CHECK OUT SOCIAL MEDIA most weekend nights and chances are you’ ll see someone talking about“ Live PD.”
That’ s because A & E’ s hit show frequently features the Jeffersonville Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’ s Office. Social media seems to thrive on drama and“ Live PD” offers plenty from right here in Southern Indiana.
The program follows police departments from across the country in real time as they patrol their communities. Think of it as live“ Cops” with minimal edits.
Even with showcasing as many as eight departments per three-hour episode, some officers stand out. But none get more attention than Sgt. Denver Leverett of the Jeffersonville Police Department.
Often referred to as“ The Human Lie Detector,” Leverett seems to play Jedi mind tricks on suspects he encounters on patrol. After a series of questions, he’ s uncovered a sawed-off shotgun, had a family admit to buying crack and correctly told a woman she has drugs in her bra – all on live TV.
“ When you’ ve had 17 years to perfect your craft, you’ re going to get good at it,” he says.“ It’ s like a game of cat and mouse. It’ s like a game of tag. It’ s verbal judo.“ The process of doing that is very rewarding.” So, is he just showing off for the cameras?“ I’ m going to do what I do whether they’ re there or not,” he says.“ They don’ t influence how I do my job.”
According to Leverett, it’ s all about his observations and approach. He notices sweating, shaking and lack of eye contact, all the while treating the suspect with dignity.
“ When I go up to a car, for the first 60 seconds I’ m just looking for criminal indicators,” he explains.“ If you talk down to people or belittle them, they aren’ t going to talk to you. If you treat them with respect, they’ ll talk to you.”
That’ s all well and good, but how does he get suspects to admit to crimes through what seems like a casual conversation?
“ The key to being the‘ Lie Detector’ is you have to be persistent,” he explains.“ I’ ll have to ask the same question two or three times in different ways. I’ ll do anything to get to the truth.”
He’ ll also throw out an exaggerated question like,“ You got five pounds of pot in your glove box?” only to have a suspect admit they have a smaller amount somewhere else. Jedi mind tricks, indeed. The man behind the badge Leverett says he’ s wanted to be a police officer since he was a boy – more specifically, a“ K-9 cop.” A graduate of Jeffersonville High School and Indiana University, he’ s part of a family with a long line of public service. Those connections helped him find his calling.
“ My uncle was the police chief, so as a young boy, I was able to ride with the K-9 Unit and volunteer my time,” he said.“ That’ s how I developed my passion.”
He joined the Jeffersonville Police Department in early 2001 and became part of the K-9 Unit within a couple of years.
They say when you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. That saying holds true for Leverett.“ I still enjoy coming to work 17 years later,” he says.
A big part of his passion is getting drugs off the street. For him, it’ s personal. He’ s had family and friends struggle with addiction, even resulting in death. Helping others avoid the same fate keeps him going.
“ I couldn’ t find a drunk in a bar,” he says.“ My passion is drug work. Narcotics is my bread and butter.”
Outside work he enjoys Crossfit and cheering on the Louisville Cardinals and Houston Texans.
Most important, though, are his wife and 2-yearold son.“ When I’ m off, you’ d never know I was a policeman,” he says. Paws down, he’ s a celebrity Chances are, even casual fans of“ Live PD,” know
Leverett’ s canine companion, Flex, who’ s been by his side for more than four years. The brindle Dutch Shepherd serves two purposes – narcotics detection and patrol.
How good is he at what he does? According to Leverett, Flex can find a quarter in an open field from the human scent it retains. Although drug traffickers try to conceal the scent of their cargo with a variety of aromatics few, if any, get past Flex’ s sniff.
His appearances on“ Live PD” earned him a visit to New York for an in-studio appearance with Leverett. The trip came complete with a first-class flight – Flex flew at Leverett’ s feet – and accommodations. Throughout their appearance, Flex calmly rested on a platform as his handler provided commentary along with the show’ s hosts.
According to Dan Cesareo, creator and executive producer of“ Live PD,” Leverett provided priceless perspective during his appearance.
“ The primary goal of‘ Live PD’ is to provide viewers a deep dive into what policing looks like across America and what officers encounter on a regular basis while patrolling their communities,” he said.“ It’ s been fascinating to watch how viewers engage with various officers featured on the series, and there’ s consistently a vested interest in how officers, like Sgt. Denver Leverett, work with K-9 units. It was a good opportunity to invite Sgt. Leverett and Flex to come in-studio last November to provide additional commentary and analysis from his unique perspective during the live show.”
Leverett also answered viewer questions during that episode. One tweeted about what type of food Flex eats. He replied with the name brand and found out the next week he’ d received a year’ s supply from the manufacturer.
That’ s not all Flex has received. Fans have sent collars, toys and even pig ears to Jeffersonville’ s most notable narc.
But when the day’ s over, he heads home with Leverett and transitions to a family pet.
“ When he’ s home, he’ s totally different. He’ s just a dog … a pet,” Leverett says.“ But when he sees me through the glass door, starting to put on my uniform, he gets excited. He knows every time I put on the uniform, we go to work or to train.”
APRIL / MAY 2018: EXTOL 89