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.

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Daytona Beach and Richland County are usually hotbeds of activity on OPL, but it was a relatively quiet night for both.

Agency updates: Florida’s Indian River County is taking a break; St. Lucie County is new. And the previously announced Humboldt County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Office makes its OPL debut.

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 and on some satellite and cable systems ), click here.

On Patrol: Live Summary for November 8, 2024 (#OPL Episode 03-31)

Please review this important DISCLAIMER.
  • Butts County, Ga. — Sgt. Hunter Hemphill and other units allegedly find a stack of checks in a motorist’s purse during a traffic stop. “That’s not mine…I don’t know nothing about anything.” Hemphill: “You’re in the fraud game.” OPL caption: “Possible check fraud.” The driver is arrested; car towed. Investigation ongoing.

Listen to an initial summary about the incident from Sgt. Hemphill followed by OPL analyst Tom Rizzo’s comments in the studio about postal theft across the nation:

Sgt. Hemphill follow-up comments: “So I made contact with our investigative division; they’re gonna follow up on this case, and we’re trying to figure it out exactly where all this leads to. She’s going to jail for identity theft and forgery today, and we’re gonna tow the vehicle. And like I said earlier, gonna process all these checks and evidence and our CID, our investigative division, they’re gonna do all the following up and take the investigation from here and try to make sure all these people’s money is secure. And Deputy Nunn right now is finding a bunch of money orders and stuff in the car. So anything linked to money fraud or anything like that, we’re gonna take out of the vehicle and drop into the evidence process, and let CID follow up from there.” OPL host Dan Abrams: “We’re getting information now about the checks that they found there — over $100,000 in checks, some as high as $20,000, and there may have been 40 checks…so that’s a lot of potential fraud going on, and they actually can end up charging for each individual check if it’s over a certain amount of money. So we shall see what happens there.”

  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Heather Smith and Tyler Picking make contact with a man who was allegedly throwing item at people at a convenience store. Abrams satirically refers to the subject as “Encino Man.” Drug paraphernalia allegedly found. The subject is released with a summons. Ofr. Smith thanks the man for being cooperative. Abrams: “Beam me up, Scotty.”
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. Devante Smith and other units investigate an alleged fight at a bar. According to Cpl. Smith, it was “some type of domestic altercation” that was not physical. He adds that “they’re gonna leave happy happily ever after, and I hope we don’t have to deal with them no more tonight.”
  • Richland County, S.C. — Sgt. Garo Brown and Cpt. Danny Brown initiate a traffic stop on a truck for allegedly loitering. Two occupants. Cpt. Brown allegedly detects the odor of weed. “It’s probably in your dreads, actually.” A gun allegedly found in the vehicle is seized. Citations issued for weed possession; subjects released.

Sgt. Brown initial commentary: “This spot right here has become known for people sitting here selling dope and using drugs. We come over here. The car’s parked here. He’s leaning in the door up there, which is very typical of somebody selling narcotics or somebody making a hand-off. It turns out they’re together. She’s starting to hide a bunch of dope in the car. There’s supposedly a gun in the car. Mac got the gun and got it secured…this is actually the kind of activity we’re trying to curtail up here. This place became a hot spot for narcotics activity.”

  • Richland County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Dep. Toddson Catoe search on foot for an individual who fled after a pursuit. K9 Gunner deployed and alerts at a garbage can outside a house where it turns out the subject was hiding. The subject will apparently or potentially face charges for reckless driving and failure to stop for blue lights. “Abrams: Well done from our K9 friend there. Wow.”
  • Humboldt County, Calif. — Dep. Jacob McKenzie responds to an alleged homeowner vs. housekeeper disturbance or dispute. Abrams: “I guess this would definitely qualify as a ‘domestic’ incident.” The incident may or may not have become physical. After interacting with both parties, the deputy says he will be filing report on an alleged assault and also informs the homeowner that civil court is the venue for eviction proceedings.

“I guess this would definitely qualify as a ‘domestic’ incident.”

  • Arkansas County, Ark. (pre-recorded segment) — Dep. Marcus Ryan and other units respond to a report of a vehicle that supposedly ran into an apartment building and caught on fire. It turns out that the car hit a fence and the fire was just smoking tires. Before that determination, the driver slowly got out of the car based on Ryan’s admonitions. “Windows can be replaced; lives cannot.” The driver, who apparently says that he pulled over to relieve himself, passes a breathalyzer test. Paramedics arrive to check out the driver.

Dep. Ryan recap: “Thankfully, it was not actually on fire. It was just from him putting the car in reverse and drive, trying to get out, and just kept smoking. So that’s why the call came out that the vehicle was on fire. But two broken windows to try to extract him. He didn’t really want to get out of the vehicle at first, and then we finally got him out. But he took a PDT test, portable breath test, and he blew a .05, which is under the legal limit for alcohol consumption. The legal limit is .08, and like I said, he blew under a .05. So now he’s getting checked out by medical, and we’re gonna let them do their thing while we clear the scene up.” Abrams: “And you got to believe that the officers there were surprised at that result. I mean, looking at where the car was, and the guy’s admitting he had a couple of drinks…it came in well under…”

  • St. Lucie County, Fla. — Sheriff Keith Pearson provides backup on a traffic stop prompted by license plate recognition technology on vehicle allegedly involved in retail thefts from one or more CVS stores. Store merchandise allegedly found in the car. The vehicle occupants who are detained are apparently brothers. With Sheriff Pearson’s brother, also a cop, on the scene, the sheriff quips that “You guys commit crime together — we arrest crime together.” Abrams: “It is rewarding to find them with the bounty right there.”

“You guys commit crime together — we arrest crime together.”

  • Triple Play #1 — Fostoria, Ohio, pursuit after the driver fleeing from a traffic stop, “who made a bit of a splash,” per Abrams, and “where things got a bit ‘corny,’ maybe. And no, the driver wasn’t wanted for ‘stalking.'”
  • Butts, County, Ga. — Sgts. Hemphill and Paul Vu conduct a traffic stop for a traffic infraction of some kind. Two occupants. Weed odor allegedly coming from the vehicle. “You got a marijuana plant between your legs.” Probable cause search. One of the occupants is uncuffed to take care of a dog that briefly got loose from the car. OPL caption: “Canine in custody.”

“You got a marijuana plant between your legs.”

Sgt. Hemphill recap: ” We ended up locating the marijuana plant, regular marijuana, THC vapes, which is a felony in the state of Georgia Schedule 1 controlled substance, and along with the fertilizer to grow your marijuana plant. So we got all that. We’re gonna put it in the car, take it to the office, drop it into evidence, and that’s a good stop for tonight.” Abrams abruptly interrupts to go to Monroe when the sergeant was detailing the drug-related charges.

  • Monroe, La. —Ofr. Serenity Smith backs up Ofr. Trey Goins on a traffic stop for for an alleged traffic infraction. Two occupants. Weed odor allegedly coming from vehicle. Car search. Open container. OPL co-host Curtis Wilson and his fellow panelists banter about what he described as a”a very luxurious fly swatter” found in the search. Rizzo: “I think it gets more than one fly at a time.”
  • Monroe, La. — Ofr. Smith backs up other cops in the High Enforcement Apprehension Team (HEAT) on another traffic stop which was apparently prompted by an alleged window tint violation. Car search; a small amount of weed allegedly found. Ofr. Goins mentions that cops allegedly found a baby bottle filled with what might be a recreational drug made from promethazine known on the street as “lean.”
  • Humboldt County, Cal. — Sgt. Shane Steele initiates a traffic stop for a broken tail light. It turns out that the passenger has a warrant and is taken into custody.
  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Smith, Picking, and others respond to an alleged gun threat possibly involving a shotgun. An older male is detained during the investigation. After a mention of bedbugs, cops spray their shoes with a bedbug spray.

Ofr. Smith summary: “Right now, they are gonna bring the suspect back over to the original location. That way, we can speak to the original officer on scene and try to figure out more of the story. It’s a little confusing from this aspect right now.”

  • Monroe, La. — Amidst an ongoing rain storm, the HEAT squad, including Ofr. Khadeem Dumas-Brown, search a residential area on foot for a motorist who fled. Abrams: “They’re gonna keep going, but it looks like they’re gonna probably give that up pretty soon.” Rizzo: “Weather complicates that, especially for the dog, the drone. Definitely weather is a complicated factor for that.”
  • Triple Play #2 — A pursuit in Lilburn, Ga.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. –– Cpl. Devante Smith, with Lt. Paul Yacobozzi as backup, makes a traffic stop on a U-Haul truck for alleged unlawful lane change. The driver says he was looking for a gas station. The driver apparently has a suspended license. The driver declines to give consent for a vehicle search. Cpl. Dylan Lee with K9 Nash is called to the scene to give “a free-air sniff.” K9 alert. Probable cause car search. OPL caption: “Crack cocaine found.” Possible stolen property also allegedly found.

Cpl. Lee summary: The K9 alert on a car door “gave us probable cause to search the vehicle. And after searching the vehicle and then the occupants, the passenger ended up having two crack [unintelligible] in his sock. So, it was a win for the dog and a win for the agency for getting dope off the street.”

Listen to Cpl. Smith discuss a possible stolen generator in the incident:

  • St. Lucie County, Fla. — Dep. Jonathan Sheelar responds to a major, two-car accident. ‘It doesn’t appear anybody’s injured. We do have Rescue coming anyway just to check everybody out, make sure everybody’s okay, especially due to the children being here and the extent of the accident with airbags deployed. So we’re just gonna stand by for Rescue and Fort Pierce PD.”
  • BOLO segment — Nashville, Tenn., jewelry story heist.
  • Monroe, La. — Ofr. Smith and colleagues initiate a traffic stop. No license, no insurance, and the vehicle is unregistered or at least ownership wasn’t allegedly transferred. Abrams: “Otherwise known as owning a car 101.” Ofr. Smith gives the driver the opportunity to produce proof of ownership (i.e., someone who can text him the paperwork) otherwise the car will be towed.
  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Jordan Freimark and Cherokee Tabb, and other units, respond to a report of a home burglary. Cops enter and clear the residence; no intruders found.
  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Smith and Picking respond to a shots fired call outside a residence. Two older males appear to be detained. Ofr. Smith mentions that “The shots-fired call came in for eight round at this location, and when crews got on scene, I guess the gentlemen that were out here are a little animated and uncooperative, so they called for some extra [officers] to figure out what’s going on.” According to Abrams, cops subsequently release a subject with no charges.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Sgt. Marcus Booth and a colleague initiate a traffic stop on a car in the middle of the road. The motorist says she doesn’t have her license with her.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Thomas Goble conducts a traffic stop on a driver who was allegedly racing with a motorcycle “and all kinds of stuff.” The driver, whose license is valid, is released with a warning to drive safely.
  • Butts County, Ga. — As the episode concludes, Sgts. Hemphill and Vu initiate a traffic stop on the highway.
CLICK HERE for episode #OPL 03-32, November 9, 2024, recap.