Lakewood says ‘no,’ Pierce County says ‘not now’ to ‘Cops’ TV show

Shirtless drug dealers and domestic violence suspects in Pierce County won’t be featured on “Cops” this season. The County and the City of Lakewood are passing on the show and its publicity.

The sheriff’s office and Lakewood have been mainstays of the program over its 25 seasons, but they won’t be featured this year. Pierce County says it doesn’t have the people to handle filming. Lakewood says it’s not interested.

The News Tribune reports a producer made his pitch to the Lakewood City Council last month. It was quickly shot down. Councilmember Helen McGovern told the meeting, “While I appreciate that the police officers like watching it and might like being on it, we have a fine city and and a fine police department, and I don’t think we need this as a recruiting tool.”

While Lakewood appears to have closed the door, Pierce County is open to a return of the show, just not now.