FWIW, the "Cops" crew was at my police station for one full week, back in the early 1990's, and went out for "ride-alongs" numerous times. The "crew" consisted of only two people...a camera man and a sound man. Both brought their own body armor along, and they both seemed quite "savvy" about police procedures.
I was the "star" in two segments, but was very reluctant. They "wired" me with a small transmitter in the pocket and a lapel-worn mini-microphone.
During one of the segments, I was working alone and had both of the crew members tagging along right behind me when I was assisting with the search for two armed bank robbers. At the time, I was the only "roving" patrol available to check on a reported "prowler" hiding in the backyard of a residence that was just outside of the search perimeter. The crew followed me to the front door of the person who had reported the "prowler", and I learned that the "prowler" was STILL hiding behind an old washing machine in the backyard. The crew followed as I made my way to that backyard.
Sure enough! There WAS someone hiding behind the washing machine, that was covered by a sheet of plastic! I commanded the man to slowly crawl from underneath the plastic sheeting, keeping his hands in full view. He complied. The crew wanted to get closer, but I told them to back off until I was able to safely take the man into custody. The man was fully cooperative (yes, at gunpoint!), but I waited until another officer arrived before approaching the man. A Sergeant arrived, guarded as I made the approach, and I took the man into custody. Under the old washing machine was a 9mm pistol! Later on, that man was identified as one of the bank robbery suspects!
The "Cops" guys told me that I should have "drop-kicked" the suspect, or at least used SOME SORT of physical force during the arrest....instead of making it look so "easy"! Yeah, RIGHT!
I'm not a big fan of the "Cops" show, probably because I've "been there, done that" during my 31 years in law enforcement. It IS a good show, however, for it is a realistic view of what the police have to put up with.
The crew members told me that, for every 100 hours of filming, only about 30 minutes of it were "worthwhile". Most of the film ended up on the cutting-room floor.
I've always been a proponent for having citizen "ride-alongs" with their local police officers. Most citizens wouldn't WANT that job, for it entails a LOT more than just chasing after bad guys all day and all night! There are long times of "lull", then suddenly a high-priority radio call.
The adrenal system definitely gets a good work-out during a "routine" shift! The majority of police officers are GOOD, HONEST and HARD WORKING individuals. There ARE a few "rotten apples", but that's because of having to recruit from the human species!
A bit of humor: Several years back, my partner and I went into a restaurant for dinner. The waitress brought us our food, and as we were trying to gulp it down (we were limited to 45 minutes), a little old lady walked over to our table. I mean, she looked like YOUR grandma! I said hello, then asked her if there was any problem. She smiled, then said, "Oh, no problem! I just didn't think that they allowed you to....eat!" Politely, I told her that, yes, MOST humans were allowed to eat. She then exclaimed, "But....you're the POLICE!" I reassured her that we weren't the ONLY police in that area that were on-duty. Maybe she thought that we were robots? HMM! (I wonder if it would have surprised her if I had told her that we were also allowed to visit the restroom, when necessary?)
The car ends up getting pulled off the tracks, but the poor guy is really freaking out of a while, even running down the tracks a ways to try and stop approching trains. This one has been circulating on the 'Net for a few years.
