Another Police Reality Show Has Been Axed

A&E has dropped Live PD
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 11, 2020 4:13 AM CDT
Live PD Dropped by A&E
In this image made from a March 28, 2019, body-worn camera video provided by the Austin Police Department in Texas, Williamson County deputies hold down Javier Ambler as one of them uses a Taser on Ambler’s back during his arrest in Austin, Texas.   (Austin Police Department via AP)

A&E Network has canceled the police reality series Live PD following weeks of protests over the death of George Floyd and a report that a crew from the show filmed the death of another black man in police custody. The cable network announced the move Wednesday, a day after the similar show Cops, on the air for 33 seasons, was dropped by the Paramount Network, the AP reports. "This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD," A&E said in a statement. “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."

The cancellation also comes a day after a reports from the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV that 40-year-old Javier Ambler, who was black, died in Texas last year after sheriff's deputies repeatedly used stun guns on him, despite his cries for help and pleas that he was sick and couldn't breathe. Prosecutors investigating Ambler's death said the presence of the Live PD crew made the arrest, which was captured on police body-camera video obtained by the news outlets, particularly troubling. A&E said in a previous statement that its video never aired because of a policy against showing a death, and it did not keep the footage after it was informed the initial investigation had closed.

(More police stories.)

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