Brewer police get own reality TV show

BREWER – An intoxicated man lurching on a sidewalk in front of a local motel. A female motorist arrested for driving without a license. A hapless guy summoned after snorting drugs at 1 a.m. What do these three incidents have in common? They all are depicted in the premiere of a local “real cop” television series featuring Brewer police officers at work.

“Busted: Life on the Streets With the Brewer Police” debuts at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 23, on local access Channel 2. The half-hour series also will be aired on public access stations in Portland and Baileyville. The show will run for a minimum of 10 weeks, and episodes premiering Sundays will be repeated throughout the week.

The reality cop show features less exciting material than the shootings and high-speed chases shown on nationally syndicated programs. Yet its creator, Ryan Hatch, 22, of Brewer sold the concept to Brewer Police Chief Steve Barker as a way to link the public to the daily workings of his 14-member police force.

Hatch, a senior at the New England School of Communications at Husson College, got the idea for the show while trying to complete a class requirement. A classmate, Josh Martin, 23, of Bangor edits the tape. Another classmate, Ryan Ociepka, 21, of Bangor occasionally helps with filming.

Media-police relations traditionally have not always been positive locally and nationwide, but Barker saw an opportunity and thought the timing was right, given the popularity of Fox’s syndicated program “Cops.”

“We agreed to it fully,” said Barker of the project. “It really was a good decision. I had no problem with the cameras going along with the officers.”

Barker had to place some limits on filming to protect the crew and innocent victims. He had one specific request about style. “I told them if they used ‘Bad Boys’ as the theme song that I would be upset,” Barker joked.

Hatch agreed to waive any liability to complete the project. He started riding with patrolmen on their nightly shifts about two months ago. During that time, he has seen Brewer’s men in blue – there are no female police officers in the city – do everything from counsel domestic violence victims to arrest a fleeing felon who possessed loaded guns in his vehicle.

“I had no idea this stuff happened in Brewer,” said Hatch, a 2000 graduate of Brewer High School.

A lot of times, the police are dispatched to mediate less colorful incidents than those occurring in big cities, but the show features their skills in diplomacy and dealings with the public at times when they don’t have to have guns drawn.

“You know, you see cops in L.A. and in Boston do all these dramatic things. It’s fun and entertaining. But I think people want to see their own police departments at work,” Hatch said.

The show’s mission reflects a desire to “give depth and understanding to the importance” of police work, Hatch said.

“With the budget cuts and low recruiting rates that our area has suffered, it is ever important to gain awareness in the community of the police departments,” Hatch said. “In an age of terrorist threat and impending war, we need to appreciate the men and women willing to protect our streets on a community level,” the show’s creator added.

Hatch and editor Martin hope to feature other local departments in the future and have approached Hampden, Veazie, Orono and Bangor with the idea.

The pair were welcomed enthusiastically by Barker in Brewer, who saw the series as a way to advertise the daily efforts of his department.

Barker said he talked with his officers and, “[t]hey were OK with it. They welcomed them [Hatch and Martin] with open arms. The guys know they do good work and they have no problem with others seeing what they do.”