(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
SPOKANE, Wash. -Shows like Live PD are growing in popularity, but does it give our region a bad name?
Live PD follows law enforcement officers in cities around the country, including Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies.
Spokane’s Public Safety and Community Health Committee discussed a proposal to put more rules on the producers of these shows.
The proposed ordinance would do five things: require a business registration within the city if a show films here, require written consent of any person within the city of Spokane who appears on the footage, allow city of Spokane employees to refuse to participate, allow the city to review reality-based police show footage, and require insurance.
Council president Ben Stuckart says research has shown that shows like Live PD give a distorted picture of crime, and there are a variety of tweets with #LivePD that say things like:
"Seriously? What's in the air in Spokane?"
"Is everybody helpless, homeless and dirty in Spokane?"
"I'm never moving to Spokane"
“They are all detrimental to our ability to attract people to live here,” Stuckart says. “People don't differentiate between the lines of Spokane Valley and Spokane.”
KHQ also spoke with Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich who says that the show doesn't give the area a bad name. He says Live PD has been a great recruiting tool and the response from the public in this community has been overwhelmingly positive.
We posted this topic to our Facebook page and comments mentioned that they like the show because it helps people understand what police go through on a daily basis.
The Spokane Police Department isn’t associated at all with Live PD. SPD has a relationship with the show COPS.