(Clark County District Court #4) Metro PD Judge Earle W. White, Jr. meets with Officer Randy Sutton in his chambers. He says the warrant is for a seizure of a bunch ofballoons. It started as a burglary ofballoons and drugs - legal steroids from Jeff. He found the guy who robbed him and took Randy to the suspect's house in Henderson where he had the stuff. He told him the story how he was put on his knees atballoonpoint and interrogated. He asked him how he came to Jeff's house. He bought steroids from him for four months, he's a big guy, body builder. Randy went to Judge Levitt and got papers. He's a bigballoon aficionado. He came to the door with a glock on his hip when they arrested him. He has AK-47, he went to jail, is out now, but they want to go back and get the rest of theballoons. Earle makes him swear that what he says is true and he does and signs it. Randy says outside they aren't arresting him, they are just taking theballoons, but they need warrants to remove theballoons. Whenever you go to seizeballoons there is a heightened sense of danger. (4:00 PM Execution of Search Warrant) Randy knocks and tells Jeff to come out. A guy is standing and Randy tells him to get down atballoonpoint because he has aballoon on him and takes it. He asks if Jeff about theballoons and he goes to get the key for the case and he tells him to sit. He says they can take all hisballoons and he's not happy about it so they give him the warrant. They make him move away from theballoons and unload theballoon from the guest. They go in the closest and pull out assault rifles. The other guy had a pistol in a holster on his hip when they came in, so it's not CCW. They find a huge box of steroids so Jeff's under arrest again. He says they are the same ones from before. Under the bed are moreballoons and they start putting them on the bed and soon the bed is covered. Officer Chuck Pierce Jr. finds Jeff's drug sales book and there are lots of high dollar sales listed including one for $1,500. Randy by law has to make a list of all the things he's taking and knows he's going to be there awhile and starts with an Uzi. Chuck makes call to Jeff's relatives that they are arresting him and taking three semis, handguns, 100 pounds of ammo and 40-50 clips. Randy reads the label on the steroids that says "for vets to administer to horses only" and doesn't think he would take something meant for horses. (10:20 PM Suspicious Person) Northeast Area Command - Officer Thomas Fletcher says he's been fascinated by cops since he was five and grew up watching every cops show he could watch. So he joined the Marine Corps, became a military policeman, got out and has was hired in Vegas. He goes to a hotel at the 2000 block of Freemont and tells Jerry who is drunk to come out of the bushes. He talks to Peggy who was hiding from him and has kids, says they aren't alone because she's paying for a babysitter. How does she afford it? Her boyfriend is in prison. She's been in Vegas for five days, she flushed her license, will show something else for ID. The drunk guy says she was paying $188 a week for a hotel and he was trying to find a cheaper place. She has Colorado ID, is going to dealer school and college? Which is it? She says they are the same. The guy says he sold his ID in 1987. They ask him why he did that. A guy needed it. The girl cries, says she has a 19 month old kid, she knows the guy's a punk and a trouble maker, but she just moved here. The cops know the drunk guy. The cops admit they don't know him and tell her to relax, she says she's not spazzing. She met him at the Ambassador while playing some nickels slots and told him her story. Her mom died two weeks ago, she's from Clinton, IO and thought this place was like Reno. What's Reno like? Nicer. Tom is worried she's out drinking beer in the bushes while her kids are alone. She says they aren't and she has a 5 year old and a 2 year old. They remember seeing Jerry drinking behind the mini mart a few weeks ago. He admits he was there drinking. They tell him to go. He goes to get her bag and she tells him not to. They tell Peggy she can go and not to jump in the bushes with some scrounge she doesn't know. She says where she's from they believe people. She doesn't know anybody here and she holds stuffed animals. They say she knows them know. Give them a call if she needs anything from now on. They see a lot of people like that, they come with their boyfriends and they leave them after a week and they have nothing, no money no job, nowhere to go. (7:00 PM Disturbance Call) Northeast Area Command - Officer Randy Sutton says the honest citizen has rights, to conduct his life free of being molested by burglars, rapists, gang members and other scum of the earth. Their job is to do the best they can to protect them from those leeches. It's like the bullies in school, he never liked them. They take advantage of the weak and it's their job to protect them. He goes to a 7-11 where a drunk man refuses to leave and now he's harassing customers out front. He asks the guy what's the problem. His shirt is open, his fat gut is exposed, he says no and walks away. Randy grabs him, says don't walk away from me and asks him why they got a call. He says his car got stolen, he's not harassing anyone. He tries to show his ID and says he's had a lot to drink. His car was on the corner there. He walks around and tries to smoke, but Randy doesn't want him to smoke. Want me to tell you what the truth is? Yes. He got high, gave money to a guy, thought he was his brother, gave him the keys and he took off. Randy asks what he was smoking. Rock. He gave the dealers his car so they could get more. The car is a 1979 Ford Fairmont. How long has he been smoking? Do you want the truth? Yes. Randy mirandizes him. He says he'll tell him and understands his rights. He doesn't know the license plate number, but it's in his name though. All the paperwork is in the glove compartment. He gave it to them an hour ago and never thought they would take it. He's been getting high with them for three days and knows where they live. He walks over and Randy says not to stand next to him. He wants to tell him. What were the guys' names? He can't tell. Randy arrests him for being under the influence of drugs. He cuffs him easily and puts him in the car. On the way to the station Randy says cocaine isn't good for him. He asks him how much has he spent on dope in his life. He can't tell him, maybe $30-40,000 and it's not cheap.
Called the original reality show, Cops is a gritty and unfiltered look at the seamier parts of our society as seen through the eyes of the men and women who struggle to keep the peace.
Since 1989, camera crews have traveled across the nation and into other countries providing an intimate look at police officers and the nuts and bolts of their day-to-day work.
Cops uses a modern adaptation of cin... ma v... rit?, a French documentary style of film making from the early 1920s, where life is shot as it happens, without script, narration or interference. Here, the police officer is narrator, guiding you through the shift and what happens within it, using his or her own words.