Posted on: Monday, October 6, 2003

'COPS' taking ride with Maui officers

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do?

That's what a crew from the Fox television show "COPS" hopes to find out as it videotapes the patrol exploits of Maui County's finest for the next two months or so.

It's the first time the long-running reality series has made it to Hawai'i.

A sound technician and a camera operator have started riding with a patrol unit, and producer Jim Langley of Langley Productions Inc. has also arrived.

The show originally focused on big-city cops but now offers just as many episodes featuring rural police departments. A spokes-man for the show said the rural areas offer just as much action.

Police Lt. Jon Morioka said the department permitted the ride-alongs after the show's producers provided proof of adequate liability insurance. The department, he said, isn't making any special accommodations for the TV crew. It's up to the patrol commanders to decide which officers get their shot in the spotlight, Morioka said.

"COPS" production crew members aren't law enforcement officers, but they are police-trained, according to the show, and they wear bulletproof vests on the job.

Officials didn't know when the Maui version of "COPS" will be shown.