Should ‘Cops’ still film in Ingham County?

Podcast producer finds flaws in popular TV reality series

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Dan Taberski had just finished the podcast “Missing Richard Simmons,” a probe into the sudden retirement of the famed fitness instructor. His next investigation: the long-running TV reality series “Cops.” Is it real life? How does the footage come together? And why would suspects agree to appear on the show?

Among his findings for his current podcast, “Running from Cops”: Violent drug crimes are disproportionately showcased. Suspects may have been coerced into appearances. And local police departments run the whole operation.

The series is scheduled to film in Ingham County for the next season.

“Over the course of the last 18 months, I have learned that in a million different ways, 'Cops’ is not real,” Taberski explained in an interview with City Pulse. “Yes, it’s real police officers. Yes, they’re shooting on location in these cities. But with the way the police get to control the message? …  It’s just not the way they make it seem.”

After Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth invited “Cops” to film in the county earlier this year, at least two county commissioners were hesitant to endorse the plan given the sensational nature of the show. Hundreds of local residents also blasted the idea on social media when the news first broke in Lansing earlier this year.

And Taberski’s findings help confirm some suspicions about what could come to Greater Lansing this summer.

Violence, drugs and prostitution accounted for nearly 60 percent of all incidents of crime featured on the show but represent only about 18 percent of crime in real life, Taberski said. And police success stories are trending upward.

Portrayed arrest rates climbed from 61 percent to 95 percent between the second and 30th season.

“We got our hands on the contracts,” Taberski said. “The police departments have editorial control over the footage. They can contractually see rough cuts of every episode, request changes and (producers) have to make them. It’s certainly not something they tell the viewer. It paints a different picture of what we’re watching.”

Taberski and his team reviewed more than 800 episodes of “Cops” and conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with producers, suspects and police officers. Perhaps most alarming? Nearly every suspect either claimed not to have signed a release, was too drunk to remember or claimed to have been coerced into the deal.

The producers “would deny it all but some said they were denied bond until they signed a release. Some were threatened with trumped-up charges,” Taberski added. “There have been lawsuits that have been filed over this.”

Wriggelsworth painted his expected editorial control over the eventual footage in Ingham County as a selling point for the county commission. It was a “great opportunity” to showcase local law enforcement, he said. Reached last week, Wriggelsworth expects the show to be a bit over-the-top — but that’s just good TV.

“It’s a TV show. It’s going to show the calls that are good for TV,” Wriggelsworth said. “It is what it is. It reflects what they captured. I’m comfortable doing the show. I don’t have any concerns about them coming to town and filming. It’s a way that we can show how we police our community and showcase that to the rest of the country.”

But Taberski suggested police departments could have an additional incentive to sign up for the show. Because top cops like Wriggelsworth can control the end result of the footage, they can also control the overall message. And sensational crime usually calls for sensational law enforcement — and the funding to come along with it.

“I think it serves police departments in terms of increasing the perception for a certain type of policing,” Taberski explained, noting the show also regularly features the inappropriate use of stun-guns and police dogs.  “I think it increases budgets. It increases peoples’ reliance on the police. It consistently frames bad policing.”

“I think all of this stuff is information. I think all of this — understanding the depiction of policing — can help places like Ingham County make a smarter decision or a more informed decision. It’s not up to me to decide whether 'Cops' should come, but I can say, after 18 months, I’d be asking a lot more questions.”

The sheriff’s office will not collect or pay any money for the show, Wriggelsworth noted. He also has no intention of leveraging more funding from the appearance. Any county resources used to create the program will also likely be negligible; the camera crews typically just follow deputies during previously scheduled shifts.

As a result, the county board — regardless of its objections on the matter — will likely have no discretion over whether the production continues as planned. That decision lies exclusively with Wriggelsworth, officials said.

Episodes of Taberski’s podcast “Running from Cops” are streaming weekly on the iTunes store.

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