TUCSON – A new TV show, “Desert Law,” is another in the genre of police shows where camera crews follow cops on their beat. The show features sheriff deputies in Pima and Pinal counties. Much of the action for Pima County is in metro Tucson.
It’s a mystery as to why locales across the nation participate in such shows, as it puts them in a bad light by spotlighting their worst side, thus countering the image carefully crafted by the local Chamber of Commerce and tourism bureau.
I watched the show yesterday for the first time. In one scene, a drug addict is filmed being arrested for drug possession on the southside of metro Tucson. A deputy asks him why he keeps taking drugs and whether he has considered getting help for his addiction. The guy responds, “I’ve lived in Tucson since the 1980s, when it was a nice town, but it has become a tough, tough place.”
Another scene: A deputy is called to the site of a pedestrian fatality on Valencia Rd. near Casino Del Sol. A homeless guy from a nearby encampment had walked in front of a car, which, sadly, is a frequent tragedy in metro Tucson. The driver then drove a couple of blocks to the casino parking lot and called 9-1-1, saying he struck something but didn’t know what. His windshield was crushed, and he was tested for impairment and found to be DUI.
Another scene: A deputy is called to a godforsaken part of Pima County southwest of Tucson, to a dispute between two guys who looked as if they hadn’t bathed in a month, at a dilapidated mobile home surrounded by barren dirt.
Two other scenes showed a sheriff deputy finding couples copulating in cars in the parking lots of parks closed for the night.
To make the region look even worse, outside temperatures are flashed on the screen during episodes shot in the summer. In one episode, the temperature was shown as 110 degrees, as if that’s the norm.
At least the City of Tucson stopped participating in a similar reality show, either at the city’s request or due to being disinvited by the producer. Years ago, it participated in the crime show “The First 48,” which follows homicide detectives as they try to solve murders. Only three or four episodes were filmed in Tucson.
Thank goodness!
In one episode, a homeless guy is found murdered under a bridge in a wash full of trash and graffiti. In another, a taxi driver is robbed of a few bucks and fatally shot in center city by three lowlifes, a twenty-something guy and two twenty-something women. The killers are later arrested at a seedy apartment complex near Speedway and Alvernon. Scenes filmed inside the police station and inside interview rooms are striking for how shoddy and rundown the facility looks.
I don’t know what Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and his deputies get out of being featured on “Desert Law.” On a positive note, maybe it builds esprit de corps within the department, and maybe the producers pay for access and the money ends up in the county’s coffers.
On a negative note, the sheriff seems to be at odds with the Chamber’s goal of marketing Tucson as a good place to live and work. Spotlighting the dark side of Tucson is analogous to homeowners who try to sell their house by posting photos of everything that is wrong with the place.
Mr. Cantoni can be reached at [email protected].
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