On Patrol: Live Summary for July 22, 2023 (#OPL Episode 02-02)

The docuseries On Patrol: Live — i.e., Live PD 2.0 — premiered on the Reelz channel in July 2022 and generally follows the same basic format as its A&E network predecessor in which videographers accompany cops on night patrol in real time.

About 50 On Patrol: Live cameras go into the field with the law enforcement officers usually from eight different U.S. departments during the ride-along on Friday and Saturday evenings. Pre-recorded segments are usually part of the show as well.

An On Patrol: Live recap, including studio host Dan Abrams’ puns, analysis, and banter with co-anchors Sean Larkin and Curtis Wilson (retired Tulsa, Okla., cop and Richland County, S.C., deputy sheriff, respectively), along with the often-snarky or playful social media reaction, follows. 

NOTE: Please review the important DISCLAIMER.

[Click here for the OPL #02-01 recap]

  • Volusia County, Fla. — Dep. Royce James provides backup for a state fish-and-wildlife officer investigating possible criminal activity in a recreational area involving what James described as “hand-to-hand transactions.” Caption: “Investigating suspicious drug deal.” Five individuals detained. A woman at the scene is Mirandized. A female officer later arrives on the scene to search her person. James: “The odor of marijuana is very strong emanating from this car.” Vehicle search; weed allegedly found. Vehicle is set to be towed unless relative unless a friend or relative gets to the scene quickly.

Abrams: “Far enough on the marijuana, but…there’s gonna be some people who are gonna be watching that, and they’re gonna see that search of that little necklace where she’s saying she’s got her grandfather’s ashes, and they’re thinking to themselves ‘why does he really need to do that’?” Chicago PD Sgt. Michele Wood: “Well, it did seem a little excessive, but she is under arrest now, so he has to do a custodial search. He cannot send her into lockup with suspect narcotics, so he did have a reason to search it, and he already saw the hand-to-hand transaction, so he knows she’s got drugs in her area or on her person.” Dep. Wilson: “It’s also that fine line. When you have officers dealing with the public, so you had to make sure you don’t cross that line, but do exactly what your job tells you to do.”

Update from Abrams: The “woman being arrested for felony possession with intent to distribute marijuana…turns out she was charged because it was over 20 grams. The guy that was detained on the scene, he was cited for possession of marijuana. Everyone else there was allowed to go, but they were trespassed from that scene.”

  • Fullerton, Calif. (pre-recorded segment) — Cops investigate an alleged intoxicated fleeing hit-and-run driver. They force entry to an apartment after they allegedly spot a subject assaulting his father and subdue the subject. Charges may or may not include misdemeanor assault and battery, false imprisonment, and elder abuse, according to Cpl. Brandon Ramek.

Abrams: “Regardless of whether the victim wanted to press charges or not, in the state of California, if an officer witnesses domestic violence, they’re legally obligated to make an arrest if they think a crime was committed…we’ve seen more of these types of laws throughout the country.” Wilson: “All the time. South Carolina is one of those. The victim that was hurt and abused, if they refuse or do not want to press charges, the solicitor’s office is gonna take that charge up. Anytime the deputies go in, and we see any physical abuse, the other person is gonna get in handcuffs and be taken in because of this. Sometimes they’re afraid, or sometimes they still love them, but love should never hurt.”

Sgt. Wood noted that “the tool that they used to breach the door is actually called the ‘Chicago bar,’ because there’s a variation of it that was invented in Chicago.”

  • Toledo, Ohio — Cops take a woman into custody upon serving a felony warrant at her residence.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Dep. Brandon Williams makes a traffic stop for speeding. Likely a warning only.
  • Fullerton, Calif. — Ofr. Marcus Futch investigates a report of someone allegedly threatening the staff of a convenience store. He subsequently makes contact with a male nearby who is arrested. Futch: “…He’s been in and out of the store all day today, just causing problems. So it’s good that we found him so as there’s not gonna continue to be radio calls generated by him. So we’re waiting on the unit for transport — will take him to the station. And he has a couple of outstanding warrants too, so he’ll end up going to County for this; hopefully be at least a day or two before he’s back out here.”
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. (pre-recorded segment) — Officers and a K9 conduct a successful foot search after a motorist, who Abrams quipped had “a nasty case of ‘crabs,'” fled and then bailed on foot. Officer on the scene: A detective “found a substantial amount of what appears to be cocaine. In all, it will probably be a half a kilo. The bond is gonna be very high, if even a bond, depending upon his additional charges. Also, in the car was a plate of spoiled crab legs. I assume that they were there to throw off the narcotics detection dog. People don’t just hold on to spoiled crab legs, especially in a rental car.” Det. Chris Maher quips that “If you’re gonna sell cocaine, if you’re gonna traffic in crabs, don’t do it in Daytona, because [the Violent Crime Apprehension Team’s] coming.”

Abrams: “It was a case of crabs.” About the crabs possibly covering up the scent, Wilson notes that “it’s extremely difficult throw a canine off when they’re smelling something. As a matter of fact, they can smell up to 10,000 to 100,000 times better than us humans…” Wood: “People will do anything to get out of being searched. I’ve had people defecate on themselves…and it just makes it messier, but we still do it.”

  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Det. Bryan Quinones spots what allegedly appears to be a driver leaving the scene of a possible minor fender-bender. The vehicle subsequently pulls over. The driver denies hitting a car and is reluctant to step out of the car despite Det. Quinones’ order. She “just wants to go home” and is “not doing anything wrong.” The motorist is eventually removed from the vehicle the officers and becomes tearful about the situation. Quinones: “…We get to this point here, and then, of course, trying to get her out of the car…she reaches over to make sure the car is turned on, and put it in gear, and that’s when we take her out of the car. So she’s creating the situation on her own…” Quinones: “Why couldn’t you follow instructions? You’re making everything worse than it is.” Cops charge her for fleeing and resisting.

Abrams: “Putting aside the not pulling over immediately, putting aside the crying, putting aside the not cooperating when they’re trying to get her out, they have to determine if she is capable of driving that vehicle, if she’s under the influence. And that is the issue here.” Wilson: “First and foremost. She’s operating a motor vehicle, and she’s refusing to comply. So there’s something going on. And again, it could be under the influence of alcohol or whatever, or it could be no license, no insurance, something is going on with this young lady to make her not want to comply.” Wood: “And she just compounded the problem by fleeing and eluding, so she’s got other charges to worry about potentially.”

Abrams: “So now they just have to figure out is she’s just having a bad day or is there something else here.”

Update from Abrams: “She was arrested for fleeing and resisting without violence. She was not charged with anything related to driving under the influence.”

  • Volusia County, Fla. — Dep. Jared Gourley and colleagues converge on an alleged home invasion. They clear the house; it appears to be a false alarm. Dep. Gourley: “The neighbors called…and said that it looked like the door was kicked in. They didn’t know that the actual homeowner was out of town. So based off the storm, the door just kind of flew open, and it looked like it had forced entry. But it didn’t. So we cleared the house, there’s no one inside. We made contact with the [reporting party] and the homeowner. Everything’s good…The dog is back inside. The home is secure.”
  • Richland County, S.C. — Capt. Danny Brown makes contact with a male who was supposedly dancing behind a church. Brown; “Right now, nothing he’s doing is illegal. We just got a call about a suspicious person…He doesn’t seem like he’s drunk or anything. He’s walking fine. We’ll just follow him, and make sure he gets home and gets out of the roadway.”
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Sgt. Marcus Booth demonstrates his skateboard skills in what seems to be a game of Horse with a skateboarder.
  • Fullerton, Calif. — Ofr. Futch investigates a report of a woman breaking into train cars. Cops subsequently locate a vehicle that might belong to the suspect. Futch on the problem of train container theft generally which involves breaking the locks: “Sometimes they get good stuff that’s inside, and sometimes they just get what looks like something that’s completely worthless.” The railway company will be notified of the specific cargo container number in this instance “and then let them handle it from there.”
  • Crime of the Night — Ferndale, Mich. The fleeing driver allegedly had a fake license, fake plate, and a fake insurance card.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Cpl. Bryce Hughes heads to a shopping mall on a report of a large crowd fighting outside a movie theater. The report apparently turned out to be a false alarm.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Cpl. Hughes pursues a male passenger who ran from a traffic stop. She takes the man into custody. Car search; weed, scales, and baggies allegedly found. Heavy bleeping during the investigation. K9 deployed to search for any potential tossed contraband, i.e., an article search. The traffic stop was originally prompted by just a window-tint infraction and allegedly the odor of weed. Heavy bleeping. Driver had suspended license and was allegedly smoking weed while behind the wheel, according to Capt. Brown. “The driver…shouldn’t be driving anyway, definitely shouldn’t be driving while he’s smoking drugs.” At least one of the male subjects is charged with alleged possession with intent to distribute. Car towed. Capt. Brown: “Ridiculous over a little bit of weed, man; very crazy.”
  • Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — On a noise-complaint call, Ofr. Chris Benson asks homeowner to turn down the music. Abrams: “Who cares about the music? What about all the screaming? Is it like a haunted house or a bad daycare center?”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — On a noise-complaint call, Dep. Devante Smith asks homeowner to turn down the music during a birthday party. He informs the homeowner that 10 p.m. local time is the cutoff pursuant to a county ordinance. Smith: “No fights; that’s all we care about…everybody having fun — that’s all that matters.” Abrams: “Kids are out late tonight — Pennsylvania, South Carolina.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies abandon a vehicle pursuit because a shoplifting allegation apparently isn’t serious enough to merit continuing the chase. Wilson on the jurisdictional issues: “This originated in Goose Creek, which is a neighboring agency going into Berkeley, which is now why Berkeley joined in. But then, they made that decision based on the charges for this one not worth doing. ‘Let’s just back out,’ and just go back on regular patrol.”
  • Fullerton, Calif. — Ofr. Jason Coleman and numerous officers converge on a residence about a possible home invasion. A woman, age 20, was home alone and speaks with officers outside. Coleman also talks to the young woman’s mom who by phone about the situation. Colemans mentions to the OPL cameras that the area has experienced a series of residential burglaries. The cops eventually clear the home with a K9; no intruders found or any signs of force entry or any property ransacked. Coleman: “Good ending.”
  • Volusia County, Fla. — Dep. James and colleagues investigate a report a man who is allegedly threatening to blow up a woman’s truck. James talks to the parties to try to determine the extent of their relationship, whether they live together or he is a guest, or whether their dispute — whatever it is — is a verbal dispute that is a civil matter. Abrams about the potential she said, he said, situation: “The woman wants this guy out, but there’s a question about whether he actually lives there or not, and so that could determine whether she can kick him out or not.” Since “you guys are obviously at wit’s end right now,” James recommends the man to spend the night elsewhere, “but you’re a grown man, you make your own decisions, but we’re not gonna force you to leave tonight.”

James: “So this is a very heated domestic disturbance between these two. A lot of moving parts here. She’s saying he doesn’t live here; he saying he does live here. I went inside the house. It is a ton of his belongings in there. It’s a clearly an established area where he’s been sleeping. By her own admission, they were even gonna move up to South Carolina together, so we’re not going to force him to leave tonight because it’s my belief he has established residency here, and he does live here. And I don’t want to wrongfully evict somebody. So we’re gonna let him stay here. She’s gonna be just make better decisions about who she allows to live with her and continues a relationship with him if he’s that type of man. So that’s our decision for this evening.”

  • Missing segment — Fort Worth, Texas.
  • Nye County, Nev. — Dep. David Diaz pulls over a truck for speeding. The driver says he just bought the vehicle. Apparently, it is still unregistered and uninsured. Abrams: “And he also somehow incorporated that into why he was speeding. It’s all part of the ‘test drive’…”
  • Wanted segment — “A cat burglar who is quickly using up his nine lives” in Atlanta, Ga.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Smith conducts a traffic stop for a defective tail light. Smith: “She say she had a toothache, but she’s a little fireball.” Abrams: “I bet she’ll just end up getting a warning here.”
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Sgt. Mike Bryant investigates an alleged robbery at a convenience store. He obtains information from witnesses about two masked male suspects (which in Florida results in an enhanced penalty) and intends to review surveillance video.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies respond to another noise complaint and ask the homeowner to turn down the music.
  • Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — Ofr. Benson returns to the same house from earlier about the noise and, as a result, intends to send the homeowner a citation in the mail..