“Live PD” mapped a decade of police-community ties in Richland County
“It showed true transparency—the good, the bad and the ugly,” Chief Deputy Maria Yturria said of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s role on “Live PD.” A decade into the partnership, a lot has changed, on and off camera, since it first aired in 2016.
“Live PD” was designed to show viewers police work happening live in their communities, attempting to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the public.
South Carolina agencies’ involvement in the show has become a way to map public trust over the last decade, leading to questions about the future terms of airing police work on television.
“Opening doors in the community”
“We initially thought it was going to be short-term,” Yturria said. “Mainly because it was a new program, and we didn’t know how the community was going to react to it.”
It wasn’t just South Carolina—the whole country reacted to the show’s first season. Richland County Sheriff’s Department became the only agency to appear on the show continuously, without a break.
“It’s opening doors in the community for us that I don’t think would have been open,” Yturria said. “We started getting invited to a lot of different groups that would probably not initially reach out.”
Charities, barbecues, speaking events, yard sales—Yturria said that deputies began to feel more supported by the community, especially as national tensions began to rise between communities and law enforcement.
The 2015 killing of Walter Scott in North Charleston intensified local scrutiny of policing and lead to protests across the state. Residents were worried about changing police and community relationships. Seven months later, “Live PD” was on air.
The show was supposed to offer residents a way to hold law enforcement accountable and to better understand the work officers were doing.
“From the department’s perspective, it came at a really good time when it was important to show the community what law enforcement is really about,” Yturria said.
Some viewers found solace in the exposure the show provided. Others questioned whether “Live PD” was as transparent as production claimed.
Transparency with a delay
“Live PD” and its rebrand, “On Patrol: Live,” don’t run live in the same sense as broadcast news does. Instead, most segments typically air with a delay of a few minutes, giving producers and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department time to comment on or cut scenes.
While it broke some of the trust the show was aiming to build with fans, its goal was to protect secure police tactics as well as deputies and residents who appeared on camera.
The 2016 contract between the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and “Live PD” producer Big Fish Entertainment read that “RCSD shall have the right to review the content for factual accuracy, security concerns, and editorial comments.”
The Marshall Project investigation released in 2020 opened the floodgates to “Live PD” scrutiny. The investigation uncovered that police departments could influence what aired, including specific instances of controversial behavior that the show had edited out.
Following the police killing of George Floyd in the same year, network A&E ceased production of “Live PD”. The show’s temporary cancellation documented the 2020 public discourse around law enforcement in South Carolina. A&E’s statement reflected national tensions:
“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.”
But “Live PD” wasn’t the final chapter for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department on a televised cop show. The series resurfaced in 2022 as “On Patrol: Live,” reopening old debates and creating new chances to build or strain public trust.
A new beginning?
“It’s also made law enforcement as a whole, human,” Yturria said. “We’re like everybody else. We have families and come from different backgrounds and different careers.”
Despite controversy, Yturria said the show has been beneficial in helping the department and Richland County communities connect.
The rebrand “On Patrol: Live” operates under a subsidiary of the same producer Big Fish Entertainment, and airs on a different network, Reelz. The show comes with a new opportunity to use live footage to gain public trust. Production was contacted about the relationship between the show and Richland County Sheriff’s Department but did not return a comment.
The State has requested a copy of the updated contract under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act.