WISCONSIN RAPIDS −The Wood County Jail will get national attention this month when an episode of A&E’s “Behind Bars: Officer Cam” airs.
After Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker and Jail Administrator Lt. Todd Ashbeck agreed to let the “COPS” television show film in the jail in September, a Florida Company, Lucky 7, contacted the Sheriff’s Office about allowing another show to come in to film, Becker said.
The company that filmed the “COPS” episode has not said when or if the episode will air, Becker said.
At first Becker and Ashbeck were hesitant about the second crew filming, but they watched some episodes of the “Behind Bars” show and decided to go ahead with it, Becker said. The company didn’t originally know that the corrections officers wore body cameras and expanded their coverage of the jail to include the “Officer Cam” episodes, Becker said.
“It’s a great opportunity to highlight the staff and the type of things they encounter on a daily basis,” Becker said. “It’s also an opportunity for people to get a look inside the new jail that Wood County built.”
The New York-based camera crew that did the filming was very professional and did a good job, Becker said. Becker said he thinks people who watch the episodes will get a good idea of how professional the Wood County corrections officers are as they handle their jobs.
Two “Behind Bars: Officer Cam” episodes will air back to back beginning at 7 p.m. July 23 on the A&E Network. The two episodes will feature footage from the corrections officers’ cameras, Becker said. There will be an additional program that will focus on corrections officers’ interactions with inmates, rather than body camera footage, but a date for the program hasn’t been released, Becker said.
Contact Karen Madden kmadden@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Wood County Jail to be featured on A&E’s ‘Behind Bars’ program in July
Reporting by Karen Madden, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune / Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
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By Karen Madden, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune | USA TODAY Network
