GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Police Department is set to be part of a documentary. Investigation Discovery is pulling back the curtain on the local police department with its new show, "All Access P.D.: Grand Rapids."
The executive producer, Gary Sherman, explained that he and his crew had complete access to everything in the department. He added that they had more than a dozen cameras set up throughout the building.
When asked if anything was censored, the answer was no.
“When I moved here two years ago from Chicago, trust in this police department was at an all-time low,” Chief Eric Winstrom said in the trailer.
ID released the trailer for Friday's new documentary series about the Grand Rapids Police Department.
“It's the deepest look into a police department that anybody will ever see,” Sherman said.
The eight-episode series' first episode focuses on the murder of a 15-year-old boy.
“Episode one is so emotional. We spent a lot of time with the family, and the detectives on that case were just tenacious,” Sherman said.
Sherman has been a filmmaker his entire life.
“I came up with the idea for 'The First 48' and 'The First 48: Missing Persons' and sold that to A&E. I was there for over three years working full time,” he said.
That show was based on the Chicago Police Department, where he met current Police Chief Winstrom.
“Eric observed what transparency did for the Chicago Police Department when we were there, especially for missing persons and special victims,” Sherman said.
Sherman and his crew, consisting of 20 to 40 people, spent 100 days in Grand Rapids.
“We could walk into the chief's office. We could walk into any meeting. We have cameras mounted in the detective division, so the detective division is being filmed 24/7,” he said.
He estimates they gathered 12 to 14 hours of footage each day.
“The chief and the deputy chiefs have had a few comments on the show, but nothing that really feels like censorship. We did have that from the Chicago Police Department,” Sherman said.
The first episode of "All Access P.D.: Grand Rapids" airs April 8 and will stream the next day on Max. The series will premiere new episodes weekly, each about an hour long.
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