Coming one day after the cancellation of Cops after 32 seasons, A&E has decided to make the hiatus for Live P.D. a permanent one amid growing protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
The decision to cancel the popular reality series, which was likely not an easy one because it’s a big hit for A&E, was made jointly by A&E and MGM’s Big Fish Entertainment, which produces the show. The network had this to say about canceling the series:
“This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD. Going forward, we will determine if there is a clear pathway to tell the stories of both the community and the police officers whose role it is to serve them. And with that, we will be meeting with community and civil rights leaders as well as police departments.”
The network’s decision was clearly not shared with its host, Dan Abrams, who tweeted to his followers last night that the show would be back:
“To all of you asking whether #LivePD is coming back. . .The answer is yes. All of us associated with the show are as committed to it as ever. We are still discussing some specifics but I want to assure the #LivePDNation that we are not abandoning you.”
Live P.D. was basic cable’s #1 show on Fridays and Saturdays in 2019 and has helped A&E become a leading cable network. The series had risen to the top spots in all cable during the pandemic when live sports events were suspended, drawing a total of about 3 million viewers per weekend. The network had recently renewed Live PD for an additional 160 episodes.
I think the decision went from evaluating a return to ultimately canceling the series because the show became involved in its own case of media coverage involving police brutality. A disturbing new video released Monday by the Austin Police Department shows a man named Javier Ambler pleading for his life as officers restrained him in Austin, Texas. The video in question raises alarms because Ambler’s arrest was being filmed for the A&E police-themed reality television show. Ambler, whose March 2019 death was ruled a homicide, was black, appeared sober, and was unarmed, according to public records. Officers restrain Ambler on his stomach and attempt to handcuff him. As they threaten to tase him, Amblers struggles to breathe and repeats, “I have congestive heart failure,” and, “I can’t breathe.” Ambler refers to the officers as “sir” throughout and tells them, “I am not resisting.” He pleads “save me” and gasps for air before officers tase him in the back. “I’m pretty sure I just broke his finger,” an officer says, pulling Ambler’s arm behind him. After being cuffed, Ambler falls limp. The deputies attempted to revive Ambler in the clip and call EMS, though he remains unresponsive. The medical examiner later found Ambler died of “forcible restraint” along with congestive heart failure and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
With the video gaining new attention following the death of George Floyd while being restrained by officers and the growing protests, I don’t think the show could’ve feasibly gone on without facing some kind of backlash. There are concerns that the deputies in question being filmed for the show may have pulled more dramatic measures for the sake of the cameras and that is a whole other issue on top of the current state of affairs in the world today.
A decision has not been made on the ID Channel’s reality series Body Cam, which uses police officer body cam footage to show real-life cops in action. The show generally doesn’t spark controversy because it depicts individual cops and their heroics but its new season was supposed to premiere last Tuesday and it was not aired. The series also didn’t air this week in its scheduled slot.
Live P.D., hosted by Dan Abrams with analysis from Tom Morris Jr. and Sgt. Sean ‘Sticks’ Larkin, followed police departments from across the country in real-time as they patrol their towns.
