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

A recap of the September 28, 2024, On Patrol: Live episode (#OPL 03-14), anchored in the NYC studio by attorney and host Dan Abrams along with co-host Curtis Wilson and guest analyst Tom Rizzo, appears below.

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The episode, which featured numerous different kinds of incidents, ended with something of a cliffhanger that prompted intense social media commentary as a large spider crawled up Hazen PD Chief Taylor’s shoulder.

Also, while Toledo PD is one of the most active departments on OPL, this episode highlighted them only once, in a pre-recorded segment that depicted Ofr. Lindsey Erhart’s unique expertise.

Note: Click here for the #OPL 03-19, September 27, 2024, recap.

On Patrol: Live Summary for September 28, 2024 (#OPL Episode 03-20)

Please review this important DISCLAIMER.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Tim Jackson, with K9 Mako, and Ofr. Carlos Queliz and other units, search by car and on foot for a subject with felony warrants who fled from another LEO.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Mas. Dep. Addy Perez, Sgt. Bryce Hughes, along with Cpt. Danny Brown, disperse a large number of vehicles clogging up the parking lot at a gas station. Perez to motorists: “Get in the car — let’s go.” Sgt. Hughes explains that “they don’t see an issue with why we make them leave but the problem is is like these businesses are trying to do business; they are here to make money. When they’re occupying the entire parking lot, all the gas pumps and all of that, this business can’t make money. So that’s why we’re trying to get them out of here, get them somewhere they’re allowed to be without causing any problems. They’ve all got weed; it stinks out here. So we’re just trying to move them along and allow these businesses to conduct their business in peace.”

Dep. Perez adds that “not saying they can’t come and purchase gas or anything else, but we do want them to leave the facility so that other customers can continue to come over here and do what they got to do as well. So they’re just occupying space. So we’re just getting them out of here.”

“…we’re just trying to move them along and allow these businesses to conduct their business in peace.”

  • Hazen, Ark. — Chief Bradley Taylor and Sgt. Clayton Dillion initiate a traffic stop for speeding. Sgt. Dillion spots what perhaps looks like a firearm, but it turns out to just be a splat gun, a.k.a. a paint-ball gun.
  • Toledo, Ohio (pre-recorded segment) — Ofr. Lindsey Erhart and other units conduct a traffic stop on an alleged stolen car parked outside a dollar store parking lot. Driver: “I didn’t steal nothing, though.” Ofr. Erhart summary: “Our detectives want to speak to him, so he’s gonna go down to our detectives bureau. Gonna ask him some questions about what’s going on with this car. But he will for sure be going to jail because he does have a warrant for driving under suspension.” In the course of a car search, cops try to to identify the substance found in a plastic bag. “I think it’s dog sh*t…hey Lindsey, you’re the poop expert. We really need your help.”

“Lindsey, you’re the poop expert. We really need your help.”

Ofr. Erhart subsequently determines that the “nasty, squishy sh*t” in the clear baggie is chocolate. In the studio, OPL host Abrams makes reference to the Baby Ruth scene in the Caddy Shack movie, and then goes on to wonder “here’s the question. Why is it that she always gets the crappy-situation issues she’s got a deal with.” OPL guest studio analyst Tom Rizzo: “that’s because we all have a ‘blank‘ magnet in our department; it seems as if she’s the one for Toledo, man. She’s an expert.” OPL studio co-host Curtis Wilson: “In all things.” Rizzo: “…that could be left over from the other location.”

  • Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Brian Bratlien trespasses a woman from a supermarket. “They just want you officially trespassed. They admitted that you didn’t steal anything today, so if you did, you got away with it.” Abrams: “The camera shot makes me want a creamsicle.”
  • Richland County, S.C. — Dep. Perez, Sgt. Hughes, and Cpt. Brown detain two men at a storage facility. Car search. They are Mirandized.

Sgt. Hughes recap: “As Captain Brown was saying, he’s had a couple of search warrants here already, getting dope, guns, and whatnot…it’s a closed business. There was this vehicle sitting here, and as we pulled up, they were reaching around and whatnot. Turns out, looks like all they got on them is weed, but they do have enough for possession with intent to distribute. Nobody wants to claim it. Nobody wants to open their mouth, so they can both go. It was in constructive control of both of them. They’re both gonna take a ride, and we are still gonna patrol this area of the U-Haul over here for these narcotics…” Abrams: “So it sounds like someone, if not both of them, are gonna get arrested there, unless someone owns up to marijuana.”

  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Robert Mowery initiates a traffic stop for an alleged improper right-hand turn, cutting through a parking lot to avoid a traffic control device, and an exhaust infraction. Bumper sticker: “My driving scares me too.” Abrams: “Maybe after the first time you get pulled over for your driving, you take the bumper sticker off as opposed to advertising the fact that maybe you’re not the best driver — I don’t know.” The apologetic motorist, who apparently was pulled over the day before, is released with a warning (“I gotta go somewhere; stop driving stupid”) as Mowery is dispatched to another call.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Mowery assists other units in a search for a fleeing individual who was on a bike but is now at large on foot. The subject allegedly flipped off another officer.
  • Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Bratlien makes contact with a man as well as store employees over a dispute over a fast-food order. No law enforcement issue. The customer leaves the location.
  • Fontana, Calif. — Ofr. Jon Gearhart and another officer clear a building on a report of a robbery. Police had already detained a possible subject. Ofr. Gearhart summary: “So we contacted the reporting parties here. They called about this gentleman. They saw him break open that small piece of wood and then force his way in. Doesn’t look like he took anything. Doesn’t look like there’s much to take in here. Maybe he was just finding a place to hang out, but then they saw him come back out. We contacted him. So we wanted to come in here and make sure nobody else was in here that wasn’t supposed to be. And now we’re gonna work on contacting the owners of the business, see if they want to come out and secure their door a little better so that this doesn’t happen again. So…we’ll end up probably take him to jail for trespassing if the business owners want it and then we’ll secure the business and that’ll be done.”
  • Indian River County, Fla. — Dep. Jon Lozada makes a traffic stop for alleged reckless driving. Expired tag. Drug paraphernalia allegedly spotted. Probable cause car search. The driver is detained. In answer to the deputy’s question, the driver apparently indicates that he is unaware of any contraband in the vehicle. A substance is to be field tested. Abrams to Rizzo: “You had pointed out that he couldn’t pull him over just because other people reported he was driving recklessly.’ Rizzo: “Exactly. We have an obligation — we have to make an observation for ourselves, and then if we can corroborate what somebody said and reported, then great.” Abrams: “And here, it’s the license plate.”
  • BOLO segment — White Settlement, Tex., stolen car suspect.
  • Richland County, S.C. — Responding what is supposedly a fight in progress, Dep. Perez and Sgt. Hughes have a friendly interaction with residents on scene.
  • Indian River County, Fla. — Det. Christian Castano conducts a traffic stop . Expired tags; suspended license. The detective suggests that the motorist is providing inconsistent answers to his questions but indicates that he intends to just issue a warning if everything else checks out. “You’re looking through your vehicle manual right now because you don’t want to make eye contact with me.” The motorist, who says there is no contraband in the vehicle, declines a consensual car search and also mentions that he’s had “bad luck with cops.” Another K9 is apparently summoned to the scene because K9 Jefe is not a drug dog. The other K9 allegedly alerted.

Listen to Det. Castano provide an interim summary of the stop:

Det. Castano follow-up: “So immediately, probably a minute into searching the car, we found a plastic baggie with what appears to be fentanyl. We’re gonna test it, but fairly certain it’s fentanyl.”

  • Triple Play #3 — Wauwatosa, Wisc., pursuit.
  • Beach Grove, Ind. — In what might be a possible neighbor dispute, Ofr. Brandon Wilcox makes contact with a homeowner on a report of someone swinging a sledgehammer.
  • Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Bratlien conducts a traffic stop for allegedly speeding/racing and no plates, plus dark window tint. At a light and when the driver was boxed in and before the driver pulled over, the officer gets out of his car and approaches the motorist and says “give me your ID and we’ll talk.”
  • Indian River County, Fla. — Det. Castano responds to car-vs.-bicycle accident. Paramedics summoned to the scene.
  • Richland County, S.C. — LEOs Perez, Hughes, and Brown clear two abandoned buildings. No intruders located. Dep. Perez spots an “attitude is everything: pick a good one” signon the floor the premises.

Sgt. Hughes recap: “So, we have evidence that there were people inside this abandoned building. It’s like an abandoned school or something or another. There was a fresh smell of marijuana being smoked. There’s that bed in there. There were chips and goodies and whatnot. It sounds like people — it looks like people are possibly sleeping in here. We haven’t found anybody so far. It’s a huge building. And also, we started at the opposite end, so they may have had a chance to run out before we got to this side. But we did the best we can starting off doing three-fourths of it with two people. Now we’re gonna try to find a safe way back down off this roof and to the vehicles and check out that car that’s still sitting out there…”

  • Fontana, Calif. — Ofr. Gearhart makes contact with a pedestrian. “Why did you walk away from a crash, dude?…did you poop in your pants?” LEOs conduct voluntary standardized field sobriety testing.

Ofr. Gearhart initial summary: “So we responded to an unknown-injury collision here…we have a lot of high-speed crashes [at these intersections]. My supervisor arrived on scene prior to me was able to broadcast that this gentleman wearing the white pants was walking away from the scene of the crash. So luckily we contacted him; we got him stopped nearby…the odor of alcohol is pretty prominent coming off of him. It’s pretty clear that he’s been drinking and probably why he had his accident and his other ‘accident.’ So we have another unit come here that specializes in DUIs. They’re gonna see if this guy is indeed too under the influence to be operating a motor vehicle. Then my partner Garrett went over back to the crash scene. He’s gonna conduct the investigation on that part. So we’re just going to hang out with [the subject] until our partners arrive.”

Ofr. Gearhart update: “I responded to this unknown-injury collision. Fortunately, nobody was very seriously hurt. The driver of the vehicle here is pretty intoxicated, and he attempted to flee to the scene prior to our arrival. Luckily, we were able to contact him nearby and get him stopped. Our DUI evaluators came out to test if he was under the influence of alcohol and should or should not have been driving the car. It was their determination that he was too intoxicated to be driving the vehicle tonight, so he’s gonna go to jail for DUI.”

  • Everett, Wash. — Ofr. Bratlien responds to an accident scene with serious damage to two vehicles, one of which also crashed into a house. Fire Department on scene. A motorist is extracted from one of the vehicles and transported to the hospital.

Listen as the studio panel discusses the data provided by modern automobile analytics in accident investigations:

Ofr. Bratlien synopsis: “…we got him out of the car. We were able to identify him by his wallet in the center console. There’s no signs of paraphernalia, alcohol, anything that would suggest impairment for the driving. We’re kind of thinking maybe a medical emergency while he was driving. Side-swiped another car. Foot might have just been plugged on the accelerator and just straight into the wall. So, straight towards the hospital now. Hopefully, we get some updates soon that we get some better news.” Abrams: “And we also have not heard that there was anyone inside of that house on the other side. We’ll also update you on that if we get any news there.”

Update from My Everett News.

  • Fontana, Calif. — Ofr. Desirae Klumpp and another detain unit detain a suspect standing at the In-and-Out Burger drive-thru in the course of an investigation into an alleged shoplifting incident at a nearby convenience store.
  • Missing segment — Montgomery County, Md.

Hazen, Ark. — Chief Taylor and Sgt. Dillion conduct a friendly traffic stop for driving too slow in the left lane on the highway. The chief to the motorist who is released with a warning: “The right lane is the slow lane or the old folks lane, okay?” Taylor also mentions that “she’s having a bad enough night. Says she’s been lost for four hours.”

“The right lane is the slow lane or the old folks lane”

  • Beech Grove, Ind. — Ofr. Wilcox and at least one other unit conduct a traffic stop for expired plates. The motorist, who apparently came to a stop outside his house, apparently either just bought the car or was gifted the car by his boss. No license. Ofr. Wilcox gives the driver a break and releases him with a warning instead of towing the vehicle.
  • Hazen, Ark. — Taylor/Dillion initiate a traffic stop for a tag light issue.
  • Daytona Beach, Fla. — Ofr. Mowery and other units pursue a vehicle that allegedly fled from VCAT that pulled into a driveway. Traffic stop at gunpoint. The driver, who is shouting out for him mom in the house, is Mirandized. He also insists to cops that “you never tried to pull me over.” Car search. Abrams: “How many times have we seen on this show that thinking that by getting home, that somehow that will protect them from any charges. It is not the case.”
  • Hazen, Ark. — During a traffic stop, the OPL camera spots a huge bug on Chief Taylor’s shoulder. OPL caption: “The itsy-bitsy spider.” Abrams: “We all are feeling the way you are right now. You want to yell to inform the chief. ‘Chief: There’s a daddy longlegs on your neck!…you can’t hear us. It’ll be okay.”