$65

Last weekend, On Patrol: Live broadcast an encounter with a man whose truck had been recently towed. Police were called because he was trying to leave the tow yard without settling his bill. He owed $315, but said he could only pay $250.

The police presented him with three options: Pay the full bill, leave without his truck, or be arrested for trespassing. The man continued to argue, so the police forcibly pulled him from his vehicle. He didn’t immediately acquiesce, so the police tackled him. The episode ended in multiple injuries and felony charges. All of this over $65.

What’s unnerving is not just the encounter itself, but the commentators presenting the outcome as inevitable: follow the rules or be arrested. This is a false dichotomy.

Everyone here was an adult: the man, the many law enforcement officers, and the tow yard clerk, but none of them attempted to deescalate the situation. They needlessly antagonized each other. No one offered the man a path to a peaceful resolution: some sort of payment plan, assistance from a mutual aid fund, kindness from the tow yard’s owner. Perhaps worse, no one recognized the rawness of his anger, the indignity of being poor and defenseless, or the many cascading effects that being stripped of one’s vehicle in America might have on him.

If any of officers had decided to give the man a few more minutes to calm down and find an agreement, the encounter could’ve ended very differently.

The most compelling critique of police shows is this: “Is it ethical to broadcast someone on what might be the worst day of their life?” But moments like these capture what we tolerate as a society, and giving the public a chance to reflect on them may be the best argument for keeping these shows on the air.