COPS reality TV crew riding along with MPD filming future episodes

Sign Up For Our FREE Daily eNews!

COPS film crew on the beat in Manchester, NH.
COPS film crew on the beat in Manchester, NH.

MANCHESTER, NH — Crews from the long-running reality TV show COPS will be riding along with Manchester Police filming future episodes.

The show, which built a reputation on live-action arrests in cities and towns around the country, began filming in the city after making a request to Manchester Police, which Chief Nick Willard said he approved.

According to Willard the filming has the blessing of Mayor Ted Gatsas, and there is no compensation involved for the city from COPS for filming. All those arrested while the cameras are rolling will have to sign waivers.

“Chief Willard has made the Manchester Police Department transparent and accessible to allow the community to see first hand what policing in the city of Manchester entails. I fully support his open and honest approach as chief of police,”  Mayor Gatsas said about the COPS filming in Manchester.

The news of the film crew’s arrival began circulating on Facebook via Manchester Information late Friday night. The post has been shared more than 3,000 times so far. Facebook commentary ranges from excitement to dismay, as captured in the posts below (names of p0sters were not included, but you can read through all of them on Manchester Information:

  • “What happens in Manchvegas, doesn’t stay in Manchvegas. It gets nationally televised.”
  • “How embarrassing for Manchester actually that we become fodder for entertainment.”
  • “Yaaaaaaaaaaas. I want to get tasered on TV wearing a wife beater!”
  • “Congrats Manchester. You’ve become so shitty that cops is coming to tape us. MPD fix our city.”
  • “I deliver pizza there I hope to see myself maybe in a passing by.”
  • “Good reason for cops to behave and be by the book tough for them 20 wks.”
  • “Here’s one time when I hope I don’t see any familiar faces on a TV show.”
  • “Sad to think this town has been reduced, from a crime perspective, to a level comparable to the other towns COPS visits – New Orleans, Houston, other big cities with bad crime of all kinds. And to all of you cop haters out there, maybe if you OBEYED THE LAW AND THE POLICEMANS ORDERS AND DID NOT RESIST, they wouldn’t be so “mean”. They put their lives on the line and are in a losing battle right now. Don’t make things worse for yourself or our great city.”

Former Alderman Joyce Craig was surprised to learn of the news via Facebook.

“I commend our first reponders for all they do. However, I do not believe this type of publicity will help attract families and businesses to Manchester,” Craig said Saturday.

From the COPS website:

“COPS,” the seminal reality ride-along show that forever changed the TV landscape, has moved to its new “beat” on Spike. This groundbreaking, raw, and realistic series provides unprecedented access into the daily lives and work of police officers, constables, and sheriff’s deputies from around the country. “COPS” is one of the longest-running television programs in broadcast history. Produced by Langley Productions.

Although popular with viewers, there have been some issues with embedding a film crew with police officers on the beat, including a 2014 incident in Omaha, Nebraska, during which a film crew member was shot and killed during a police shootout.

The show, described as a documentary/reality legal series, first aired in 1989 and was broadcast on FOX for many years until a recent move to SPIKE TV, an entertainment channel which targets a largely male audience.

 


email boxYou’re one click away!  Sign up for our free eNewsletter and never miss another thing.

 

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!