How many times have you heard this phrase? “From around the world, across the country, from your own backyard; this is the reality of law enforcement today.”  
Ok, so maybe it’s not complete reality, but the stories are based in reality and most of the scenes are real and star the actual, original participants, but that is where it ends.  The refined versions of these wild stories that we actually see on shows like “Worlds Wildest Police Chases” are just that, refined, edited and otherwise altered for mass consumption.  Retired Sherriff John Bunnell would have you believe that the segments happen just the way he shows them, but if you pay attention, you will find that his version of reality is underlined with fantasy and (very) imaginative narration.  The show has undergone a few name changes with the most commonly known name, “World’s Wildest Police Videos” enjoying worldwide syndication.

As police surveillance technology is becoming more widely used, every day, “Shocking Moments” are frequently being caught on tape. These videos form the basis of popular reality TV shows such as “World’s Wildest Police Videos” (“WWPV”), “Cops”, and “America’s Most Wanted” (“AMW”). The programming can be split into two basic reality genres; one being serious, and the other being humorous. The serious side of this programming such as “World’s Wildest Police Videos”, and “Cops”, features various law enforcement agencies in assorted action shorts from heroic rescues to arresting violent suspects.  While most of the scenes are non-staged, some images and videos of these people are real time and real life; (in some cases), it’s the editing that warps the distinction.  “World’s Wildest Police Videos” is produced by Paul Stojanovich and hosted by retired Sheriff John Bunnell. The program evolved from an earlier Stojanovich production called “World’s Scariest Police Chases” and is similar to Stojanovich’s “Code Red” whichfeatures disaster footage, and a short series called “Shocking Moments”. Programming such as “America’s Funniest Home Videos”, “Real-TV”, and “Max X” (Maximum Exposure) show a more entertaining, and often humorous collection of non-staged, real life caught on tape videos.  The videos from these shows generally feature a surprise ending or just plain stupidity on the part of the participants and sometimes even the party or parties doing the taping of the actual event. Either way, these humorous videos are not normally expected to have been edited in order to create a certain result or sequence of events.

A red sports car speeds down rain-slicked streets, while retired Sherriff, John Bunnell informs the viewing audience that the occupants are dangerous and desperate criminals fleeing from the police.  Within minutes, the ever ready Police, “PIT” the suspect’s car causing it to spin out of control, resulting in a multi-car crash on what is usually (but not always) an open roadway.  The occupants of these other vehicles which have now been unnecessarily involved in this forced automobile collision due to no fault of their own, receive very little mention other than saying that they miraculously survived without any injuries.  Apparently, they also never sued the responsible criminal or law enforcement agency for damages.  After the now crashed red car skids to a halt, one suspect jumps from the car in an effort to escape, only to be hit by a pursuing police cruiser. The next scene shows the second suspect as he is violently pulled from the car and then thrown to the ground by a group of adrenaline rushed officers. The sequence ends with Bunnell’s recap: “They (the criminals) push it out here, and the law pushes back [shot of the police cruiser ramming the fleeing car] HARD!” [cut to scene of officers throwing the second suspect to the ground]. Thus, you have a typical car chase seen as shown on “World’s Wildest Police Videos”.

The PIT maneuver is a method, popular with police departments, by which one car pursuing another can force the pursued vehicle to abruptly turn sideways to the direction of travel, causing the driver to lose control and stop. The acronym "PIT" stands for either Precision Immobilization Technique or Pursuit Intervention Technique, depending on which police department is using it. Other names for the same maneuver are Tactical Vehicle Intervention (TVI), "tactical ramming," and "legal intervention."