‘Live PD’ Canceled After A&E Reveals the Show Recorded and Destroyed Footage of a Death in Police Custody
Live PD is the latest television show to receive the boot in the wake of the George Floyd protests. The high-performing series had been pulled off the air a week prior in response to the sensitivity surrounding the subject of police brutality, but now it looks like the hiatus will be much longer, maybe even permanent. The decision comes only two days after network A&E admitted that the show had recorded — and later destroyed — footage of the in-custody death of 40-year-old Javier Ambler in March of 2019. Said A&E in a statement to Deadline:
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.
The news came as a shock to Live PD host and executive producer Dan Abrams, who shared his response to the news via Twitter. “To the loyal #LivePDNation please know I, we, did everything we could to fight for you, and for our continuing effort at transparency in policing,” he wrote. Before this decision came to pass, Live PD had just been renewed for another 160 episodes last month. Now, the future of the show is uncertain.
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