As anti-police sentiments continue to spread through the U.S. like wildfire, the television show “Live PD” has been cancelled by A&E despite the fact that it was one of the network’s biggest hits in years.

“This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on ‘Live PD,’” the network said in a statement obtained by Deadline. “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.”

This came one day after Paramount Network cancelled the docuseries “Cops,” which had been on the air for 31 years. At the time, “Live PD” host Dan Abrams was convinced that the A&E show would indeed be back. “To all of you asking whether #LivePD coming back… The answer is yes,” he tweeted at the time. “All of us associated with the show are as committed to it as ever. We are still discussing some specifics but I want to assure the #LivePDNationthat we are not abandoning you.”

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The next day, however, A&E executives concluded that there was no path forward for the show, much to the surprise of Abrams. “Shocked & beyond disappointed about this,” he tweeted. “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. I was convinced the show would go on… More to come…”

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Abrams went into further details about his feelings on the cancellation on Thursday morning:

“I am frustrated and sad because I truly believed in the mission of the show to provide transparency in policing. I completely agree with advocates calling for more body cams on officers and more uniform rules for their use. It seems to me that the antidote to bad policing and officers is transparency and that means more body cams and more shows like Live PD. It’s important to distinguish Live PD from a show like ‘Cops’ that just presented a highlight reel of crazy moments. Live PD was totally different — following the officers in real time, in their real environments showing the nerves, the adrenaline, the bad, the good, and often the mundane and boring. I will miss it all.’

Anti-police riots have been spreading throughout the country in recent weeks in reaction to the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota last month. Since then, Democrats have launched a movement to “defund the police,” which has only served to have anti-police sentiments rise to an all-time high.

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It’s unfortunate that A&E caved to public pressure and cancelled a show that was watched every week by millions of Americans. “Live PD” humanized police officers in a way that no other show on television did, meaning it was needed now more than ever. The show itself and the brave men and women of law enforcement who starred on it will be dearly missed.

This piece was written by PopZette Staff on June 11, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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