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 usually 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

 [Best viewed in Google Chrome.] .

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.

Note: As a consequence of travel, this blog did not compile an recap for the September 20-21 OPL episodes, which included a pursuit and serious accident in Hazen, Ark.

Perhaps the most notable incident broadcast in the Friday night episode is the investigation of the abandoned church in Toledo, Ohio (scroll down below).

On Patrol: Live Summary for September 27, 2024 (#OPL Episode 03-19)

Please review this important DISCLAIMER.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Sgt. Marcus Booth and other units, including a helicopter and two K9s, search a residential neighborhood for a driver who fled from police. OPL guest studio analyst Tom Rizzo describes the forward-looking infrared system that was deployed: “So besides natural light, obviously, at nighttime conditions it will use, and it will be able to detect any type of source of heat. And these pilots are amazing as far as they’re able to detect the difference between an animal compared to a human being to be on the run.”

Sgt. Booth summary: They were on a trail initially. They lost the trail. Brought a new dog in because the other dog was tired. Had a trail again. Tracked it all the way up to a certain point. They were tracking actually right up to our…location. They lost it. They lost the trail again. And the only thing right now that everyone’s picking up is just heat signatures from some of the animals in the woods. So, hopefully they pick it back up or find something, but sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some. So, at the end of the day, that’s just how it is. We’ll do our part. We’ll keep looking in here. And we’ll go from there.”

  • Richland County, S.C. — Cpt. Danny Brown and Master Dep. Braylyn Salmond make contact with a driver outside a convenience store. Car search. They also make contact with a pedestrian on scene.

Dep. Salmond recap: “This gas station is notorious for narcotics, drug activity, weapons, all that kind of stuff. You name it, it basically can happen at this gas station. So we saw this car right here with a female leaning inside. And again, that’s normally indicative of hand-to-hand drug transactions, so we try to make sure we show a presence when we see that. But this female is gonna be good. She had a teeny little bit of weed, just with some alcohol. I guess the female that was by her door was looking for somebody to buy her something to drink.” Cpt. Brown adds that “and it’s probably what she’s trying to do. But you never know when she’s working with a couple other of those guys. You’re sitting here with a car; they come up and rob you, right? So that’s kind of a big thing.” OPL host Abrams: “Sometimes we’re here just to buy a drink is where here just to buy a drink, which it appears this was.” Rizzo: “Right, but the behavior plus the location plus their previous knowledge is gonna make them think otherwise. So they’re going to dispel that.” Rizzo: “And they — it looks like they’re gonna let them go.” Rizzo: “That’s it.”

  • Beech Grove, Ind. (pre-recorded segment) –Ofr. Brandon Wilcox conducts a traffic stop at gunpoint on an alleged stolen vehicle. Driver: “I don’t have no ID…I ain’t given you sh*t.” The car is apparently a rental, and the officer explains to the subject that “rental cars can be stolen, too.”

Ofr. Wilcox summary: “It was reported stolen today. It was due about a month ago. He was supposed to return the vehicle back, and he failed to do that. And so the company reported it as stolen…so we’re gonna get him down to our county jail. Another passenger here is gonna be released on the scene…” Abrams: “We see a lot of these where there’s a rental car where the person keeps it for longer, and then it’s reported stolen. From the police perspective, they just see ‘stolen vehicle.’ But these can be kind of tricky.” Rizzo: “Very tricky because there’s a distinction between renting a vehicle for the purpose of using it to commit a criminal offense. And then other people, like in this case, who believe it’s almost like a breach of contract. They don’t think that they’re going to get arrested and/or be in a stolen vehicle, right?” OPL co-host Curtis Wilson: “But if you don’t pay for the vehicle, what do you think is gonna happen?…”


“…if you don’t pay for the vehicle, what do you think is gonna happen?…”

  • Fontana, Calif. — Ofr. Joe Richard conducts a traffic stop on a possible mismatched plate, but it just turns out that the issue is actually just a switched emblem or logo on the back. The driver is released with a friendly warning to remove the BMW logo to avoid any future confusion. Abrams: “You know what they say — ‘it drives just like a BMW.’ Why pay the extra amount?” Rizzo: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?” In the context of the motorist removing the emblem, Abrams quips that “suddenly the value of that second-hand vehicle goes down by 15 thousand dollars.”
  • Hazen, Ark. — Chief Bradley Taylor and Sgt. Clayton Dillion provide security at a local high school football game. Abrams mentions that they are having a more mellow evening than last Saturday night, which prompts Cpt. Rizzo to quip that “they might PIT the running back.”
  • Hazen, Ark. — In the context of the above. OPL airs more footage from different angles of the high-speed (up to 140 mph) pursuit and accident from last Saturday night’s episode.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Chance Palm initiates a traffic stop on a truck for alleged reckless driving, an improper left turn, and an undercarriage-lights issue.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Dep. Salmond provides backup to other units on a purported home invasion at an apartment complex. “Somebody has a knife, and they don’t have any teeth — interesting combination.” It turns out that it may have been a less-serious situation. Dep. Salmond subsequently explains that “here’s what I’m gathering from this situation. So this lady has kids who live in the area, not too far, come and knocking on her door, I guess, being a nuisance. So she called us to come check it out, and there’s a group of kids over there. I don’t know if they have anything to do with it, but apparently the region over here is familiar with the kids, so we’re gonna go over here and try to talk to them.”
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. (pre-recorded segment) — Ofr. Magan Geary and other units respond to a disturbance at a residence involving broken windows. A group of officers enter the home and detain a female.

Ofr. Geary recap: “We got called here…active disturbance; there’s a female with a shovel, I guess this may be the shovel. This lady’s driving a rental car, and I guess during the incident that took place, at some point, the woman inside of the house actually grabbed the shovel and hit the side of the car. The female inside of the house appears possibly under the influence of something, we’re not really sure at this point in time, but unfortunately there’s other people inside of the house we kind of have to watch out for, so we’re gonna see if we can try and get a result from this…female subject is facing aggravated assault charges along with aggravated assault on law enforcement. At some point during our contact with the female inside of the residence, she had stated something about a possible gun or firearm involved [Subject: “I ain’t got sh*t.”]…pretty much where we’re at right now is we’re holding the house for the detectives to be contacted and kind of figuring out where we want to go from here. The female subject was taken into custody with no injuries other than what she sustained herself. She’s gonna be okay. The good thing here is nobody was injured, law enforcement gets to go home, and everybody is safe.”

Listen to the studio panel discuss the police tactics used in this incident:

  • Toledo, Ohio — Sgt. Geoff McLendon and Ofr. Jordan Freimark make friendly contact with a homeowner about a noise complaint, and McLendon acknowledges that there is no issue with the current volume. As they leave, the resident starts rapping to the OPL camera.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Palm backs up another officer on a report that someone is allegedly resisting in a downtown area. With multiple cops on scene, a male and a female are detained.

Ofr. Palm initial summary: “I don’t know what the details were when he got out with him, the other officer, but he called on the radio and said he had one resisting…I don’t know what the altercation was…he was resisting. They ended up getting him detained just as we were pulling up. He originally called out with this person over there near the Burger King. And then, I guess this is a family member, possibly mother. And she was level 10. So, we’re trying to figure out what’s going on with her right now.” Abrams: “The goal now is just to bring down the temperature. That’s with everyone.”

“The goal now is just to bring down the temperature.”

Ofr. Palm update: “It looked like an active disturbance. The male made a comment that he was gonna punch the officer in the face, not once, but twice. Threw something, which at the time the officer couldn’t read, given the circumstances. Then proceeded to resist officers and where another officer ended up falling during this. The mother ended up getting involved, and it escalated from there. And at this point, we’re going to — we’re trying to handle this in the best way possible. And he’s gonna go home with his parents, and hopefully he learned from this.” Abrams: “So he was released to go home with his parents in that one.”

  • Triple Play #1 — Brooklyn, N.Y., tow truck incident.
  • Coweta County, Ga. — Dep. Nick Klein makes a traffic stop for alleged erratic driving.
  • Beech Grove, Ind. (pre-recorded incident) — While on routine patrol, Ofr. Luke Mercuri spots two women allegedly fighting after leaving a party; he breaks it up.

Ofr. Mercuri synopsis: “We were just conducting a normal service — was not a 911 call…we see a car here in the parking lot with both its doors open. Initially, I didn’t know if there was car troubles; maybe they were changing a flat. We see these two females, one is on her back, the other one is on top of her, kind of holding her hair down against the concrete; they look to be in a struggle or fighting. They both seem to be intoxicated; we’re still not quite sure what their relationship is or why they were fighting…it’s just mutual combat between the two of them. Neither one is wanting charges pressed. I didn’t see any strikes being thrown, so there’s no super-serious injuries. Just some scuffed up knees. No one’s going to jail, as long as everyone continues to stay peaceful. And we’ll make sure everybody gets home without any further fighting.”

Abrams: “Now this is actually a classic example of an officer patrolling and seeing something and stopping to figure out what happened.” Wilson: “It is. That’s what they do. They’re out there patrolling. They have the windows down or cracked a little bit. And, of course, they’re looking and they’re hearing for anything that goes on. Here it is, they come across this, and they’re able to be proactive.” Rizzo: “And a lot of people don’t realize, too, what they were talking about there — mutual combat like that. A wrestling match: They entered into it mutually. It’s perfectly okay to break that up and say, ‘okay, you do it, we’re gonna go on our way.”’

  • Richland County, S.C. — Dep. Salmond and a colleague conduct a traffic stop outside a store that appears to have lost power. Abrams: “Out of power there, right?” Wilson: “We’re feeling the effects of Helene. In Richland County, 40,000 homes were out without power, 600,000 in the state. Power lines, trees, a lot of flooding.” Abrams: “And businesses…no power, but business is open there.” Wilson: “Which is kind of strange.” Rizzo: “I think what’s important to say, too, though, is they have a reason to investigate it. That’s suspicious. So, the owner’s there now to say, ‘no, we’re open,’ but they’re still gonna investigate and make sure.” Wilson: “Because how many businesses would be open with no power?” Rizzo: “Exactly.”
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — As part of storm mitigation, Sgt. Booth examines a damaged or abandoned boat in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
  • Beach Grove, Ind. — Sgt. Richie King and Ofr. Rainerio Comia conduct a traffic stop on a truck with possibly stolen plates. No VIN. Driver has no license. The driver, who apparently claims the vehicle belongs to his boss, is subsequently released.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Cpt. Brown conducts a traffic stop on a car parked in a handicapped space. Cpt. Brown allegedly smells weed coming from the car. The driver informs Brown that there is a gun in the vehicle, which is secured. Car search. Cpt. Brown also allegedly locates a large joint inside. The driver is arrested, and the car is towed. Abrams wonders if “am I dating myself” with a Cheech and Chong reference.

Cpt. Brown recap: “So the gentleman that was outside this store, when I came around the back from checking the businesses, he was actually in the process of rolling and sealing up some marijuana when we come up. Sitting there smoking it, getting ready to smoke it, and he’s driving. He had several pills that are Schedule II controlled substance. He doesn’t have a prescription form. They’re not in the right container. It’s a felony to have those in that. So he’s gonna be charged with the possession of the Schedule II narcotics as well as possession of marijuana. He’s also prohibited from possessing or having a firearm or ammunition based on his criminal history. So he’s also gonna be charged with unlawful carrying of the pistol because based on his background, he shouldn’t be nowhere near firearms or around ammunition at all. So he’s going to jail on those two narcotics charges, as well as the weapons violation. And then we’ll go from there. He actually — his wife’s got a handicapped placard, but it’s not in the car. So if you’re parking in a handicapped spot, you’ve got to have it in the car. We’re going to tow the car out of here. He’s going to go down to jail and have his day in court, and we’ll move on. But another good one to get. I mean, he was actually getting ready to do those narcotics and drive a vehicle, which is a good thing we caught him in here before he did that. He made that mistake that could have hurt himself or somebody else…”

  • Triple Play #2 –Stark County, Ohio, fleeing lawnmower man.
  • Toledo, Ohio — Ofrs. Lindsey Erhart, Chris Mulinix, and Mike Gee search the premises of an apparently abandoned church that allegedly may have been the scene of an orgy previously. OPL captions: “Nine’s a Crowd,” “Searching for confession clues.” Abrams: “This does appear to be a place which, at some point, was a church but is now has some very non-religious things happening there.” Ofr. Erhart to her colleagues: “…I don’t want a blacklight to see what’s on this mattress…it looks like everyone just, like, circles around here and just watches whatever happens on this freakin’ mattress…why they got to have a bible in here, though? Like, that’s just disrespectful. And they’re doing this in a church…this is like a cult. I think we need to, like, contact Vice…” Abrams jokes that “apparently last time, there were a bunch of people complaining about sore backs, so they decided to make sure that maybe some mattresses there this time.”

“I don’t want a blacklight to see what’s on this mattress…”

Ofr. Erhart summary: “Crews [unintelligible] out here; four people trespassing. They came in here and they found a group of transgenders that were having an orgy and ended up running from them. So they told dispatch to let them know that if anyone calls with anyone being suspicious in here. They did notice that there was some, an oddly amount, of cars around this area, so the decided to check on the church to see if there was anyone inside. There was nobody inside. This was my first time inside of there; it was kind of disturbing to see. We are going to notify our Vice unit so that they can keep an eye on this place, and hopefully, the city does get out here and lock up these doors, because I know that they were asked to do that in the past, and it looks like it has not happened. So we’re going to continue keeping an eye on this place, because that’s not normal.”

  • Richland County, S.C. — Dep. Salmond interacts with some people allegedly loitering outside a convenience store. A woman on scene twerks for the OPL camera and promotes here OnlyFans page.
  • Indian River County, Fla. –Dep. Jon Lozada, Cpl. James Ooley, and other units detain a man at gunpoint upon a report of an armed subject in the middle of the road. Abrams: “A little unclear on what exactly happened here…” Deputies subsequently allegedly find a firearm in a “duct tape and cardboard” holster under the driver’s seat in a car.
  • Toledo, Ohio — After calls from concerned neighbors, Sgt. McLendon makes contact with a very cooperative pedestrian in military garb allegedly carrying at least one weapon. Subject: “I like to train.” McClendon: “What are you training for?” Subject: “Nothing in particular…” The subject is very willing to go back inside to his nearby home. Sgt. McLendon acknowledges that Ohio is an open-carry state, but recommends that the man call police if any issues occur from loiterers throwing bricks that he spoke about.

Abrams: “Different kind of community watch there, but I’m just amazed they were able to find him…he’s so well hidden, right? He had a camo and everything. How could they have found that guy?” Rizzo: “Probably the fluorescent backpack that he had. It kind of negates the purpose of camouflage.” Wilson: “It’s legal for him to do it, but it’s scary at the same time.” Abrams: “You can imagine the neighbors calling in…”

Sgt. McLendon recap: “So basically, we got sent here for a weapons call because someone could see him in their backyard, him crouched down in the backyard. He is within his rights. He can walk around with a long gun like that. So nothing we can really do. We just had a consensual stop with him. He gave us his information. He doesn’t have any warrants or anything like that. It’s not wise if you ask me. He’s out here like he’s about to go to war. Some of these other people might have guns too, but he’s within his rights. So we just talked to him and advised him.”

  • Richland County, S.C. — Dep. Salmond initiates a traffic stop and conducts a car search. One of three occupants is asked to pour out and stomp on an alleged small amount of weed. All three are released.
  • Everett, Wash. — Master Ofr. Butch Rockwell makes contact with a subject in connection with a possible trespassing call. As that is wrapping up, a man operating a red Corvette shows up who is apparently lost and almost “kind of rolling into” the officer. Ofr. Rockwell gives him directions.
  • Richland County, S.C. — During a “special property check,” Dep. Salmond and a colleague detain a juvenile after a foot chase. The subject is subsequently released. OPL bleeps out some of the yelling by bystanders.
  • Fontana, Calif. — Cops detain a bicyclist in connection with a report of a possible strong-arm robbery of a bike. The subject is not, however, involved. Ofr. Richard summary: “He said he had this bike for a couple of weeks now, but based on the description, this could possibly be our victim’s. The clothing description always changes dark, late at night. So what he saw could be different, or he could have changed, because he does have a bag of clothes, too. So he’s gonna be detained for now, and we’re gonna figure it out from there…so after talking to our partner and everything, it sounded like this isn’t going to be our suspect, but still very identical to what they’ve described. So right now, we’re just gonna run his information, because also by the time we saw him, he was riding his bike on a sidewalk in the opposite way of traffic. So he’s still detained; we’re just gonna check his info and then see what’s going on.” Abrams: “So that’s not their guy.”
  • Toledo, Ohio — Cops respond to a disturbance outside a residence. A lot of screaming prompts heavy OPL bleeping. Sgt. McLendon: “Go in the house or go to jail for disorderly conduct.”
  • Hazen, Ark. — As the episode concludes, Chief Taylor and colleagues conduct a traffic stop on a pick-up truck. The driver records a zero on a breathalyzer.
CLICK HERE for the #OPL 03-20, September 28, 2024, recap  [forthcoming] .