You're welcome, and I didn't take it as snarky or naive, this is an area of law that a lot of people, fortunately, never have to get involved in. I was concerned that my explanation wasn't up to snuff; I'm on vacation in FL and suffering a summer cold. Fortunately, most people never get themselves into this kind of situation. Also, unfortunately, there are a tiny handful of the cops who don't understand the law, whether through a lack of knowledge or training or a willful ignorance.
I've never seen Live PD, so I can't speak to it. But Cops seems pretty straightforward, but the handful of interesting or exciting moments they capture on film are the distillation of hundreds of hours of riding around with officers, documenting all kinds of boring stuff just to get that tiny tip of the iceberg of what is interesting (or sometimes downright terrifying). Most police work, especially uniformed patrol officers, is being available and waiting for something bad to happen.
