Toledo police to be seen on ‘COPS’

12/12/2012

Editor's Note: It's possible this show will not be viewable for some Toledo area residents, as a contract dispute between Buckeye CableSystem and the owner of WUPW-TV, Channel 36 has disrupted broadcasting of the Fox channel for Buckeye Cable customers.

For months, some area residents have wondered if they would really be able to watch, from the comfort of their homes, Toledo police chasing suspected criminals and breaking up fights on one of television’s longest-running shows.

Saturday night, in the first episode of the latest season of COPS, Toledo officers will make their prime-time debut.

The episode, Odd Arrests, is to air on Fox affiliate WUPW-TV, Channel 36, at 8 p.m., officials said. Fox is on Channel 12 on Buckeye CableSystem.

The Web site for the television show, cops.com, offers a video teaser.

In one clip, a man is sitting on a curb, his hands cuffed behind his back. A Toledo officer standing near him asks, “If you didn’t do anything wrong, and you weren’t threatening anybody, why’d you run?”

“You know, I really don’t have an answer to that,” the man replies.

Film crews from the show, beginning its 25th season, tagged along with Toledo police officers for about eight weeks.

Department officials had a meeting with TV show executives earlier this year to discuss filming the show in Toledo. The city’s law department had to sign off on the plan to make sure there were no liability concerns.

The film crews tagged along with officers on all shifts around the city to document their work. Toledo is one of several locations filmed this year.

The show first aired in March, 1989, and, according to the show’s Web site, has followed officers in 140 different cities — from large metropolises to small cities — across the country. The show also has taped in Hong Kong, London, and the former Soviet Union.

Contact Taylor Dungjen at: tdungjen@theblade.com, 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @tdungjen_Blade.