AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- "Live PD" has taken its last ride with law enforcement.
According to a report from Deadline, the popular A&E reality series has been canceled, just a week after episodes were pulled in the wake of George Floyd's death.
"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. "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."
Locally, controversy has swirled around the show's relationship with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, including new details revealed this week in the case of Javier Ambler. Ambler died in March 2019 while in the custody of WCSO deputies, after an attempted traffic stop led to a 22-minute chase.
"Live PD" cameras were present for the stop, which included deputies using their Tasers on Ambler. The footage never aired, the network said, because it involved a fatality. Body camera footage from Austin Police, who were present at the scene because the chase ended in the Austin city limits, was released Monday.
Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore says an investigation into Ambler's death has been "stonewalled," with WCSO and "Live PD" producers refusing to turn over footage from the stop. Sheriff Robert Chody denied the allegations, and accused Moore of "scrambling to justify why it has taken so long" for her office to investigate the case.
Producers from "Live PD" said Tuesday evening that no request from Moore's office was ever made. "Neither A&E nor the producers of Live PD were asked for the footage or an interview by investigators from law enforcement or the District Attorney's office," the statement said. Producers added that the footage was "no longer retained after learning that the investigation had concluded."
In addition to the Ambler case, the series has been a sore spot for Williamson County Commissioners, who voted in August 2019 to terminate a previous agreement with the show - only to have Chody sign a new agreement in April of this year. Commissioners filed a lawsuit to try and stop the series from filming with WCSO. Tuesday, two Commissioners called for Chody's resignation following the revelations in the Ambler case.
The series, which aired live for six hours on Friday and Saturday nights, had recently been renewed by A&E for 160 episodes.