US cop show Live PD has been cancelled in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests and amid claims they were filming when a man died in police custody.
The controversial TV series was only renewed for 160 episodes back in May, according to Variety, but US network A&E has now axed the series.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, A&E said: ‘This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD.
‘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.’
The cancellation comes after it was claimed Live PD’s filming team were present when 40-year-old Javier Ambler died in the custody of Texas police.
The footage, shot on 28 March 2019, saw Ambler being initially stopped by Williamson County Sheriff’s deputies, after failing to dim headlights for oncoming traffic, and then turned into a police chase.
Bodycam footage shot by police, which has since been released by Austin Police, saw dad-of-two Ambler declare he had congestive heart failure and ‘couldn’t breathe’ after being tasered.
An officer then repeatedly tells him: ‘Give me your hands or I’m going to tase you again.’
This isn’t the first time the police were on the scene of a death, with the team filming a fatal collision in May when a man suspected of dealing drugs crashed a car and killed his 15-year-old son.
On the news of the show’s axe, host Dan Abrams – who had previously vowed the show wasn’t going anywhere after similar show Cops was cancelled – took to Twitter and said: ‘To the loyal #LivePDNation please know I, we, did everything we could to fight for you, and for our continuing effort at transparency in policing.
‘I was convinced the show would go on. . More to come. . .’
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