Thomas Gounley

TGOUNLEY@NEWS-LEADER.COM

James Anthony Townsend — he goes by Tony — didn't watch his television debut on "Cops" Saturday night.

He wouldn't even have known he was going to be featured, he said, if a News-Leader reporter hadn't seen a trailer and reached out to him to see if he wanted to talk.

About the knife.

And the "onions."

And about being on the show in general.

"I'm not really happy with it," Townsend said Saturday morning. "I'm actually embarrassed."

But he agreed to talk after the episode aired.

It didn't really matter that Townsend got advance notice. He doesn't have cable in his new apartment, in the 900 block of South Jefferson.

The new place, Townsend said Monday after watching the episode on Spike's website, is a godsend.

"The first night I slept over here was the first night I slept well for five years," he said.

For the five years previous, Townsend, 53, lived in an apartment complex at 1400 South Campbell. In his opinion, the place was "nothing but thugs, drugs and bugs" and he said he frequently reached out to management and police regarding alleged illicit activity. Records show Springfield police have received more than 250 calls to respond to the address in the last two years.

In an interview with the News-Leader, Trent Jackson, co-owner of the apartment's property management company, disputed Townsend's description of the complex, expressed zero tolerance for illegal activity but said landlords are legally limited in what they can do with problem tenants. Jackson — of At Home Real Estate Services — also said the building has a new owner, and improvements are being made.

In Townsend's eyes, however, not enough was done when he was still living there. After years of frustration, he said, he was at his wit's end in the evening of July 3.

And that's when the production company that films the Spike TV show "Cops" showed up. What happened next aired for the first time Saturday.

The episode was the first of several airing this fall that will feature footage filmed in Springfield between June 24 and Aug. 27. Police Chief Paul Williams has said "the show is a front row seat to the types of incidents we are called to on a daily basis." This summer was the second time Williams allowed "Cops" to film in Springfield.

In an episode description, the show summarized Townsend's appearance as follows: "A knife-wielding man complains that rude neighbors won't stop smoking pot." It fails to mention — although Townsend's slurring in the video clearly communicates — that he was intoxicated, too.

"Yeah, I was tanked up, there's no doubt about that," Townsend said Monday.

The segment begins with two officers responding to the complex — previously known as Winter Park, it's now called Parkview Place — on South Campbell around 10:15 p.m. A woman reported that a man — Townsend — had shown up at her door with a knife in his hand, then returned to his apartment.

When officers approach Townsend, he complains that his downstairs neighbors frequently smoke marijuana outside. Townsend liked to sit on his porch, he said Monday, but was concerned about testing positive in an employment drug test. In the segment, he tells police he's been threatened and complains about other activity. Cigarette in hand, he speaks overly loudly. An officer turns to the camera and points at the "No peein' off the porch" sign next to Townsend's front door.

An officer asks why he approached his neighbors with a knife. Townsend's voice becomes more gentle.

"I wanted to ask them for onions."

The officer pauses. "I don't even see, I don't smell any food, any remnants of food," he says.

"Because I didn't have an onion," Townsend responds.

Asked Monday why he approached his neighbors with a knife, Townsend told a reporter "I wanted to finally put the fear of god in them," but said that he was just holding the knife, not using it in a threatening manner. He also said he had the knife because he was concerned about his safety, and that the marks on the neighbor's door — shown in the episode — did not come from his knife. After confronting his neighbors, Townsend said, he expected the police to be called, so he put the knife back inside his apartment and sat outside to wait.

Asked why he mentioned onions, Townsend responded: "I figured if they had that stupid of a question to ask, I'd give them a stupid answer."

The segment then shows an officer speaking to a man and a woman holding a baby — the downstairs neighbors Townsend confronted. The officer says he doesn't see any evidence of marijuana being smoked, but warns them not to do so, especially with the baby around.

The segment cuts back to Townsend, now handcuffed, being placed in a police car. He says "incognito" when he means "in cahoots." As he eases into the back seat, he begins to cry.

Describing his thinking at the time, Townsend said Monday: "I've been defeated here, for no real reason." After a 24-hour hold, Townsend said, he was allowed to leave jail and has not been contacted about the incident again. He does regularly check the warrants for the city and county, he said, just to be sure.

An arrest report provided by Springfield police this week provides additional details regarding the incident. An individual alleged Townsend had been creating problems earlier in the day on July 3. The individual said Townsend yelled at a male playing a stereo loudly in the parking lot, and that Townsend and the male threatened to fight each other. The male eventually drove off, and Townsend then confronted his neighbors.

A portion of the arrest report was redacted by Springfield police. Ultimately, however, an officer wrote that there "is no evidence that Townsend intentionally threatened anyone with a knife." But the officer concluded that "there is evidence to suggest that he was disturbing their peace" and "caused unwanted contact" with one of the neighbors by pushing him. The case was referred to a municipal prosecutor, who declined to press charges.

Townsend has encountered authorities before. He told a reporter he had two DWIs 20 years apart. The last one was in 2004, and he is still working on getting his license back. A check of Missouri court records did not turn up any significant criminal activity. Never married, no kids, Townsend said he grew up in St. Clair, Mo., and worked as a disc jockey in the Houston, Texas, club scene for 12 years. He moved to Springfield in 2004, and said "it's been a knock-around city since," and that there's "not a lot of opportunity here." He got his GED two years ago.

Townsend described himself as a resident advocate of sorts at the complex where "Cops" filmed him. Other residents came to him with their complaints, he said, which he'd then take to police or management — each of whom generally suggested contacting the other. The place is right across from Parkview High School, he noted.

Jackson, of the property management company, had watched the "Cops" segment when the News-Leader spoke with him Tuesday morning. The company, he said, doesn't "condone or authorize any sort of illegal behavior." Asked whether tenants should take complaints to his company or police, Jackson said a landlord has to go through the courts to deal with problem tenants, and that the process can take awhile.

"A police officer's path is much quicker," he said.

Asked if he was aware of complaints about alleged criminal activity at the complex, Jackson responded: "We've had some calls on it, but not anything we knew about specifically."

Online court records indicate that At Home is wrapping up a civil eviction suit with Townsend; a Friday hearing is scheduled regarding damages. Townsend said he moved to his new apartment at the end of August. Jackson said only that the civil proceedings are the result of "some infraction." Jackson also said that he met Townsend at least once some time ago and that he seemed "really nice."

"It seems like he was having a bad day when 'Cops' showed up," Jackson said.

The July 3 incident was right around the time that the building was transitioning to its new owner, who is "trying really hard to rebrand it," Jackson said. Additional lighting around the complex has been installed, and other changes incorporating an approach known as "crime prevention through environmental design" are being implemented.

"Our goal would certainly be for everyone to live in peace," Jackson said.

Springfield police spokeswoman Lisa Cox said that there were 255 calls to police for service from 1400 S. Campbell between Sept. 1, 2012 and Tuesday. Jackson said there are 52 apartment units in the complex.

If you see someone's face in an episode of "Cops," it means they signed a waiver authorizing their appearance. Townsend admits to signing that waiver. He was approached by a production company crew member immediately after being placed in the patrol car, and said Monday that he thought that maybe something good would come out of giving consent. He also mentioned that he had enjoyed watching the show in the past.

A day after signing, Townsend said, he thought about trying to take that consent back, but he didn't know how to do that, or if it was possible. On Monday, he said he still thought something good might come out of it.

There's less activity that concerns him in his new apartment complex, Townsend said. But even if there was more, he's focused on keeping to himself.

In an extra 3-minute interview posted by "Cops" online, Springfield Police Corporal Jim Cooney — one of the two officers involved that night — seems to sense Townsend's frustrations.

"The guy may have been just at his wit's end with all the activity down there ... and he may have become frustrated with any kind of response or what was being done by the property managers and police," Cooney says. "However, you still need to call us. If you want to go down there with us, then that's fine, but we need to be notified and on scene so something like this doesn't occur."

Townsend said he doesn't plan to watch his segment again.

But will he keep watching "Cops" in general?

"I have nothing against the people with 'Cops,'" Townsend said Monday. "I have no problems with them, I just didn't like the way the cops had to ... stir the pot and do what they did. Yeah, I'll watch it. It gets kinda stupid. I mean, I watch 'Jerry Springer' from time to time, so just whenever you get in that sick-twisted boat you gotta have something for entertainment."