The Cancellation Of Live PD

I haven't written or published a blog post since May 13th and as much as we thought the world was flipped upside down back then, it most certainly is now more than ever.  I am born and raised from Minnesota, and I still call it home today.  I want to be clear that what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis was murder.  There is no reasonable explanation for the actions of those officers on that day.  There also is no place for racism period.  That is what I believe and that will always be what I believe.  I also work in the education field and I work with a lot of students who have mental health issues.  I also work everyday to build trust and respect with every student that I work with.  In the past 14 years, I have worked with students from every race, ethnicity, and background.  During that time,  I have learned from every student I have worked with and I also learned that everyone's story is different.  I also have learned that each student's reality is unique and I have learned something from each student's story, and I also learned that my reality isn't the only reality.  Over the past 14 years of working with the students I work with, I have learned the importance of connecting and building relationships.  I have learned the importance of active listening, and I have learned the importance of de-escalation.

One of the things that has changed in response to recent events, is the cancellation of the television shows COPS and Live PD.  I am going to talk more about Live PD, but I do want to say something about COPS.  The difference between COPS and Live PD is night and day.  COPS was in its 31st season this year, and it was created to be a product of entertainment.  The former host of Live PD, Dan Abrams, called COPS a highlight show, and he is exactly right.  The show was made for people who wanted the thrill of the action and that is all they wanted to see.  

Live PD's mission is completely different.  Live PD did a good job at being transparent with not only the communities they served, but also the communities who were watching on the A&E Network.  The officers of the communities they were featuring even loved having the cameras on them.  Not to make them famous, but instead to show the transparency of the work they did.  

Live PD had a variety of goals they wanted to accomplish with their show, and they were doing it.  Those goals being things like having a wanted segment featuring individuals that had warrants for felonies and some of the individuals featured were considered armed and dangerous.  Over 30 fugitives were caught because of tips from Live PD viewers.  The show also featured a missing segment that featured missing people, which were often times children, and some of the cases had gone cold.  12 children alone were found alive because of information from Live PD viewers who saw the cases featured on the show.  They also had a segment called "Crime Of The Week", which featured footage of actual crimes to show how the mind of a desperate individual, or individuals, making dangerous decisions thinks and operates.  It also showed how much danger a poor choice can bring to the the public.  The show also showed how much of a drug and gun problem there is in our country and also that it isn't just limited to big cities.  The best part of the show was how it showed officers building relationships with its community members.  All of this is something that COPS did not do.  

For me personally, I was a regular viewer of Live PD.  I want it to be clear that I did not watch the show for the action, or the danger, or to see people wreck their lives.  Instead, I watched the show for the psychology component.  I watched to learn how people think and act when they have made risky decisions that brings possible accountability.  I watched to see an officer have fun and have a dance off with two children who lived in the community that he was serving.  I also watched for the officer who was stopped by an individual who was thanking the officer for saving his life the night before when he was overdosing on drugs while he was laying in the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant.  I also watched to see an officer who pulled over a young man who was 18 years old that had marijuana in his car, and instead of racking up the charges, the officer asked him what he wanted to do with his life.  This started a safe and calm conversation between the two and resulted in the officer giving the young man a few days to write a three page paper about his life goals and then the charges would not be submitted to the county.  I also watched the show for the countless times where officers used de-escalation.  The show also did a good job showing how quickly a situation can turn unsafe when mental health is a factor and plays a role in the situation.  One of the things that I learned from the show that I use in my job is the statement, "I can work with honesty."  I am someone who also will give any student an opportunity to tell me their side of the story.  I do that because it is important.  When trying to resolve a situation and trying to determine what type of accountability is necessary, it is important to factor in every side of the story, including the student's side.  When processing through a situation, I will tell the student I work with that I can work with honesty.  I tell them that I would rather hear the truth, even if it is something I don't want to hear, because I can work with them on that.  It is when the student is not being honest and we have to rely on other evidence that will have the result of consequences that will cost the student more opportunities.  That approach alone is building trust and respect and it keeps the student involved in our community instead of pushing them out of it by suspending them.  It isn't me just coming down on them and not letting them get a word in.  Instead, I listen to their side and include them in the decision making process when it comes to accountability.  It teaches responsibility, and 9.9 out of 10 times it is a positive and successful experience for both sides of the conversation.  

You see, educating is what Live PD was.  It taught skills and it helped people understand the different perspectives and the thought processes behind each perspective.  If you think it is just a show about police officers harassing people and arresting people, then you really haven't "watched" the show.  I am not sure why A&E decided to end the show, I never read their official statement because I was disappointed in the decision.  Like I mentioned before, it brought the transparency that people are currently calling for.  I hope that A&E decides to bring it back.  If they don't, then I hope a different network does, because it was a valuable tool to me.  

Be Kind To Everyone