BATON ROUGE - On Wednesday, the EBR Metro Council approved a contract between the Baton Rouge Police Department and Half Moon Pictures, LLC. for the production of "On Patrol: Live," a television show that follows police officers on their daily duties.

BRPD Chief TJ Morse said the show will help the department recruit new officers and improve the department's branding.

"This is definitely an exercise in trust, and I ask that you're going to trust me," Morse said.

Morse said On Patrol: Live airs live with some pre-recorded segments. He said he controls where the cameras are, with which officers, and what makes it to air, but all footage shot is owned by the production company.

"I pick up the phone and say, 'Hey we don't want to share that,' and it gets shown anyway, if we're halfway through the shift, those cameras are coming out of the cars," Morse said. "The show is actually owned by Amazon, combed through by a bunch of Amazon attorneys used by every police department, the agreement is that it's their footage. They film it, so it is their footage. That is good for us, that means that footage is not FOIA-able, or a public records request."

He added that body camera video worn by officers could still be acquired through a public records request. Morse also said the company's standard practice is to delete video footage after 30 days.

"It's no secret we have a crime issue in the city of Baton Rouge, the parish of East Baton Rouge Parish, I don't know why we would want to amplify that on a national level," District 6 EBR Metro Council Member Cleve Dunn Jr. said.

Morse disagreed.

"The reality is that crime is down," Morse said. "I'm very excited about this prospect, how it'll push forward the branding and recruitment for the Baton Rouge Police Department."

The council approved the contract. Council members Amoroso, Harris, Hudson, Hurst, Moak, Noel, and Racca in favor. Dunn Jr. and Gaudet voted against. Kenney abstained from the vote. Adams and Coleman were absent.

"It will either move Baton Rouge forward, or we'll have a new police chief," Hurst said.