‘Kops’ Win: Barry Cooper calls it quits on reality show
After 16 months of promoting the “KopBusters” reality show, former Texas narcotics officer Barry Cooper is closing up shop out of fear that the next police retaliation may be much more severe.
“I’ve been told by lawyers, my fans and many people who love me that the next thing they’re gonna do is plant drugs on me and send me away for 20 years, or kill me or my wife … I’m not going to let that happen,” he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
“We put so much of our life into something good,” Cooper continued. “We got Yolanda out of prison. I had so many plans for ‘KopBusters’. We were gonna get to the point where we were targeting federal agents, but then I did these bag drops and look what happened! So, I’m … I’m not doing any more cop stings. I’m still going to make noise. I’m still going to produce ‘Never Get Busted‘. I’m going to give speeches and I’m still going to run for office. But … I’m done with ‘KopBusters’.”
He first made the announcement during an April 9 episode of “This American Life” on National Public Radio, speaking with Texas Observer culture editor Michael May.
Emotion clearly audible in his voice, Barry confessed to the reporter: “I never would have done those bag drops if I’d have known it would-a led to this.”
Barry and Candi are still trying to regain custody of Candi’s 7-year-old son Zachary. He was taken by his father after Williamson County police raided the family’s home over an alleged misdemeanor and discovered less than a gram of marijuana. Though Child Protective Services closed the case and said there’s no reason to believe the Cooper’s kids are in danger, Zach’s father has not yet returned the boy and has made a number of allegations against Barry, mostly relating to the wildly exaggerated charges leveled by police.
A custody hearing in Upshur County, Texas is scheduled for Wednesday.
What’s next for Cooper? He’s got a few ideas but nothing too solid just yet. Given Barry’s track record, I think it’s safe to assume we’ll all be hearing more from the drug war’s top insurgent before too long.
To listen in on Copper’s “This American Life” segment, check out episode 405, available for streaming here. Cooper’s portion begins at 42 minutes. An MP3 is also available for download.
Meanwhile, keep an eye out for the April 30 edition of The Texas Observer. I’m told it will feature a rather interesting story.
My previous reporting (in chronological order) …
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This shows you what a police state we live in, at least in TX. Stephen, you didn’t mention this all was due to a raid on Barry’s house caused by a misdemeanor offense (his SUCCESSFUL attempt to show how dirty the cops really are). The entire war on drugs is a sham and especially the “war” on pot, which is a helluva lot less dangerous than alcohol, or even tobacco for that matter. What a screwed-up world we live in, eh? Appreciate your efforts, Barry. In your shoes I would do the same (or move to a more liberal state).
Definitely too bad. I always wanted to do a show like this… Never quite had the cajones to do it.
Barry is a nut…but he is what we need in America. Unfortunately police can be just as greedy and evil as the folks on Wall Street.
Nixon’s, Raygun’s, Clinton’s “War on Drugs” is a scam and another failed war effort.
Fuck cops. Cops suck
Williamson County is the most fascist county in Texas, and that’s saying a lot. If I were to set up stings showing cops behaving dishonestly, I would NOT want to live in the police state that is Williamson County. It is the home to the WORST Texas Nazis.
[...] WAR ON DRUGS: ‘Kops’ Win: Barry Cooper calls it quits on reality show Sad what the system does to someone whose trying to make amends for the 1000s of lives he ruined in his previous career. He dropped off bags with money in them, phoned in that they were drugs, then took note of which cops stole the money. False police report technicality aside, the people should be able to do whatever is necessary to ensure the integrity of our justice system. They took away his kid…. (tags: politics WarOnDrugs drugs freedom KopBusters AbuseOfAuthority OverlyHarshPunishments BarryCooper NeverGetBustedAgain raids ThisAmericanLife NPR TexasObserver marijuana ChildProtectiveServices custody children child TheTexasObserver police TrueSlant articles) [...]
[...] WAR ON DRUGS: ‘Kops’ Win: Barry Cooper calls it quits on reality show Sad what the system does to someone whose trying to make amends for the 1000s of lives he ruined in his previous career. He dropped off bags with money in them, phoned in that they were drugs, then took note of which cops stole the money. False police report technicality aside, the people should be able to do whatever is necessary to ensure the integrity of our justice system. They took away his kid…. (tags: politics WarOnDrugs drugs freedom KopBusters AbuseOfAuthority OverlyHarshPunishments BarryCooper NeverGetBustedAgain raids ThisAmericanLife NPR TexasObserver marijuana ChildProtectiveServices custody children child TheTexasObserver police TrueSlant articles) [...]
[...] Yes, of course you remember him. [...]