This Weekend’s On Patrol: Live Highlights, Commentary, and Social Media Activity

A recap of the November 9, 2024, On Patrol: Live episode (#OPL 03-32), anchored in the NYC studio by attorney and host Dan Abrams along with co-host Curtis Wilson and analyst Tom Rizzo, follows.

 [Best viewed in Google Chrome.] 

As an aside, Rizzo and Wilson seem to have abandoned the ceremonial fist bump at each show’s open, but they did fist bump at the end of this episode when Dan Abrams, ahead of Veterans Day, thanked them both for their U.S. Army service.

Perhaps the most noteworthy segment involved a cigarette-smoking man at a St. Lucie County traffic stop (scroll below).

Note: Click here for the recap of episode #OPL 03-31, November 8, 2024.

On Patrol: Live Summary for November 9, 2024 (#OPL Episode 03-32)

  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Robert Mowery and other units respond to a call about a woman allegedly threatening others with knives. Cell phone video appears to corroborate the allegations. The suspect is arrested.

Ofr. Mowery summary: “As you can see, they got a really good video of it, so at one point in time…she actually does retrieve a weapon and starts hitting the gentleman behind it. So that kind of confirms the story. Most of the videos confirm the whole story that we’re being told, so, that’s basically it. We’re gonna collect what video evidence we have as well as review as much as we can. He has a lot of videos from the incident and that’s it, go from there….clear video with a butcher knife in each hand, so clearly swinging them around, and the whole story has been confirmed. So like I said, right now it’s just gathering what evidence we can, and gathering the information from all the witnesses, the victim, and then just go from there. Obviously making sure she’s okay too and take her to jail, do what we got to do, and just go from there.”

Ofr. Mowery subsequently adds, with a stick in his hand, that “this is one the weapons hat was used. This is the stick that you can see in the video that he’s being hit with. It’s got a sharp nail at the end of it. So this could have done some damage, but she was clearly hitting him with this inside the video. So this as well as the knives are gonna be taken as evidence. And we’re gonna take some photos here on scene and go from here….speaking to Officer Fletcher, who I believe is gonna be the arresting officer on scene — she’s gonna have two counts of battery to the victims here. She’s gonna have a count of aggravated battery and then another count of ag assault. So this definitely turned into a lot more than what we originally thought. As you can see, we get called to any type of call, and this one was low priority at first, and it turned into all this. It just shows you how quick these things can transpire into something different, so we’re gonna collect the evidence, we’re gonna get out of here, and we’re gonna go to the next call…”

  • Richland County, S.C. — Cpt. Danny Brown initiates a traffic stop for expired tags. He discontinues that stop when 15 to 20 gunshots ring out nearby. He searches the area for suspects and to try to locate specifically from where the shots were fired..
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Lt. Richie Maher disperses cars that had congregated at a gas station (“some interesting looking cars here”) and also has a friendly interaction with one of motorists about their vehicle, (which was a graduation gift) that he likes the most. The OPL camera spots a man in an elf costume walking by in the background.

Abrams: “We were just debating here in studio whether that guy is late for Halloween or early for Christmas.”

  • Richland County, S.C. — After an investigation, Master Dep. Avery Arrington arrests a female for alleged assault on a family member.

Listen to Dep. Avery’s incident summary:

  • Arkansas County, Arkansas — Chief Dep. Bradley Stevens responds to a single-car accident in which a vehicle crashed into the woods. “Looks like the guy’s got a pretty bad ankle break. Don’t know anything further than that, but just one person in the vehicle. Rescue is down there with him right now, checking on him. Gonna go talk to the trooper to see what I can do to help him.”

Listen to Dep. Stevens describe the circumstances of the accident:

  • St. Lucie County, Fla. — Dep. Jonathan Sheelar and other units respond to a disturbance at a residence. The initial call was about an alleged male friend vs. stepdad. After a long, drawn-out investigation on scene, cops arrest a woman for allegedly punching her boyfriend. Before the investigation concludes, Abrams mentions that “this is why these investigations take some time because that is definitely a very different account than the first one that we heard. So we’re gonna have to allow them to put pieces together.”
  • Monroe, La. — The HEAT team detains a man at a traffic stop. OPL caption: “Open container found.” Abrams opines that “I guess that’s what he was trying to reach for, which is the bottle, which obviously doesn’t make any sense in this context, which is why these officers were concerned. This guy sort of talked his way right into cuffs.”

Listen to Sgt. Scotty Sadler’s summary of this incident:

  • Richland County, S.C. — On a traffic stop, Cpt. Brown allegedly finds fireworks in a bag in the vehicle’s trunk which could be dangerous in the context of accidentally igniting given the humidity in South Carolina. A little bit of weed also allegedly spotted.

Listen to Cpt. Brown discuss his findings:

  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Heather Smith, Tyler Picking, and colleagues respond to a report of an 8-on-1 fight in progress.

Ofr. Smith recap: “It turns out that the car that was stopped ended up being the victim’s vehicle. It sounds like a female went over to speak to her ex-boyfriend. He had asked her to come over to talk. When they were talking, he started assaulting her, and then her friends that were in the vehicle tried to help her out, so that’s what the big commotion was about. They were trying to stop the guy from beating up their friend. So they’re gonna work on getting all the information from everyone here, and they’re gonna do a report for it, try to make contact with the male half, and if so, they’ll possibly arrest him tonight.”

Dan Abrams: “We have seen a lot of domestic fights tonight — Saturday Night Fights.”

Richland County, S.C. — Dep. Arrington and other units conduct a traffic stop. Drugs and open containers allegedly found. One occupant is arrested.

Triple Play #3 — An Euclid, Ohio, pursuit.

  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Jordan Freimark and Cherokee Tabb attempt to serve a warrant at a residence but it appears the subject is not at the location.
  • Humboldt County, Calif. — Dep. Willoughby conducts a traffic stop on a truck that was allegedly swerving and had one brake light out.
  • Richland County, S.C. (pre-recorded segment) — Dep. Toddson Catoe and other units track an alleged stolen vehicle and conduct a traffic stop on same. The motorist, who has no ID, claims he bought the car “from a crackhead.” Charges allegedly include possession of a stolen vehicle and failure to stop for blue lights.”

Dan Abrams: “If the car rental company is called ‘Crackhead,’ it’s probably not a great idea in terms of a place to borrow a car from because it can get you in trouble. Just saying.”

  • Monroe, La. — Ofr. Khadeem Dumas-Brown and many other units including Ofr. Serenity Smith converge on a hotel upon a report of a man with a gun. Among other considerations, cops try to obtain confirmation of the room number for the subject. As part of police tactics, evacuation of the hotel is potentially required first. Ofr. Smith tries to locate the subject’s address from, e.g., the DMV database As the incident continues, however, Sgt. Sadler explains that the man, an ex-cop who he spoke with by phone (“had a pretty decent rapport with him”), appears to be suicidal, and might be in Baton Rouge rather at the Monroe hotel. Baton Rouge authorities are notified.
  • Listen to Rizzo and Wilson’s discussion of police strategy if cops need to conduct a room-to-room search at the hotel:

Listen to Sgt. Sadler’s discussion of a potential “suicide by cop” situation plus studio panel commentary about the incident:

  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Lt. Maher provides backup to other cops, including his brother, Sgt. James Maher, on individuals who are allegedly resisting at a traffic stop. Several males are detained on scene. Heavy bleeping.
  • Lt. Maher: “So as I pulled up, VCAT had another passenger in the other side of this car, and he went to fight them. They took him to the ground. Sergeant Morris said, have him step out…had him step out and started digging in his pocket, so I had to reach through the window and grab his wrist. When he got out, he dumped this bag.” [Subject: “No — I didn’t dump no bag…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”] Sgt. Maher: “As soon as we showed up, people started telling him the police were there. They started leaving. We got traffic for him. Back past there, anyone wouldn’t tell his name. We saw a bulge. Tried to get him out. He fought us. Lost. Found a firearm. He’s a convicted felon. He’s gonna go to prison, probably.”

Lt. Maher reviews body-cam footage to try to spot any contraband that might have allegedly been dropped to the ground during the incident. Lt. Maher explains that “just reviewed my Axon body-worn camera footage, and it’s clear in two different police officer’s angles. He’s gonna be the possessor of those narcotics as well as the gentleman I stepped out. I didn’t physically see him throw it down, however, like I said, we have technology nowadays. We’re all wearing Axon body-worn cameras, and it’s clear as day. So they’re gonna finish up; they’re gonna make all the arrests. I’m gonna bang out a quick supplemental report as to my observations, and what I did in my involvement, and then we’ll get out of here.”

  • Humboldt County, Calif. — Sgt. Shane Steele responds to dispute or a disturbance at a movie theater. The subjects already left; Sgt. Steele radios a description of their vehicle to try to locate them.
  • St. Lucie County, Fla. — Sheriff Keith Pearson provides backup at a traffic stop at a gas station possible for reckless driving. The two occupants appear to be jovial.
  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Freimark and Tabb respond to a domestic dispute and make contact with a couple on scene. Cops determine it was just a verbal argument. It turns out, however, that the male party has a warrant, and he is taken into custody.

Listen to Ofr. Freimark’s recap:

  • St. Lucie County, Fla. — Sheriff Pearson provides backup as deputies search a a G Wagon. Apart from a large amount of cash, no contraband found in the vehicle, and the motorist seems to be about to be released. However, as the man gets the okay to light up a cigarette while he is waiting for the stop to finish, a drug baggie is allegedly spotted, and he is handcuffed. More cocaine baggies are allegedly found.

Sheriff Pearson to the subject: “You asked if you could smoke. I said ‘sure, go ahead,’ and you pulled a bag of cocaine out of your pocket…come on, man…”

Listen to a portion of a flabbergasted Sheriff Pearson’s interaction with the subject:

OPL host Dan Abrams claims that “This may become one of the dumbest ways to get caught that we have ever seen on On Patrol Live for a guy who has an outstanding cocaine-trafficking charge. I thought it was a past one. It’s a pending one. Unbelievable.”

  • Arkansas County, Ark. — Dep. Stevens conducts a traffic stop for no headlight on what appears to be a vintage vehicle with no back window and that seems to be covered in dust
  • Missing segment — Chattanooga, Tenn.
  • Berkeley County, S.C. — Cpl. BJ Nelson and K9 Kai backs up Cpl. Hunter Rogers on a traffic stop. Kai allegedly alerts on the vehicle prompting a probable cause search.