GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Police Department will soon be featured in an upcoming television series on the Investigation Discovery network, providing unprecedented access to the department's operations.
Police Chief Eric Winstrom presented the official trailer for "All Access PD: Grand Rapids" to the city's Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.
"As you are probably all aware now, we had the opportunity to be followed by a camera crew for about 100 days over this summer," Winstrom told committee members.
The eight-episode documentary series follows officers and detectives investigating crimes in Grand Rapids.
"This is the most access that a documentary film crew has ever had to a police department before," according to the trailer shown at the meeting.
Winstrom said he hopes the series will provide viewers with accurate insights into the department's operations.
"I hope that the people that live here see it and get a better idea of really how we do things, because I think it's going to open a lot of people's eyes to the reality, as opposed to the reputation that the police department's had in the decade or so in the past, certainly before I got here," he said.
The show will focus on open investigations, including the murder case of 15-year-old Amillier Penn.
"That was a very emotional case for me and a lot of people in the police department. It still is, and we're still seeking justice for his family. There's a $10,000 reward through Silent Observer that's available," Winstrom said.
According to the chief, most officers supported the production.
"They want the world to see the positive things that we're doing. And they're not afraid to be seen as human too because we know we're not perfect," Winstrom said. "This isn't a sort of fawning TV show of, you know, police cheerleaders. It's just showing what's actually going on. There's no script."
"All Access PD: Grand Rapids" premieres April 8 on Investigation Discovery and will be available for streaming the following day on MAX.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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