#‘Paw Patrol’ latest show to incur anti-cop wrath on social media

They’ve come for “Paw Patrol.”
©Nickelodeon Network/Courtesy E

Not even the animated series “Paw Patrol” is safe from the online anti-police-show campaign that recently resulted in the cancellation of A&E’s “Live PD” and “Cops” on Paramount Network. The social-media backlash comes in the wake of nationwide Black Lives Matter protests over the death of George Floyd last month, which led to the arrests of four police officers.

The Twitter account behind the Nickelodeon-airing kids show, which depicts anthropomorphized pets doing various blue-collar jobs, had posted a tweet on June 2 in which it pledged to mute its content until June 7 “to give access for Black voices to be heard.”

However, the “Paw Patrol” proposal was swiftly shot down by the social-media masses, who proceeded to attack their German shepherd character Chase for his depiction of a police officer.

“Get rid of the cop or delete ur account,” fumed one critic in response, suggesting the canine should be canceled.

“Did you know that Chase has canonically turned off his body cam when approaching a black lab in a hoodie who later was found dead?” joked another in reference to alleged police cover-ups.

Another ranted, “Perhaps naming your main character police dog ‘chase’ is a bit tone deaf to the suffering of people who have actually been on the receiving end of dogs used as weapons by the police.”

However, others found the response a bit over the top. “Please don’t listen to the other comments; you guys are amazing and bring some happiness into such a crazy world,” said one “Paw Patrol” proponent.

Another chimed in, “Chase is a GOOD dog and only shows the kids the RIGHT way to be towards others. Paw Patrol is my boys’ favorite cartoon.”

“Paw Patrol” is not the only police series to find itself in the social-media hoosegow. This past week, “Monk” executive producer Tom Scharpling, hit Twitter to denounce his own show and others like it for contributing “to the larger acceptance that cops are implicitly the good guys.”

Both “Cops” and “Live PD” were scrapped by their networks this past week amid protests against police brutality. “This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we have made the decision to cease production on Live PD,” A&E said in a statement. “Going forward, we will determine if there is a clear pathway to tell the stories of both the community and the police officers whose role it is to serve them.

Although even some cop disbandment advocates found the police show purges a bit overzealous. “Ok, maybe you misunderstood what we were asking for . . .” quipped “Daily Show” writer Travon Free in a Tuesday retweet of a Variety article regarding the “Cops” cancellation.