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), along with the often-snarky or playful social media reaction, follows.
Cpt. Tom Rizzo ( (Howell Township, N.J, P.D.), the all-but-permanent replacement for Sean Larkin, is again in the studio as this weekend’s guest analyst.
Agency update: Hazen, Ark., returns to the show this weekend after its long hiatus.
For background information about 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), click here.
Updates from last weekend’s episodes:
On Patrol: Live Summary for June 21, 2024 (#OPL Episode 02-85)
- Fontana, Calif. — Ofr. Samuel Saenz detains a subject who allegedly ran from police at Target. “You keep stealing stuff from here; why don’t you just get a job and pay for it on your own?” Ofr. Saenz: “So right now, he’s gonna go to jail for shoplifting, theft, and also for resisting arrest for trying to flee from me.” The officer subsequently adds that “The Loss Prevention advised that there’s a male here who’s been stealing all the time, and he was currently loading up a bunch of items, and he had fled the store. When I arrived on scene, I located the suspect, they pointed him out to me, tried to contact him. He appeared to be trying to run from me, so I grabbed him, and took him to the ground, very minor… the Loss Prevention here have dealt with him all the time; they want to press charges, so right now we’re gonna take him to jail. He’s facing numerous charges such as theft, resisting and obstruction, delaying arrest, and also during a search of his property, we found some methamphetamine, and [a] methamphetamine pipe. So he’s facing additional charges, and also we found some pepper spray. So we’re gonna conduct a rap sheet check of him. If he is a convicted felon, he’s prohibited from possessing this, and we’ll add some felony charges on him as well. So, not the crime of the century, but we definitely don’t allow that in the city of Fontana, so we’re gonna hold him accountable for sure.”
- Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Danny Rabelos (“I’m too old to chase”) makes contact with two men in a “high-drug area.” They are released with a recommendation to get help for their alleged addiction and to avoid hanging out in that area.
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Det. Dan Matero, Sgt. Monica Lee, and other units respond to a report of a drive-by shooting in which six shots were fired. As a side note, Abrams mentions that because of the heat, the OPL camera operator has to keep wiping the lens. Det. Matero: “We’re trying to find the RP right now…patrol and VCAT [are] in the area, canvasing for a crime scene. Maybe shell casings or a vehicle with bullet holes in it, or something like that, but we’re just still trying to figure everything out.” Abrams: “They are looking first for the reporting party; you heard him refer to the RP there, to figure out exactly what happened. But numerous calls coming in about this shooting…”
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Hannah Reed conducts a traffic man in which a loquacious driver seems to be discussing his drinking exploits. Abrams: “A few stupid charges…a few being-stupid charges.”
- Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Rabelos responds to the scene where a man is laying on the sidewalk. He admits to drinking plus “10 drugs.” A container of antifreeze allegedly found at the scene. Ofr. Rabelos: “You’re not drinking antifreeze, are you?…You promise?” Paramedics arrive and transport the man to the hospital. Abrams update: “It was confirmed he was drinking antifreeze and water as a cocktail. He was transported to the hospital for further evaluation. Scary stuff.” Cpt. Rizzo: “He’s lucky that they found him.” Abrams: “Exactly.”
- Robeson County, N.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Dep. Joseph Kitchens investigates an alleged domestic dispute between a couple at a trailer park. Abrams introduces the segment by quipping that “on this show, we often see things that are bananas, right?, or cars that are real lemons, but…the much-ignored huckleberry finally got its moment in the sun.” Dep. Kitchens speaks to a male and a female to get their respective sides of the story. The irate female repeatedly declares, “I’ll be your huckleberry” to her husband. She is served with a restraining order by another deputy. Dep. Kitchens: She’s “very upset. She’s been served. [If] she goes back, she’ll be charged.” The panel and the Internet the discuss the huckleberry reference.
Listen to Abrams, et. al, discuss the meaning of huckleberry, which Dep. Wilson explains is a line from the movie Tombstone:
- Toledo, Ohio — Cops respond to an alleged disturbance at a grocery store. An officer administers field sobriety testing to a subject. He also is unable to blow sufficiently into a portable breathalyzer. The subject is arrested.
- Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Reed initiates a traffic stop apparently for erratic driving. “I just bought this vehicle.”
- Richland County, S.C. — Cpl. Shannon Tolman and other units, including Sgt. Bryce Hughes, respond to a burglary in progress. After checking with residents and canvasing the area, it appears the call is apparently unfounded. Cpl. Tolman: “…we got nothing going on right now. We contacted with the homeowners. They’re okay. They don’t have anybody on their property that’s no supposed to be on their property…”
- Richland County, S.C. — Sgt. Kenny Fitzsimmons and other units respond to a domestic disturbance at a residence. Paramedics summoned to the scene. Sgt. Fitzsimmons recap: “So we were out here the other day for the same suspect doing random stuff that he shouldn’t have been doing. Come out here again now, I guess he attacked the gentleman, I think, is the landlord, and I think mom is the female that’s over here, got a couple of cuts on her hands, probably trying to get the knife away from the son. But we’ve had a lot of issues with him. He’s just — he’s one of those ones that doesn’t need to be catch and release. When he gets locked up, he needs to like stay there for a minute, but we can only do so much out here.”
- Triple Play #1 –– A pursuit of a fleeing vehicle in Benton County, Ark., after deputies attempted to serve a warrant.
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Sgt. Lee and many other units investigate a drive-by shooting. The victim at the scene,, who is unharmed, provides cops with a lot of information, including a vehicle description. Sgt. Lee recap: “Luckily we found the victim, which is also the reporting party.. He parked and tucked out her. He seems pretty shook up. He’s pretty scared. He claimed the bullet that went through his car was a hot bullet, and he was confused, not sure what happened. But he handed us a bullet. Looks like it hit something. So we’re gonna try to pull video footage from the road where it happened at, and see if we can catch the suspects.” Abrams: “So this guy’s lucky, very, very lucky.” Sgt. Lee subsequently adds that “the two shootings are probably the same suspect; it’s the same suspect vehicle: blacked out, four-door, black sedan. So we’re gonna drive around and see if we can find this vehicle rolling around so we don’t have a third shooting.”
- Indian River County, Fla. — Dep. Christine Greeley and a colleague make contact with a female pedestrian outside a car wash on a well-being check. “Do you have any friends here? ” Subject: “I have not a friend in the world.” The subject has no ID and won’t give the deputies her name, and indicates she doesn’t need any medical attention. “I don’t need anything….hi Cops.” Deputies appear to make sure that she is oriented and move on.
She’s not a danger to herself or others, trying to ID her isn’t probably worth it
— Kari Absher 🐘 (@karinsoil) June 22, 2024
[Note: For further information on the ID issue, see this article posted by a Florida criminal defense law firm titled Understanding Your Rights: Is Florida a Stop and ID State?]
- Hazen, Ark. — Chief Bradley Taylor and Sgt. Clayton Dillion make contact with a driver of an 18-wheeler on the side of highway where there is a “no parking anytime” sign. The driver is apparently cooking dinner. Sgt. Dillion to trucker: “…I understand completely. There’s not enough parking for you guys. But at the same time, a lot of truck drivers will run over those signs and push them down. It’s all good. Just finish fixing your supper, okay?”
Sgt. Dillion recap: “There’s not near enough parking along this interstate for all these truck drivers, so we’re real lenient with them. But they put these new no-parking signs up; a lot of truck drivers will push them down… so the highway department asked us to kind of enforce the signs.”
- Daytona Beach, Fla. — Det. Matero provides backup on a pursuit of a subject who allegedly fled from Det. Noah Galbreath on a bicycle and is quickly apprehended . Subject: “I don’t have sh*t on me.” Det. Matero: “She didn’t get vary far, sounds like. but we’re just gonna try to make sure she didn’t drop anything. So we’re gonna backtrack the route that she took when she fled from Noah, see if there’s any drugs or weapon or something in the grass…” Det. Matero spots some wet underpants” in the search and also what appears to be a hole in the ground of some kind. Matero: “So I don’t think we’re gonna find anything. This grass is like a foot tall, And if she had maybe even a small bag of drugs — blend in so easily. But she’s going to jail anyways for running. I don’t know if she had a warrant or something. I didn’t get that far yet with him…”
Abrams: “Captain Rizzo, you would have reached down into there, right? Just see what’s down there.” Rizzo: “I know Chief Taylor wouldn’t, but I would. But it’s funny. People always wonder why we retrace our steps on pursuits: foot pursuits, vehicle pursuits. You’d be surprised how successful that is. The ‘milkshake brain’ happens when people are trying to elude. Actually, it’s worth a shot. Small pieces of contraband, more seriously, weapons. But definitely worth a shot, though.” Wilson: “And also keeping some Purell.” Rizzo: “That’s a biohazard.”
- Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Mike Gee, Chris Mulinix, and Brooke Janowiecki, among others, respond to a shots-fired call in which the victim is age 12. Cars search for a suspect vehicle. Paramedics arrive and transport the victim to the hospital. Abrams: Ofr. Gee: “Looks like non-life-threatening injuries.”
Ofr. Janowiecki update: “There was a juvenile victim that was shot in the leg. We’re still canvassing. Our only witness is also a juvenile, so we’re trying to figure out if we can find any matching vehicles on our area cameras to see if we can get some answers that way. She went to the hospital, and we have detectives on their way out to speak to the family, and see if we can figure out who the shooter was.” Abrams: “And we previously heard someone describe a vehicle that was seen driving away from that scene. But now they point out that the witness is a juvenile. Doesn’t mean it’s not reliable. Just means it depends on how old the juvenile is, et cetera.”
- Indian River County, Fla. (pre-recorded segment) — In an intense situation, Cpl. Brandon McKenzie is the initial deputy who responds to a report of a bicycle accident and encounters a man laying in the roadway who says he has a gun and is also suffering from PTSD. The man also claims he threw the gun in the water. Cpl. McKenzie and several colleagues detain the man. The man is transported to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.
Listen to Cpl. McKenzie and the studio panel discuss this situation:
- Robeson County, N.C. –– Dep. Sabeth Hunt conducts a traffic stop possible for a tag light issue. “I just bought this car.” The driver appears to be excited to be on OPL. Abrams: “Guy doesn’t seem too worried about getting pulled over.” Wilson: “He’s a legend.”
- Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Rabelos has a friendly interaction with several pedestrians and compares notes about tattoos. Abrams: “I just learned a fun fact about Officer Rabelos. All of his ink is related to Batman.” Wilson: “Ninety-six hours.” Abrams: “A lot of Batman, and a little Bruce Wayne, but mostly Batman.”
- Richland County. S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Cpl. Anthony Morrow and other units respond to a shots-fired call in a high-crime area. Two men are detained, one after a foot pursuit. A gun is found outside a home. One of the subjects is released.
Cpl. Morrow recap: “The gentleman that ran from Master Deputy Horchman [sp?} he had a firearm, we located that. So he’s gonna go for possession under 18, possession of a stolen gun, and then aggravated assault, first degree, because he pointed the firearm at Master Deputy Horchman before we got him detained. And then the gentleman that ran from Deputy Cohen, we didn’t have a [unintelligible], so we just let him go.” Abrams: “And you wonder in a situation like that, how the officers make a decision about which way to go, right? Suddenly people split up; officers have to make a split-second decision.” Rizzo: “And there really isn’t a wrong decision, especially when there’s not a direct imminent threat to [someone], a safety threat per se. But I’m a fan of close is the choice, right?, the path of least resistance. And then under calmer circumstances, let’s try to identify, ‘hey, who was that that ran?’ Same thing on a driver on a car, two occupants in a car, the one gets out and flees, somebody stays in the vehicle. You don’t lose what you already have. That’s the easiest way to go about it.”
- Fontana, Calif. — Ofr. Victor Reyes makes contact with a man who claims a female friend has not returned his car. The officer discusses with the man, who appears to be wearing a security guard uniform, whether he wants to officially report the car as stolen and the ramifications of same. Abrams: “Officer Reyes is trying to prevent a situation” when the car is reported as a stolen, “and the car is found, and he decides to say he doesn’t want to press charges. They want to make sure they’re all on the same page.”
- Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Rabelos searches for a suspect in an alleged shooting.
- BOLO segment — A trio of Portland pickpockets. Pro tip: The ‘takeaway’ here is never carry a wallet in your back pocket.
- Hazen, Ark. — Chief Taylor and other units, plus the fire department, respond to a house fire that allegedly started in the kitchen. The chief is familiar with the residents. Caption: “Dinner well done?” Taylor: “Last time we [were] here, Peaches was cooking burgers on this thing.”
Listen to Chief Taylor’s summary of the incident:
- Triple Play #2 — Seattle, Wash. — In an incident that made national headlines, “trouble brewed” between a barista and a customer.
- Richland County, S.C. — Sgt. Fitzsimmons searches a vacant home that appears under construction for squatters or prowlers. The subject or subjects, if any, may have fled out the back door. “The house appears to be empty.”
- Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Rabelos makes brief contact with man on a motorcycle before sending the latter on his way.
- Fontana, Calif. (pre-recorded segment) — Ofr. Reyes rand other units respond to a parking lot brawl. In introducing the segment, Abrams alludes to an “unusual way to bury the hatchet.” A hatchet is found at the scene.
Listen to Ofr. Ryes summary of the incident followed by a panel discussion which emphasizes how officers arriving at the scene have to take the time to sort things out, particularly in determining who are the actual alleged aggressors:
- Daytona Beach, Fla. –– Sgt. Lee and other units respond to a disturbance at a bar/restaurant and inform a patron that he is trespassed. He is very animated and much of his discourse, some of which is directed to the OPL cameras, is bleeped out. Instead of taking the opportunity to leave the location with a female friend, he winds up being taken in custody which requires several officers to subdue him “I didn’t do nothing…I didn’t say nothing…freedom of speech.”
Sgt. Lee synopsis: “…He’s gonna be taking a ride tonight. He was less than happy to be given, really, he was given 50 chances to get off the property and not to resist. We asked him a couple of time to stop resisting and put his hands behind his back and he wasn’t listening…”
- Richland County, S.C. — Sgt. Fitzsimmons and other units pursue a car which allegedly ran a red light. The car, which is running on two flat tires, hits another car, before it pulls over. Traffic stop at gunpoint. The motorist tells the sergeant that he has a chip in his head. Fitzsimmons: “You’re not a bad guy; you just made a bad choice, or what you were told to do.” Car search. Paramedics respond to the scene and transports the subject to the hospital. The other driver says he’s okay, but EMS will check him out as a precaution.
Sgt. Fitzsimmons recap: “So we’re just sitting in a red light. And this car just goes all around, just driving reckless. And blows the red light — oncoming traffic. Went to go try to do a traffic stop, ask him what’s going on. Man, he just doesn’t want to stop. Keeps on going, hits a curb, blows both driver’s side tires. Unfortunately, ends up hitting the car in the center median. Luckily, nobody’s hurt. Then the guy comes through the grass and straight into a pillar. Doesn’t look like any of the glass is broke on the windows, so that’s good. But, he’s saying something about voice in his head, told him to run.” He subsequently adds that “He ran into another car. He did run into a building. He’s got to get cleared through EMS before he goes to jail, then we’ll take him. [He’s] going to jail for reckless driving and failure to stop for blue lights. That’s the only charges I got on him. just being dumb.”
I hope he can get some help
— Jennifer Goldberg (@Jamgoldberg2016) June 22, 2024
Abrams: “So this is a very potentially dangerous situation, ended up being very lucky that no one got hurt here.” Rizzo: “But still an innocent motorist was struck by this guy just refusing to pull over. Every time I see it, it just makes less and less sense. Abrams: “And then blames, of course, the police, right? Saying, ‘oh, you almost killed me.’…” Rizzo: “And now a strip mall, the business owner, has to now endure property damage. It’s all avoidable.” Abrams: “He says, he walks out of the car, and talks about having a chip in his head, et cetera. And you start thinking, okay, this is a potential mental illness here, et cetera. But it doesn’t change the danger to the officers and to the other people on the road and the person who just got their car hit. The question becomes if he is mentally ill, how did he get into that car?: Wilson: “And that’s what we’re trying to figure out. Is it a stolen vehicle? Is it a family vehicle? Or whatever the case may be. But it’s all going to come out now as they do this investigation, because a situation like this, like you said, is so dangerous. Imagine if somebody was walking across on that sidewalk when he pulls over. Anything could have happened.” Rizzo: “And I’m glad you acknowledged, too, the adrenaline factor. These are human beings, right? And you just put that many people at risk. It’s hard to keep all that in check. And they did that well.”
- Richland County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Cpl. Tolman and the fire department respond to the scene where a car is engulfed in flames outside of an apartment complex following an accident.
Listen to Cpl. Tolman’s incident summary in two parts:
- Everett, Wash. — As the episode concludes, Ofrs. Rabelos and Adam Veach, plus other units, respond to a call about alleged threats with an assault weapon at an apartment complex. Traffic stop at gunpoint on a motorist who is ordered to get on the ground and who appears to be yelling. A machete is spotted on the ground at the scene. Cops also order three other subjects behind the vehicle to get on the ground.