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State Rep. Regina Goodwin speaking at Tulsa City Hall in opposition to Mayor G.T. Bynum’s approval of A&E’s “Live PD.” | Photo by Nehemiah D. Frank
Published 01/15/2020 | Reading Time 1 min 0 sec
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The mayor of Tulsa says he sees benefits in having A&E’s “Live PD” filmed in the city despite opposition from some local leaders and lawmakers.
Mayor G.T. Bynum told the Tulsa World the show that films police officers around the country responding to calls allows residents see for themselves what officers deal with.
“I have seen in the last year how two people viewing one police encounter can have completely different understandings of what that encounter was,” Bynum said. “And I think that every Tulsan ought to be able to, if they want to, to see what our officers have to deal with and view it from their own perspective, not rely on what somebody else told them through their perspectives.”
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City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, state Sen. Kevin Matthews and state Reps. Regina Goodwin and Monroe Nichols sent a letter to Bynum last week to end the city’s contract with A&E, calling it “racist” and “discriminatory.”
“The renewal of this contract is a blight on our city, citizens and police force,” the letter states. “It profits a private entity at the expense of the humanity and trust of communities most directly impacted by policing and must be terminated immediately and permanently.”