‘Cops’ wants Fort Myers — but does city want show?

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The long-running TV show “Cops” wants to film in Fort Myers again, but at least one City Councilman isn’t sure it’s a good idea.

The City Council will vote Tuesday whether to allow the show to partner with the Fort Myers Police Department as it’s done multiple times in the past, most recently in May 2015. Councilman Johnny Streets expressed reservations about the idea in a recent interview with The News-Press.

“From a professional standpoint, until we do better with relations between the community and police department, I probably wouldn’t do it right now,” Streets said, with a sigh.

Improving ties between the force and city residents has been a key thrust of Chief Derrick Diggs, who took over in August. He began a series of community forums and credited a new gang-suppression unit that gathers intelligence from residents for preventing “probably about five mass shooting incidents” over a two-month span.

It comes in the wake of the Club Blu mass shooting in July that left two dead and 18 others injured, and the October 2015 Zombicon shooting that killed one and hurt five more. Both are among several unsolved crimes that have taken in the city place since “Cops” last filmed here.

Along the way, Fort Myers gained a reputation as a dangerous place.

“It’s got a bad rap, this area,” Fort Myers resident Betty Dratwa said.

Dratwa isn’t high on the idea of “Cops” beaming images of police activity in Fort Myers around the country, believing it would deepen negative perceptions and hurt local real estate, businesses and investments.

“I mean you see that on national TV, who’s going to want to come and buy property here or open a business?” Dratwa said. “Or even vacation?”

Cape Coral resident Samantha Lloyd was going to move to Fort Myers before others pointed to the crime and talked her out of it. But she thinks “Cops” could help Diggs and his officers accomplish their goals.

“Maybe it would be good for them to, you know, show what cops have to go through, and maybe people will respect the cops,” Lloyd said.

Streets said Monday he doesn’t know whether he’ll vote for or against having “Cops” in the city and refused to elaborate further. Mayor Randy Henderson didn’t respond to a request for comment.