Live from Jeffersonville P HO TOS B Y E L L IE S C H U L E R
Sgt. Denver Leverett and Flex are reality stars that fight the ‘bad guys’ BY HOL LY H UF F M A N “I’ll be straight up,” Sgt. Denver Leverett of the Jeffersonville (Indiana) Police Department admitted. “I got into the business to lock up bad guys.” Fans of the television show “Live PD” can certainly attest that Leverett is adept at getting the so-called “bad guys.” Leverett and his black and tan K9 cohort, Flex, have become a standouts on the hit A&E Network reality series that follows several police departments from around the country in real time. “Live PD” premiered in October 2016 and has steadily grown a fan following. Currently, it’s one of the top-rated cable shows on Friday and Saturday nights (its March 23 episode drew over 2 million viewers according to The Nielsen Company). Its premise is simple:
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follow police officers from all around the country in real time as they do their job. The show typically highlights six or seven departments each airing. The Jeffersonville Police Department joined the show’s law enforcement lineup in April 2017. While other police departments have come and gone from the show due to a perceived negative light it can shine on a community, the administration at the Jeffersonville Police Department has been supportive throughout the show’s run, citing its transparency. Flex and Leverett’s path to becoming a celebrity crime-fighting duo began simply because Leverett volunteered to appear on camera to represent his department. And, as viewers watched the tough-but-kind officer and highly trained K9 work together,
it didn’t take long for them to gain a legion of followers. One reason? Leverett’s uncanny ability to determine whether someone he is questioning is telling the truth — earning him the nickname “human lie detector.” Many times, Leverett can get potential suspects to confess within minutes due to his direct, no-nonsense interrogation style honed over 17 years of experience as an officer.
BORN TO BE A POLICE OFFICER
Leverett grew up in Jeffersonville and graduated in 1995 from Jeffersonville High School. In 1999, he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Indiana University. While at IU, he interned with the Jefferson County Police Department in nearby Louisville.