The actor's relationship with the sheriff's office began about 20 years ago when Seagal was shooting a movie locally. According to Seagal, then-Sheriff Harry Lee asked him to teach some of his officers martial arts.
"He was so pleased with what I was doing he asked me to come onto the force and be one of his cops," Seagal recalled in one episode.
As the actor speaks, a black-and-white photo of him raising his right hand in what looks like a swearing-in ceremony appears on the screen, creating the impression it was taken when he first joined the department. At closer inspection, however, it appears the photo was taken 20 years -- and at least 20 pounds -- after the fact.
Seagal says he attended a police academy in Los Angeles and has a certificate from Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST), an organization that accredits police officers. POST officials in California and Louisiana said they had no record of Seagal being certified.
Attempts to reach Seagal were unsuccessful and a spokesman for the show did not respond to queries about his qualifications.
I'm waiting for Jean Claude van Damme to be brought down by Seagal.
Sorry but I just keep laughing at how much weight Seagal has packed on.
I noticed that too. They also drive around in unmarked Explorers instead of marked patrol cars. I get the feeling that the cops riding around with Seagal are normally pencil pushers and this is more action than they've seen in a while.Its been years since I had seen COPS, but it looked like an episode from it. Except for the squad. It looked like The Closer, or the last years of In The Heat Of The Night, all chiefs and no ordinary troops.
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