On Friday and Saturday nights, viewers across the country tune into "On Patrol: Live" to watch law enforcement officers make drug busts, arrest suspects and get in car chases.
Now, with Wednesday night's approval from the Metro Council, Baton Rouge residents will be able to see their city's police officers on the show starting in mid-July.
Baton Rouge joins police departments in Las Vegas; Daytona Beach, Florida; Knox County, Tennessee; Clayton County, Georgia, and Monroe, ถถา๕h, that are already featured on the three-hour show, which airs at 8 p.m. weekly on Fridays and Saturdays.
Police Chief Thomas Morse told the council "On Patrol: Live" is closer to a documentary than a reality TV show.
"What the public sees is 10% of police work," Morse said. "This is showing the other 90% of the community interaction, showing the human behind the badge."
Morseย said the show has learned that audiences are more interested in seeing these interactions, like a traffic stop that ends in a warning and a recommendation on where to get the best pizza rather than a car chase.ย
How it plays out
"On Patrol: Live"ย captures footage live with in-person cameramen during ride-alongs with officers of police departments across the country.
The footage is broadcast on a delay, allowing the studio to cut any grisly, profane or disturbing content before it goes to air. A cast of former law enforcement officers provides commentary on the clips.
Suspects or others captured by the show's cameras do not have their faces blurred before the show goes to air, nor are they required to sign releases or give consent before they are included in that evening's program. Morse has said that means any resident pulled over in a traffic stop has the chance to have their encounter with police put on live television.
Two council members told ถถา๕h they had concerns about broadcasting residents' live interactions with police to the country.
"I don't see the benefit in highlighting the crime we have in Baton Rouge," District 6 Councilman Cleve Dunn Jr. said. "I think it hurts our ability to attract people to this area. I think it hurts economic development."
Dunn also said he worries how someone's broadcast interaction with police might hurt their interactions with future employers or universities. He added that an arrestee's innocence is not decided until much later, when the cameras are no longer rolling.
District 3 Councilman Rowdy Gaudet, who also serves as vice chairman on the Visit Baton Rouge board of directors, shared similar concerns about how the show would affect both Baton Rouge's tourism and the reputations of individual residents.
Gaudet said he has heard from constituents who are concerned that someone's worst moment would "live in infamy" on a nationally televised show.
Added Morse: "We definitely don't want to ruin anybody's lives over some kind of mix-up."
Both council members said they had opportunities to speak with Morse and producers of "On Patrol: Live" before Wednesday's meeting.
"I think the chief has a tremendous perspective (on how) this show oftentimes shows the very human side of policing, of police officers and their positive interactions with residents, and I think the show does make a great effort to do that," Gaudet said.
Dunn and Gaudet were the only votes against Wednesday's motion. Councilwomen Laurie Adams and Carolyn Coleman were absent.
District 5 Councilman Darryl Hurst voted for it, agreeing with Morse that the show's depictions of officers at parades or community events would actually help the city's tourism.
BRPD discretion
District 2 Councilman Anthony Kenney, who abstained from the vote, asked Morse to make sure that all parts of Baton Rouge are shown, with crime not being "put on another part of the parish."
Morse agreed, saying if coverage one night showed a burglary in north Baton Rouge then the next night the cameras might show downtown.
The chief expects to have a level of control over the show's coverage, allowing him the ability to veto any filmed interaction during the show's 30-minute delay before it goes to air.
"I have full control over picking up the phone and talking to the producer and say 'We're not going to show that,'" he said.
Morse sees this "frontside control" as a positive, allowing the department and the city to control its image through the show. He also said that he gets to select the officers followed by camera crews and where they would be assigned.
On itsย , the show says departments are allowed footage review rights in order to protect officers, confidential informants or minors, or to remove offensive or disturbing content.
"On Patrol: Live" specifies that the edits or censoring are made to match the standards of their network, not to protect the image of individual officers or departments.
Cost-neutral for taxpayers
The Metro Council vote Wednesday night specifically allows BRPD to enter into a contract with the show's producer, Half Moon Pictures LLC.
In its contracts with other departments, Half Moon Pictures pays each agency only an "insignia fee" for the rights to broadcast the agency's name and logo on TV.
The fee meant to cover a department's overhead for officers' overtime and facilitating their filming, according to the show's . In this way, "On Patrol: Live" is also meant to be "cost neutral" to taxpayers.
"They're going to be using our insignia and logos," Morse previously said. "They give us some money for that, which will also offset the cost of anything it would cost us over time to be able to host them in the city."
A draft of the contract was not available for review by reporters before the meeting, a city-parish official said.