This Weekend’s On Patrol: Live Highlights, Quotes, Social Media Activity, and Puns
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 departments during the ride-along on Friday and Saturday evenings.
An On Patrol: Live recap, including studio host Dan Abrams’ puns, analysis, and banter with co-hosts 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: See Disclaimer below.
On Patrol: Live Summary for June 2, 2023 (#OPL Episode 01-85)
- Beech Grove, Ind. — Traffic stop on alleged stolen vehicle at gunpoint. Driver says it’s a rental. After an investigation, he is released with no charges; car returned to rental agency.
- Toledo, Ohio — Cops pursue vehicle allegedly involved in car jacking that turns into a foot pursuit. Five suspects taken into custody.
- Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies respond to neighbor dispute over a “sprinkler spat.” In reference to the complainant, Abrams says that “I hope I’m that fit when I’m 92 years old.” The alleged sprinkler-head stomper, who is also an older gentleman, denies any doing anything wrong but he is arrested after deputies investigate. While trying to mediate situation with the two men who are originally from out of state, one of the deputies refers to “southern hospitality instead of that northern hostility.”
- Nye County, Nev. — Dep. Nicholas Huggins unlocks door of RV in Walmart parking lot for someone who called in to say she was stuck inside. Huggins: “Her latch broke on the inside of the vehicle, and she was stuck on getting out, so she just needed someone to come open the door for her. So we were able to facilitate that. She says she’s out of gas, but other than that, the RV will be able to run. Just a little thing. She doesn’t have to jump out the window. We got the door open, and we’ll call that a mission accomplished.”
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies pursue vehicle that fled from traffic stop.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Abrams describes incident as “a battle of youth vs. experience as Cpl. BJ Nelson attempted to track down a juvenile with both a warrant and a fast pair of legs.” Deputies chase runner and take him into custody.
- Toledo, Ohio — Officers respond to a dispute over a nonfunctioning toilet and advise parties that it is a civil court matter and that they should stay away from each other in the meantime. Sgt. Geoff McLendon: “This guy here says the toilet doesn’t work, so he went down to the courts. He pays the courts his rent. I think that’s the issue with the company is that he’s not paying them rent, he’s paying the court rent because the toilet doesn’t work…we advised them they have to go through the court.” Caption: “Unable to flush out the situation.”
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies, including helicopter unit, canvas area in response to a shots-fired call.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Traffic stop for brake light out. Abrams: “The passenger was loaded in more ways than one.” Passenger allegedly had handgun on his person. Open bottle spotted. Drugs allegedly found. Cpl. Devante Smith mentions that the subject is acting and talking Dave Chappelle’s rendition of Rick James. Dep. Smith indicates that the subject is going to be charged with alleged trafficking, possession of a stolen firearm, and possession of an open container of alcohol inside a motor vehicle. Driver released with warning on the original defective equipment issue.
Abrams: “Curtis, take us into the mindset of an officer the minute they see that weapon that has not been disclosed by someone in the vehicle.” Wilson: “Crazy situation. It can be so dangerous, which heightens our senses, because we see a gun, and they didn’t tell us about it. Now, on top of that, he says he didn’t remember that gun was there. C’mon. And then he has another gun as well. One of the guns, of course, comes back clear. The other one comes back stolen. Now that gun had to be cleared to find out whether or not it was involved in any type of altercation, incident, anything that took place. But again, we get there, it’s so important to let us know that you have a weapon on you because it can from zero to 100 so quick, and somebody could get hurt.” Larkin: “And you see the officer give very clear commands. I mean, he draws his gun out right away, puts it behind his leg. He’s obviously recognizing a potential threat there. Clear commands to this guy. Luckily, he follows them.”
- Volusia County, Fla. — Dep. Dijhon Knight investigates something washed up on the beach which turns to just be a flotation device from a boat that is full of sand. He thanks the two young women for notifying the police. “I would much rather do this than it be full of dope, and some kid pick up it up…”
- Toledo, Ohio — Officers canvas area in response to shots-fired call.
- Nye County, Nev. (pre-recorded segment) — Deputies respond to multiple reports of a shootout. They arrive to find one wounded man on the ground. Shell casing also spotted. The investigation purports to reveal that the son allegedly shot his dad after a dispute. Deputies subsequently make traffic stop on suspect vehicle. Dep. Huggins: “So right now we’ve determined that this was an altercation between a father and a a son over allegedly this vehicle here. Apparently there was an earlier physical altercation, like a fist fight, between father and son. The son then had a firearm and then shot dad. As of right now, we have 12 casings. Our victim has somewhere between seven and eight gunshot wounds. Apparently the suspect is a juvenile…”
Following the traffic stop, Dep. Huggins explains that “through the course of the investigation, we also determined that these two gentleman are suspects in an armed robbery from last night. We actually called the phone number that last night’s victim was communicating with, which, in turn, belonged to the suspects of last night’s robbery, and it was actually the phone that was sitting in the passenger seat of this car. So pretty good evidence on that…as far as I know, the victim is still in critical condition. I haven’t heard any updates on that. However, these are our suspects. They’re gonna be taken in today. Looks like they’re both gonna be charged with attempted murder and both gonna be charged with armed robbery from last night’s case as well.” Abrams: “The juvenile was charged with attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon, and discharging a firearm where a person may be endangered. The victim is expected to survive. Three rounds were recovered during surgery.”
- Volusia County, Fla. — Dep. Knight make traffic stop on jeep with plastic covering flopping in the wind (a “car condom” according to Abrams) that could be a danger other vehicles on the road. Abrams: “Deputy Dijhon Knight having a bizarre night….” The friendly driver removes covering and is sent on her way.
- Beech Grove, Ind. — Sgt. Joe Garrison spots a possible stolen vehicle. The driver runs from the vehicle; two other occupants, a male and a female, detained at gunpoint. One of the occupants says his name is God. “What’s your last name, God” an officers asks him. Cops and drone search for the male who fled the scene; he is subsequently taken into custody (see update below).
Larkin: “When you stop a stop a stolen car, you don’t know the reason they’re driving that thing. Are they just joyriding in it or are they using it for something like burglary? Or are they using it for violent crimes? Are they doing robberies, shootings, and things like that? So you don’t know who you’re dealing with. When someone flees from a vehicle or runs from an office any time on foot, one of the first things you’re looking at — a natural running motion is somebody’s arms pumping back and forth. If one side is holding a waistband, a pocket, or something like that, we’re fearful of a gun because that’s a heavy object. They’re trying to stop it from shaking as they’re running. So that’s something you really, really focus on any time someone runs from an officer.” Abrams: “Sgt. Garrison was hoping for a perimeter there, but it sounds like he may not be able to get it.” Wilson: “He was asking for that help, and departments that are pretty much, I guess, straining with employees or things of that nature that have folks who can get out on that perimeter, or even involved in other calls. Things like that happen. So he couldn’t get enough individuals out there to get a great perimeter to capture this guy….”
Before the arrest, Sgt. Garrison explains that “this vehicle has a plate to a stolen vehicle on it. We found it in the area after one of our license-plate-reader cameras…so we have a K9 officer en route. We have a loose perimeter set up to try to locate this individual. Right now, really he’s only wanted for fleeing. Potentially that this vehicle is most likely gonna be stolen as well if I had to guess, but right now, we’re just kind of working through it.”
Sgt. Garrison update: “So it sounds like our K9 officers might have made an apprehension on our suspect here…there is still a lot going on, still trying to identify the gentleman. He’s really angry and is only saying his name is God. The other female, we identified her, and we identified her as a suspect in other stolen vehicle cases. And it just so happens she was associated with another gentleman who is in another stolen vehicle with her. Turned that’s who ran from us today, so the name she gave us was not the right one. She obviously lied to us on purpose. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department assisted us with their K9 and their drone team. The K9 was able to track it to a location just north. That’s where the gentleman took off running from us. They relocated to that area and were able to take him into custody in just a few minutes. So outstanding work by them. And he’s gonna go to jail. He’s got an open warrant out from Marion County for a firearm violation, so he’s gonna go to jail for that as well as for possession of that stolen vehicle…”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Devonte Carr spots a car in a ditch. Driver says that another vehicle hit his car.
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputies respond to dog park on a report that a large dog is harassing a small dog. Caption: “Size matters?” Dep. Huggins tries to mediate the situation with the parties.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Carr and other deputies respond to another accident. Vehicle occupant says she is freaking out.
- Toledo, Ohio — Cops respond to neighborhood dispute involving man who is apparently trying or to get access to his kids. Since he does have them, Officers advise the man to leave the area.
- Wanted Update and new Wanted segment (another escaped inmate from Mississippi prison).
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies pursue fleeing vehicle and subsequently take suspect into custody. Gun allegedly found found.
- Nye County, Nev. — Lt. Eric Murphy and other deputies respond to 911 disconnect or hangup at residence coincidentally with the house number address 911. Homeowner seems initially uncooperative and insists that no one called, and the phone number doesn’t match. From behind the fence, deputies determine that everyone is okay in the residence. Murphy: “There’s really no reason for us to rush up there. Everybody in the house I made contact with…It appears they don’t need our assistance.”
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Officers conduct field sobriety test and subsequently arrest the motorist.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies pursue fleeing van which was allegedly “kind of prowling in neighborhood,” and Deputy Dylan Lee tried to pull it over after it ran a red light. Driver bails; foot pursuit with Cpl. Carr and his K9. Driver left phone behind in truck which presumably should assist in investigation.
- Nye County, Nev. — Lt. Murphy responds to report of allegedly intoxicated man who refuses to leave casino. Murphy makes contact with the subject outside; man starts resisting as the show ends. A security officer at the scene assists Murphy in the struggle.
On Patrol: Live Summary for June 3, 2023 (#OPL Episode 01-86)
- Richland County, S.C. — Deputies pursue reckless dirt bike riders on regular roadway. Two of them wipe out and are detained. Gun allegedly found. Bystander disagrees with law enforcement intervention and engages in dialogue (or a monologue) with Cpl. Anthony Morrow.
With reference to that individual, Wilson explains that “I get his point in what he is talking about, but also he has to understand that being a public nuisance. The sheriff gets phone calls, headquarters gets phone calls, about these bikes out there on the roads, and what it’s done is create an issue for traffic and also pedestrians out on the roads. So we have to do something about that. And, again, it’s a frustrating thing because we’re limited when they’re out on these roads riding through, cutting, and so forth. But we can’t allow them to do things like that.” Larkin: “Quickly, I want to address what he’s saying. He’s saying this is wrong what the officers are doing. What’s wrong is what these young men are doing. It’s wrong to run from the police. It’s wrong to have a gun on you out rolling around like this doing things. So he’s making excuses for these young men that are doing something wrong. But we are very limited especially when we have large groups like this. Often times, not saying these particular guys, but they commit other crimes whiles out on dirt bikers, motorcycles. Cities like Philadelphia and Chicago have major, major problems with groups on these type of bikes. We can’t do a PIT maneuver on them, we can’t put spike strips down, things like that, so it’s very difficult and limiting for us to chase these guys, and that’s why there are some departments that actually have policies where we can’t even chase someone on a motorcycle.” When Abrams asks Wilson about the Richland County policy, the latter replies that “For us, we can chase life, limb, or property, or of course, if there being a danger to themselves or reckless, then, of course, we’ll call it off. But no danger to life, limb, or property, then we can actually go after these guys and try to stop them…”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Traffic stop at gunpoint. Female driver, male passenger, plus pets. Car search. Dep. Lee: “None of the brake lights worked on the vehicle. After I lit the car up, obviously they gave chase, and we pursued…it’s a slow pursuit…they finally gave up. So the driver is definitely gonna go to jail, and we’re gonna go ahead and run the VIN to make sure it’s not stolen because the tag doesn’t match the vehicle either, and the passenger, he could be released, or he could go to jail unless we find something else in the car as well, so we’re gonna search it, and see what we got.” Update from Abrams: “The woman was arrested, she was the driver, for driving while suspended, failure to stop for blue lights, and improper tags. Turns out she did not have a warrant. Remember she said she thought she might have an outstanding warrant. The guy was released with no charges, and he was able to take the animals with him.”
- Nye County, Nev. — Traffic stop on pickup truck possibly for tail light issue or some other minor infraction.
- Volusia County, Fla. — Driver appears to have a seizure after traffic stop. Paramedics called to the scene.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — High-speech pursuit involving an alleged stolen truck. Driver wearing “nobody’s perfect” T-shirt detained at gunpoint and faces multiple charges.
- Berkeley County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Deputies investigate suspicious activity at car dealership caught on owner’s security camera. Catalytic converter theft might be involved. Owner and suspect begin arguing at scene. Vehicle search. Tools and drugs allegedly found. Sgt. Paul Yacobuzzi: “It looks like we got here just in time to maybe prevent him from cutting a catalytic converter. The suspect told me that he came here to tell the owner that his father’s window was open, and his father lives up the road on 30 acres in a fenced-in property, but he wanted to let him know that his window was open. So he must have telepathy or something…He’ll be charged with the drugs, we’re gonna put him on a trespass notice for the area, and let him go on his way…” Responding to a question for Abrams, Wilson explains the catalytic-converter-related policy in Richland County: “For scrap metal and things of that nature, you have to come to the sheriff’s department, get a license, so that you can sell this metal to the scrap yards. If you don’t do that, well, he’s gonna call law enforcement…you talk about cutting those things, you cut them, two minutes to get it out, but thousands of dollars to replace in vehicles.”
- Beech Grove, Ind. — Traffic stop. Officer allegedly smells weed. Abrams informs viewers that Beech Grove is leaving On Patrol: Live, and an unnamed California department will debut next week. [SEE UPDATE BELOW]
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Officers investigate an assault at a donut shop and make contact with victim who is sitting outside. Cops search area for suspect who had already left the store before they arrived.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Ronnie Russell investigates possible trespassing. Underage drinking is allegedly involved. He makes contact with young man with golf cart and convinces two female teens to come out of the woods. He tells them to pour out all the alcohol.
- Volusia County, Fla. — Deputies investigate what appears to be a tipped-over toll booth at the beach. Caption: “Tip-tolling through the tide.” Abrams: “They find some bizarre stuff on the beach in Volusia County.” He also also wonders if toll tipping is similar to cow tipping.
- Nye County, Nev. — Deputies respond to disturbance at park and interact with female who was allegedly yelling and screaming because she can’t sleep at her usual spot there. Dispatch immediately reroutes them to assist a pursuit of an armed suspect in a fleeing vehicle who was allegedly waving gun out of the vehicle window. Chase ends in foot bail, and suspect runs into a trailer. Caption: “Armed suspect barricaded in trailer.” Multiple deputies set up perimeter at gunpoint. Neighbors evacuated. Sgt. Cory Fowles speaks with emotional suspect on cell phones and tries to convince him to surrender. “We’re not gonna hurt you.” Suspect hangs up. SWAT was alerted and the agency’s chief negotiator arrives at the scene.
Larkin: “Obviously, a vehicle pursuit is a dynamic situation. The suspect bails and goes into a static stance essentially, inside this trailer. It slows things down. So it sounds like they’re still trying to identify exactly who the suspect is. They want to find out what he’s wanted for, what his history is, and things like that…they said there’s a female that went inside…is she in there willingly or is she used as a hostage? That is something that will obviously play out over time and will even change the way they want to handle the situation…” Wilson: “…There could be a weapon involved inside that structure…which is why also, again, we’ve always talked about, time is on law enforcement’s side. And they’re gonna have SWAT come in and, of course, figure out exactly as much intel as they can, as much information as they can about this individual, and also about the female as well.” Larkin adds that “They talked about calling SWAT out right away…The majority of the police departments across the country do not have a full-time SWAT team…It’s guys that are typically off duty or working other assignments. So it’s gonna take some time for them to get in. At this point, all they’re gonna do is maintain containment of this location in case the suspect comes out until the SWAT team gets there and takes over.”
As far as the negotiation is concerned, Wilson explains that “it’s important to have that dialogue going, that communication with this guy. As long as they’re talking to him, they’re keeping his focus off of being violent or anything else that could go wrong…” Larkin: “They just want to build that rapport with him, and as we heard Sgt. Fowles there talking earlier, he wants to get that female out…it just opens up more options on how to deal with him.”
The suspect and his wife/girlfriend eventually come out peacefully. Aggressive dog inside trailer. Turns out the gun is a pellet gun. Cops have yet to verify the identity of the suspect.
Sgt. Fowles summary: “We’re still not able to identify him. We’ve been at this for an hour. I think we’ve run three or four different names, three or four dates of birth, a Social Security number. We’ve run him out of all 50 states. He has no record; he doesn’t exist. So he’s gonna go to jail on the charges…We’ll identify him based on his fingerprints. I’m sure that he didn’t do all this for traffic violations. He’s probably got a warrant out of somewhere. Somebody wants him somewhere for something, so we’ll find out when his fingerprints come back. Hopefully tonight; maybe, maybe not. But I’m sure he’s been arrested before. I’m sure he’s been booked into jail somewhere in this country, and his fingerprints are in the data base, so we’ll fingerprint him and find out exactly who he is, and I’m not sure about the female just yet…the charges are felony eluding, driving without a license, driving on fictitious plates, and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.”
- Beech Grove, Ind. — Traffic stop at gunpoint on slow roller. Two occupants detained. Car cleared. Occupants subsequent released with no charges.
- Toledo, Ohio — Traffic stop after slow rolling; foot bail by two occupants in residential area. A juvenile is taken into custody after a brief chase. Female at the scene, possibly a passenger, tells the suspect to respect the police. Gun allegedly found on the ground. Car search. Officers try to locate other suspect. The juvenile is likely be charged with obstructing official business, firearms violations, and possibly tampering with evidence. Officer on scene: “So he’s got four or five charges that he’s gonna go down for.”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Deputies investigate a situation involving a large group in a residential area in which a gun was allegedly brandished and threats made. People in the group are yelling at each other, and much of the dialogue is bleeped. Dep. Russell: “There is obviously some frustration here. We’re trying to help them, but people will not calm down and legitimately give credible information that we can figure out…it’s just that everybody is mad at everybody. They drank too much. They had a party. We’re just trying to sort it out at this point.” Abrams: “This is mostly, I think, just a lot of people yelling at each other there, and that’s making it very hard for the authorities to do their job. Larkin: “Very much so; very frustrating to be on those type of calls where nobody wants to cooperate and help you or themselves out.”
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Officers investigate a disturbance at a convenience store and make contact with a woman in a wheelchair. Dispatch reroutes them to another call about a fight in progress.
- Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — Traffic stop. Ofr. Bill Wilk notes that it’s the most realistic-looing BB gun he has ever seen.
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Officers investigate report of a fight at what appears to be a food court at an entertainment center/arcade. Subjects, however, already had dispersed.
- Wilkes-Barre, Pa. — After receiving a noise complaint, officers advise homeowner to just turn down the volume on an amplifier.
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Foreman interacts with a man named Shannon as the show ends.
UPDATE: Fullerton PD is replacing Beech Grove:
Disclaimer
The On Patrol: Live disclaimer that airs several times during each episode is embedded above.
Moreover, as the the Live PD disclaimer appropriately indicated during its run, and that still applies to the successor show, not all outcomes are known or final.
Criminal charges, if any, may have been reduced, dismissed, or never filed.
When alleged criminal activities are depicted on On Patrol: Live, all suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law, as the current disclaimer reaffirms.
Further, please understand that the incidents aired on the show, and/or a description of same as briefly summarized in this blog, including but not limited to any arrests, constitute mere allegations or suppositions.
The content presented herein, including quoted material from the show, which is rendered as accurate as possible, is for entertainment purposes only and is also not to be construed as legal advice or legal analysis.
Initial assessments, commentary, opinions, observations, speculation, or conclusions, which are sometimes irreverent or meant as satire, about the incidents made by the studio hosts or cops featured on On Patrol: Live — or anyone on Twitter or on another social media platform for that matter — may be incomplete and/or inaccurate.
No endorsement of that content is intended or implied.
Pending Lawsuit
Parenthetically, A&E and the production company for On Patrol: Live, along with the Reelz channel, have lawyered up.
