A&E cancels Live PD as police brutality protests continue across the country

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published 11 June 2020

A&E has canceled Live PD, a reality show following police officers on patrol.

This comes on the heels of Cops getting axed by the Paramount Network on Tuesday, just days before the premiere of its 33rd season. In a statement to Deadline, A&E said 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."

 Live PD was yanked from the schedule last week, as protests against police brutality swept the country. The show, which aired on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to midnight, was one of the highest-rated shows on A&E. In May, it was renewed for an additional 160 episodes. The show was hosted by Dan Abrams, who tweeted on Wednesday night that he was "shocked & beyond disappointed about this."

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On Tuesday, A&E confirmed that in March 2019, Live PD producers recorded sheriff's deputies in Austin, Texas, arresting 40-year-old Javier Ambler. A deputy's body cam footage showed Ambler getting tased and saying he couldn't breathe; he died in custody. A&E said the video did not air on the show, and was destroyed after producers learned an internal investigation into Ambler's death had concluded.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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