Series synopsis
Cops is an American reality television series that premiered on FOX on March 11, 1989. It was created by John Langley, Malcolm Barbour.
Follow real-life law enforcement officers from various regions and departments of the United States armed with nothing but with cameras to capture their actions, performing their daily duty to serve and protect the public.
Premise
Follow real-life law enforcement officers from various regions and departments of the United States armed with nothing but with cameras to capture their actions, performing their daily duty to serve and protect the public.
Cast and characters
Guest cast
Episodes
This series spans 20 seasons with 744 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 10 | November 4, 1989 | August 21, 2017 |
| Season 1 | 16 | March 11, 1989 | June 17, 1989 |
| Season 2 | 32 | September 23, 1989 | May 12, 1990 |
| Season 3 | 42 | September 15, 1990 | August 31, 1991 |
| Season 4 | 47 | August 10, 1991 | December 12, 1992 |
| Season 5 | 46 | August 15, 1992 | September 4, 1993 |
| Season 6 | 53 | August 7, 1993 | September 24, 1994 |
| Season 7 | 44 | January 7, 1995 | July 22, 1995 |
| Season 8 | 43 | July 29, 1995 | July 13, 1996 |
| Season 9 | 37 | August 31, 1996 | July 26, 1997 |
| Season 10 | 36 | October 25, 1997 | August 1, 1998 |
| Season 11 | 36 | December 19, 1998 | September 18, 1999 |
| Season 12 | 36 | October 9, 1999 | July 29, 2000 |
| Season 13 | 40 | December 2, 2000 | October 14, 2001 |
| Season 14 | 38 | April 6, 2002 | September 21, 2002 |
| Season 15 | 38 | May 4, 2002 | November 1, 2003 |
| Season 16 | 41 | April 26, 2003 | October 2, 2004 |
| Season 17 | 37 | May 15, 2004 | August 6, 2005 |
| Season 18 | 36 | September 10, 2005 | July 15, 2007 |
| Season 19 | 36 | September 9, 2006 | July 28, 2007 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Pilot Pilot |
November 4, 1989 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Greatest Moments |
|
| 3 | Episode 3 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Broward County, FL 1 In the pilot, officers from Broward County, Fla., are observed during one weekend. Included: a crack house is busted; suspected drug dealers are arrested. A raid on a home belived to contain drugs. Suspected drug traffickers are arrested at an airport; a body is found floating in a canal; and an officer discusses his relationship with a colleague. |
March 11, 1989 |
| 2 |
Broward County, FL 2 In Florida, Dep. Linda Canada responds to a domestic dispute; Sgt. Robert Deak runs a drug task force; "lost" drivers are found in a drug-trafficking area by Lt. Robert Rios and Dep. Willie Washington. |
March 18, 1989 |
| 3 |
Broward County, FL 3 Featured: segments on domestic problems, including a sibling brawl and a young mother who lives in a crack house with her child. |
March 25, 1989 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Portland, OR 1 The show moves to Portland, Ore., where narcotics agents from the Multnomah Sheriff's Dept. apprehend a drug dealer. |
September 23, 1989 |
| 2 |
Portland, OR 2 Sgt. Bunnell leads the Multnomah Sheriff's department on a drug bust; an unruly young prostitute is arrested. |
September 30, 1989 |
| 3 |
Portland, OR 3 A drunken woman threatens to burn a neighbor's house; a raid on a suspected drug house. |
October 7, 1989 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Minneapolis, MN 1 (3:35 PM Officer Assistance Call) A code 3 call comes in. Sgt. Larry Wilens responds to it on 46th street. The suspect is barricaded. |
September 15, 1990 |
| 2 |
Minneapolis, MN 2 - Rookies (Police Academy Survival Training Exercise) Cadet Mike Looney says to get out of the car with his hands in the air. He wanted to be a cop since he was a kid, maybe he's naïve ,but the fact you can help people is a noble position to be in. Officer Wes Edstrom supervises as he gets out of the car at gunpoint, cuffs and searches a guy. Mike is told to keep the back door open while searching them and put their feet back and head on the trunk to keep them off balance. When you go down to search don't go on your knees or they can kick you. It's looks good. |
September 22, 1990 |
| 3 |
Minneapolis, MN 3 - Women Cops (8:13 PM Domestic Disturbance) Third Precinct - They go into a backyard and there is a dirty white guy with a heavily stained shirt sitting there. He says he lives there, looks drunk and has trouble standing up They lead him around front to search him, find nothing, put him in the car and he flips out. He curses at them and says he didn't break any law and won't fully get in. The woman in the house says he's her brother. He's an alcoholic, one of the nicest guys when sober, but when drinking you stay away from him. |
September 29, 1990 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Kansas City 1 (MO - East Patrol) Officer Kevin Tempel describes the Crime Tips program. Kids come up to them and they give them baseball cards with Royals players on the front and crime tips on the back. They stopped it, but kids still asked so they reinstituted the program. He stops three kids and has them show their muscles and gives them some baseball. A drive-by shooting, suspected shoplifter, domestic call. |
August 10, 1991 |
| 2 |
Kansas City 2 (KS - 2:33 AM Assistance Call) Officer Zane Schuberger says it is a good town and the north end where he works is the place to be if you want to catch the bad guys - it has the most crime in the city. truck theft; DUI arrest of retired officer; drug bust. |
August 17, 1991 |
| 3 |
Kansas City 3 (MO - 7:45 PM) Officer Randy Poletis responds to a disturbance in a restaurant on Main St. by a drunk, belligerent man. When he goes in the man is sitting at a table reading the paper and the owner wants him out. He gets up but won't put his drink down. Randy and another officer force the drink down and take him out in the hall and search him. When they go to cuff him he fights and goes down on a couch and growls. A violent trespassing suspect; domestic disturbance turns into food fight. |
August 24, 1991 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | philadelphia,pa #3 | August 15, 1992 |
| 2 | philadelphia,pa #1 | August 22, 1992 |
| 3 | philadelphia,pa #2 | August 29, 1992 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville, TN #1 | August 7, 1993 |
| 2 |
Nashville, TN #2 In Nashville, Tennessee, female officers pose as prostitutes and a suspect is found sleeping in a stolen van. |
August 14, 1993 |
| 3 |
Nashville, TN #3 From Nashville, Tennessee, a man claims his stepson stole his truck and a man cuts himself during a seizure. |
August 21, 1993 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Los Angeles, California 13 Los Angeles, California, (10:37 PM Assistance Call) Suspicious person in the ally in the back of the bar, (10:00 AM Double Homicide Call) |
January 7, 1995 |
| 2 |
Los Angeles, California 14 In Kansas City, a suspect runs from police, officers are called to a trailer-park brawl and a domestic dispute. |
March 18, 1995 |
| 3 |
Los Angeles, California 15 In Los Angeles, officers make drug arrests, get called on a restraining-order violation and investigate a traffic infraction. |
May 30, 1995 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Tampa, Florida From Tampa, Florida. Police set up a sting operation, a man is asleep in the road, officers investigate a possible suicide and gunfire. |
July 29, 1995 |
| 2 |
COPS - Tampa, Florida From Tampa, Florida, police set up a drug sting, investigate stolen snakes and a auto-theft ring. |
November 18, 1995 |
| 3 |
COPS - Dallas, Texas In Dallas, Texas, a drug-suspect leads officers in a chase, a body is found, officers investigate a child-protective case and a noise complaint. |
December 2, 1995 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Miami, Florida From Miami, Florida. A motorist refuses to pull off the road, officers investigate a car theft and a suicide attempt. |
August 31, 1996 |
| 2 |
COPS - Miami, Florida From Miami, Florida. Officers investigate a video-store robbery, the canine unit finds a suspect and a man attacks an officer. |
September 7, 1996 |
| 3 |
COPS - Boston/New City COPS ""Boston/New City"", Episode #908. Boston area features police and a knife-wielding man; a car theft; a parachuting stunt and an armed suspect. |
November 2, 1996 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Las Vegas, Nevada COPS Episode #1001 from Las Vegas, Nevada. Calls include a stolen van; a methamphetamine bust and suspicious suspects are questioned. |
October 25, 1997 |
| 2 |
Las Vegas, Nevada From Las Vegas, Nevada. Police deal with a violent woman, officers break up a street quarrel and a burglary suspect wanders the streets wearing only a towel. |
October 11, 1997 |
| 3 |
Las Vegas, Nevada From Las Vegas, Nevada. Police get called to a domestic dispute, a security guard gets caught with drug paraphernalia and a vehicle search yields a loaded gun. |
March 14, 1998 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Atlanta, Georgia From Atlanta, Georgia. A drug dealer is questioned, a dispute erupts between transients and a car thief is caught sleeping in a stolen van. |
December 19, 1998 |
| 2 |
COPS - Atlanta, Georgia In Atlanta, Georgia, police catch a car-jacking suspect, a minivan catches fire and officers catch a robber posing as a parking-lot attendant. |
January 9, 1999 |
| 3 |
COPS - Atlanta, Georgia From Atlanta, Georgia. Police chase a suspect through a park, pursue a stolen vehicle and recover a ditched loaded weapon. |
January 16, 1999 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Indianapolis, Indiana In Indianapolis, Indiana, a suspect breaks a police blockade, a speeder carries pot and parents lock out their children. |
October 9, 1999 |
| 2 |
COPS - Indianapolis, Indiana From Indianapolis, Indiana: Police are called to a robbery scene, Deputies respond to a teen who overdosed on pain medication and officers with a search warrant find cocaine. |
December 11, 1999 |
| 3 |
COPS - Indianapolis, Indiana From Indianapolis, Indiana. A fleeing suspect leaves marijuana in the car, a driver crashes into a telephone pole and a foul-mouthed suspect quarrels with a landlord and harasses his tenant. |
December 18, 1999 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Jacksonville, Florida From Jacksonville, Florida. Stories include officers with a drug dealer, a stolen vehicle and a burglary. |
December 2, 2000 |
| 2 |
COPS - Jacksonville, Florida From Jacksonville, Florida. A neighborhood resident complains of male prostitution and officers remove a snake from a woman's home. |
December 16, 2000 |
| 3 |
COPS - Jacksonville, Florida In Jacksonville, Florida, officers search for missing marijuana, a man says his girlfriend's father damaged his belongings and a man denies assaulting a woman. |
January 6, 2001 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Palm Beach, Florida In Palm Beach, Florida, a man threatens to kill people at an car rental company when they refuse to rent him a car and a driver throws something out a vehicle window that draws suspicion. |
April 6, 2002 |
| 2 |
COPS - Palm Beach, Florida From Palm Beach, Florida. Police chase a suspicious man who was loitering in a parking lot and get called to a domestic dispute at a mobile-home park. |
March 23, 2002 |
| 3 |
COPS - Coast To Coast A naked man is covered in blood, police find a nude couple in a truck bed and officers are involved in a high-speed chase. |
November 10, 2001 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Coco the Clown A police office goes under cover as a clown to nab suspected prostitutes; police deal with some unusual criminals. |
May 4, 2002 |
| 2 | Mardi Gras 2002 Pt 1 | May 18, 2002 |
| 3 | Mardi Gras 2002 Pt 2 | May 18, 2002 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mardi Gras 2003 | April 26, 2003 |
| 2 | Bad Girls - Mardi Gras | May 10, 2003 |
| 3 | Rescues | September 13, 2003 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Mardi Gras 2004 Pt 1 (7:20 PM Roll Call) Sgt. Al Miller gives the rules about flashing. A man dressed as a pirate flashes his penis and gets arrested. A female impersonator is caught showing it's breasts in front of the club it works at. Dave claims a woman stole $100 from him for beers and started fighting. It takes five cops to arrest him and he is bleeding profusely from his head. (10:43 PM Lewd Conduct) A drunk couple is caught having sex in the street. The guy is from Chicago, so doesn't know better. (10:58 PM Assault Call) A girl spit on a doorman and gets arrested. She did it because she says he was rude and mean to her and can't believe she is going to jail. (11:34 PM Plainclothes Operations) A big fat black guy is caught running a three card monty table. He tries to run and gets caught and lies that he didn't know it was illegal, even though he had a lookout who is also busted. (12:09 AM) A Mexican man with blinking earrings is arrested for peeing in the street. He says he knows his rights. His friend is busted too. 5/15/04 |
May 15, 2004 |
| 2 |
COPS - Mardi Gras 2004 Pt 2 (10:23 PM Fight in Progress) 8th District - Officer Patrick Rose and Leon Benoit III patrol looking for pick pockets, drunks and lewd conduct. Watch out for fights and hopefully no one gets hurt.. Two guys are arrested for fighting. One is cut loose and the other is drunk and was just looking for a fight. (10:51 PM Task Force Street Patrol) A guy says a man was trying to grab his sister and he pushed him away. The guy gets arrested for battery since he touched her without permission. A guy from Canada is also arrested for showing his ass. (11:31 PM Fight in Progress) Three guys are fighting in a tiny bar. One guy stuck his hand up a girls' skirt and then hit her boyfriend and his friend started pounding him. They are arrested for assault & battery plus lewd conduct. Before they finish a big black guy started a fight in the club right next to them and gets arrested outside. (11:19 PM Suspicious Activity) A drunk white guy tries to put pills in girls drinks and then get them back to his hotel. (11:52 PM Fight in Progress) A crazy black guy is arrested and starts spitting in cops faces after being thrown out of a bar and banks his head against the walls. (12:01 AM) The crew of blue cleans the streets. |
May 15, 2004 |
| 3 |
COPS - Coast to Coast 67 (New Orleans, LA - 9:22 PM Disturbance Call) 8th District - Officer Patrick Rose and Leon Benoit III say there is great camaraderie especially when backup is needed. God forbid a 108 officer down, comes in, but you'll see great support. They respond to the call of drunk, violent guy at a bar on Decatur St. A black guy is sitting at a table in a Bob Marley Exodus shirt grooving to the music and being crazy. He won't listen to the police so they spray him in the face with tons of mace to no avail. Officer Blake Munster helps out and make the man drop his glass. He then goes into the bathroom and does karate moves. They spray him again and again and he only gets crazier. Six officers jump him and knock him into a wall, cutting his head open. Officers are choking from the mace as they wash the suspect's face with water, cuff him and take him to a charity hospital. Jacksonville - Zone 5 - Officer Jaime Eason thrives on chasing people, never knows what's next and because of that loves coming to work. (9:32 PM Assistance Call) A guy is driving with his girlfriend and her mom Becky. Mom wants the $40 she owes her and they get out. Becky tries to back up and run them over and chases them into a ditch. Officer George Haake points out skid marks down the road. Becky says she just drove next to her daughter to talk to her. They put Becky in the back of the police car and she is arrested for domestic aggravated assault. Riverside County CA - Jurupa Valley Station - Deputy Chris Barajas says the most important thing is self evaluation. (11:41 PM Fight Call) A father hit his daughter. Ray says some guy came into his yard and tried to slug him so he hit him hard. Chris checks him for weapons and puts him in his car. Mom says Ray attacked her daughter and her neighbor Robin called it in. She is at house #4254 and they go to see her 20 year old daughter. She says she was drinking and Ray attacked her when she went to his house to get some weed. He then pulled her into the house by her hair, tried to give her speed and rape her. She hit him and ran out claiming doesn't do speed and has a three year old son. Deputy Richard Birmingham arrests him. 17th Season Opener. AKA Funny Side of COPS Special Edition. |
September 11, 2004 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Coast to Coast In the 18th season premiere, deputies Marc Taub and Joseph Ensminger of the Travis County, TX, Sheriff's Office question the residents of a home that has been burglarized and we learn that someone went into the house and completely trashed it. However, there is no sign of forced entry and nothing is missing from the property. The complainant and his friend, who appear inebriated, explain that they think they know who did it, and they believe it occurred because they would not smoke enough pot with him. Deputies take fingerprints from an article in the kitchen and advise the residents to be careful about whom they hang out with. In another segment, Corporal Bev Genevish, Officer James Presley and Lt. J.T. Strickland of the Gwinnett County, GA, Police Department investigate a call about a car hitting person riding a bike. At the scene, the driver's car has run off the road, and while the vehicle's windshield and hood are both damaged, the driver claims to have no memory of hitting anyone. As the investigation continues, a bloodied young boy stumbles toward officers, but the injury has impaired his memory and he cannot remember how it happened. |
September 10, 2005 |
| 2 |
Coast to Coast When Detectives Rudy Reynoso and Juan Gonzalez of the Las Vegas, NV, Metropolitan Police Department respond to a call regarding the discovery of a human skull in a local park, they conduct an extensive and cautious search. With the assistance of a forensic anthropologist, they find additional human bones and discarded clothing in the immediate area. After an exhaustive day, the remains are identified when the serial number from a cell phone is traced to a man who has been reported missing. Another segment featuring the Las Vegas, NV, Metropolitan Police Department follows Officer Christopher Curtis responding to a domestic disturbance call. At the scene, the officer interviews a woman who claims that her unstable ex-boyfriend tried to break into her apartment. The ex-boyfriend confirms the woman's account and eventually comes to the emotional realization that he loves a woman who does not feel the same. |
September 10, 2005 |
| 3 |
Coast to Coast Officers Judy Abercrombie and Diane King of the Gwinnett County, GA, Police Department respond to a domestic disturbance call from a local motel. As the officers approach the motel, they encounter a man and woman arguing in the parking lot. At the scene, the woman slaps the man after catching him a truck with another woman. Meanwhile, the emotional female is accused of running the man down and officers investigate further. Also featured is Deputy David Jones of the Maricopa County, AZ, Sheriff's Office, responding to a call where a male suspect has consumed large amounts of methamphetamine intravenously. While the incredibly altered, sweating and shaking suspect claims he's searching for a higher power, paramedics are called to the scene. |
September 17, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
COPS - Coast To Coast COPS from Palm Springs, CA.; Chattanooga, TN; and Palm Beach County, FL. This episode features a deputy who pulls over a vehicle after which the driver runs and is tazered; a female bicyclist runs a stop sign and is stopped and after a search, drugs are found; and a man is arrested on a warrant for suspicion of sexual battery. |
September 9, 2006 |
| 2 |
COPS - Coast To Coast COPS from Palm Beach County, Florida; Riverside County, CA; and Martin County, Florida. Stories include a vehicle stop that connects up to a major traffic accident which involved a bicyclist, and police respond to a domestic violence call. |
September 9, 2006 |
| 3 |
COPS - Coast To Coast COPS: From Palm Beach Florida and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. This episode's stories include an intoxicated man and three deputies; and a high speed chase in Pittsburgh. |
September 16, 2006 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | FOX |
|---|---|
| First aired | March 11, 1989 |
| Last aired | June 12, 2026 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Status | Returning Series |
| Schedule | Friday |