LOS ANGELES — A&E Network has canceled the police reality series “Live PD” following weeks of protests inspired by the death of George Floyd and a report that a crew from the show filmed the arrest of a black man who died after he was restrained by police.
The cable network announced the move Wednesday, a day after the similar show “Cops,” on the air for 33 seasons, was dropped by the Paramount Network.
“This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD,” A&E said in a statement. “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.”
The cancellation also comes a day after a reports from the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV that 40-year-old Javier Ambler, who was black, died in Texas last year after sheriff’s deputies repeatedly used stun guns on him, despite his cries for help and pleas that he was sick and couldn’t breathe.
