Live PD returns after Black Lives Matter forced it off the air – Washington Examiner

On Friday, Live PD returns to television. The show had been canceled two years ago at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, which was always more about hating police than racial justice.

Live PDs new name will be On Patrol: Live, and its new channel will be Reelz. The show had been canceled by A&E in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, with the network saying that it was a critical time in our nations history and that it didnt know if there was space to tell the stories of both the community and the police officers whose role it is to serve them. And so, the network tossed police officers aside because this is what the movement demanded.

With it went half of A&Es audience.

Live PD wasnt the only show to get the ax. Cops was also canceled by Paramount after 32 seasons across three different networks. It was brought back last year by Fox Nation.

The cancellation of those two shows helped show exactly what the Black Lives Matter movement was about. Immediately after Floyds death, the movement pushed the idea of defunding the police to the forefront of the national debate. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) called on Minneapolis to abolish its police department, and the City Council initially agreed, requiring voters to vote the idea down. Other cities began cutting police funding, even as homicides and violent crime rose.

The Black Lives Matter movement did not just think that racism is an issue that must be addressed. Its most prominent activists, from Omar to Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) to washed-up former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, thought the entire institution of policing must be abolished. They demanded the police officers be removed from black neighborhoods, schools, and other areas of life. A&E and Paramount were happy to extend that anti-police sentiment to television, even if it meant losing viewers.

While On Patrol: Live looks to pick up where Live PD left off, the shows return should serve as a reminder of what the driving force of the Black Lives Matter movement always was. It was and is primarily a movement to demonize police officers, even at the expense of black lives. Its activists bludgeon those who dont support the movement into silence or compliance using accusations of racism.

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Live PD returns after Black Lives Matter forced it off the air - Washington Examiner