gonna assume. But they at some point got into a physical altercation with each other. Before it was he pushed her that she doesn’t want to talk about it. I think she’s trying to protect him. She doesn’t want him to go to jail. She’s denying all accusations of anything physical happening with a hanger. The gentleman that we have detained and the other resident has a clear laceration that’s consistent with his story. So, unfortunately, since she doesn’t want to communicate what happened with the hanger, that we’re gonna have to go with what he says if he’s gonna swear to the statement that he provided to us. Their relationship, I believe, is domestic in nature. So, unfortunately, in the state of Florida, we have a zero tolerance rule where the state will actually pick up the charges if the victim/parties are uncooperative. So we’re gonna try and get to a peaceful outcome for this and then see if we can get on our way.”
- Monroe, La. — Ofr. Serenity Smith makes contact with a pedestrian wearing a long coat with some dance moves possibly on a warrant check.
- Clayton County, Ga. — On Patrol: Live airs a replay of a Triple Play police pursuit from last fall that required five PITs (precision immobilization techniques) to bring to a close.
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — As the On Patrol: Live episode ends, Lt. Maher assists the Violent Crime Apprehension Team (VCAT) on a fleeing vehicle and anticipated foot bail at an apartment complex.
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