‘Cops’ returns to Pierce County for its ‘Clueless’ episode

Pierce County deputies were back in the limelight over the weekend for the newest episode of “Cops.”

The “Clueless” episode aired Saturday night. For Pierce County law enforcement, it’s a privilege.

“I’ve worked with ‘Cops’ for years,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Detective Ed Troyer told Don O’Neill earlier this year. “We’ve done over 100 segments with them and we like having them here. Our guys like it. It’s great for morale.”

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Though some departments don’t want to be the center of attention, that isn’t the case over in Pierce County.

“We get people sending us emails from all over the country about how professional our guys are,” Troyer said. “We got guys that saw us on ‘Cops,’ applied, and now work for us.”

Troyer told the “Ron and Don Show” that the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office is quite different than a lot of other agencies that are on camera. The department covers several communities — from Mount Rainier to the Key Peninsula.

That’s not to say the department hasn’t passed on the opportunity to be on the show in the past. For example, the department took a pass on the show’s 26th season. That was because of a lack of manpower, Troyer told The News Tribune.

Around the same time the department made the decision to not join the reality television program, it was also reporting its lowest staffing levels in years. A study found the department was down to 179 deputies in 2013 and 2014. Staffing has since been slowly increasing. There were reportedly 184 deputies working for the department in 2015 and 189 for 2016.

Those staffing levels are still significantly lower than they were in 2007 when 235 deputies were working for the department.

In June, the department reported it wants to hire 72-82 new employees, including civilians, deputies, sergeants, and lieutenants.

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