MIAMI, May 19 (UPI) — The Miami Police Department said is ending its long-running relationship with the A&E cable channel true-crime series “The First 48.”
Police Chief Manuel Orosa said the city’s contract with the show has expired and producers have not responded to a request they make a sizable donation to the Police Athletic League.
“We’re asking the show to donate monies to our P.A.L. program, to be spent in those communities where the show is being filmed,” Orosa said.
The Miami Herald said the suggested donation was $10,000 per episode.
“The First 48” began sending camera crews into the field with Miami homicide detectives in 2004. The show chronicles how the suspects in actual homicides are tracked down in the critical first two days of an investigation.
More than 240 episodes have aired on A&E, and the producers told the Herald they hoped to work out a new contract that would allow their working relationship with the MPD to resume.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
