FORT MYERS, Fla. — Fort Myers City Council voted unanimously to allow the hit TV show 'Cops' to film in Fort Myers once again.
During Monday's city council meeting, Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs said his main reason to push for the show's return is to recruit officers to the city.
The Fort Myers Police Department was last featured on 'Cops' in 2017.
"We are having a very tough time recruiting," said Cheif Diggs.
However, there were concerns brought forward by several council members.
Councilman Fred Burson voiced concerns on the show putting Fort Myers in a negative light, but others argued it would be a good opportunity to showcase the work the police department does.
During an earlier interview, Councilman Kevin Anderson said it would be an excellent way to show the tremendous job the department has down to drive crime down.
“It’s not like people think there’s no crime here and then they see Cops and say oh my god there is crime there. No, I think people realize crime is a fact of life, but what it does show is how aggressively our police department is attacking crime,” said Anderson.
Councilman Anderson is a former Fort Myers Police officer.
Councilman Anderson believes this will also give the community an accurate look at what officers actually do and not what is displayed in movies.
"In some cases, it made our job harder because it's like 'well they did it in that movie, they did it in this movie,' well this actually shows people true life and what it's like to be a police officer," said Anderson.
Cheif Diggs said the police officers "feel excellent" about being part of the show.
He added that he would have the opportunity to review footage before it makes it onto the show.
