Celebs shoot to thrill
Estrada, others sworn in as Muncie reserve officers
Associated Press
Associated Press photos
LaToya Jackson has firearms training as part of her instruction as a Muncie reserve police officer.
Erik Estrada and Jackson share a moment with a CPR doll as Wee Man and Trish Stratus laugh with them – or perhaps at them.
MUNCIE – Former “CHiPs” star Erik Estrada and other celebrities were sworn in as reserve officers of the city police department, allowing them to carry badges and guns, as part of a reality TV series.
About 200 people including residents, police officers and city employees packed into a Muncie City Hall auditorium Tuesday for the ceremony to swear in Estrada, LaToya Jackson, Jack Osbourne, Wee Man and Trish Stratus.
A producer coaxed the crowd into cheering loudly, and parts of the ceremony had to be repeated several times for the TV cameras.
“Roll call is at 6 o’clock,” Muncie Police Chief Joe Winkle told the celebrities. “Do not be late.”
Winkle had to say the line three times because the first was interrupted by audience applause and the second take was too quiet.
“Welcome to TV,” said Julie Link of Forman Productions. “Sometimes, we have to retake.”
The CBS show, “Armed and Famous” being filmed in Muncie, follows the celebrities as they enforce the laws as reserve officers with the city’s police department.
Estrada joked with the crowd that people may not recognize him as an officer because he would not be wearing his toupee.
He pulled up the back inch of his hairpiece and wiggled it, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Estrada carried a gun but rarely used it to stop bad guys in his 1970s TV police drama “CHiPs.”
He also appeared in VH1’s “Surreal Life” in 2004.
Osbourne, 21, son of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, was on MTV’s “The Osbournes.” Wee Man, 33, a 4-foot-7 skateboarder, gained fame on the MTV show “Jackass.”
Jackson, 50, a singer and sister of Michael and Janet Jackson, is a native of Gary, and Stratus is a former WWE professional wrestler.
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