The series is based on real-life Los Angeles Police Department officer William Norcross. Norcross moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and joined the department in his mid-40s.
At the start of each shift the rookies draw their equipment from the Kit Room. They pull two bags of gear, one for each officer. They also draw two shotguns, one black and the other has parts that are green. The green one is designated for non-lethal ammunition, like beanbag rounds.
Radio Assignment of Police Radio Car follows a distinctive code: for example "1Adam12" (1A12). 1 is indicative of Central Division; Adam or A shows that the car is a two-officer basic patrol unit; and the number 12 is the unit number or beat assignment.
When Patrol Officers mention terms such as P1, P2, and P3 and other ranks it refers to the following:
- Recruit Officer: Police Academy Training.
- Police Officer I: On Probation.
- Police Officer II: Off Probation, and stay at rank until Retirement.
- Police Officer III: Field Training Officer, Vice, Metro.
- Detective I: Basic Detective.
- Detective II: Supervising Detective.
- Detective III: Detective Squad Supervisor.
- Sergeant I: Field Supervisor.
- Sergeant II: Assistant Watch Commander (supervises sergeants).
- Lieutenant I: Watch Commander.
- Lieutenant II: Officer In-Charge (Vice Unit/Detectives).
- Captain I: Patrol Commander.
- Captain II: Commanding Officer (Traffic/Training).
- Captain III: Area Commanding Officer.
- Commander: Bureau Boss.
- Deputy Chief: BIG bureau boss.
- Assistant Chief: Highest Ranking Uniformed Officer.
- Chief of Police: Appointed by Mayor.
- Police Commissioners: Five Civilians appointed by Mayor to oversee the Chief.
Stanton said when the camera goes back on, the recording goes back two minutes. According to the Axon Body Camera manual, the feature is known as pre-event buffering , which can be configurable in 30 second increments for up to 120 seconds (two minutes). When enabled, video from the selected amount of time prior to the user starting a camera recording is included in the final video.