Sunny Side Up

There’s been a handful of news stories recently involving problems involving police response to 911 emergency calls--including the local Aug. 27 tragedy in which four women were murdered, allegedly by one’s estranged husband, after the wife had made a futile 911 call requesting aid. But don’t look for those downbeat tales to be re-created on the CBS series “Rescue 911.”

“The problem stories would not make news if they weren’t as rare as they are--like plane crashes,” said Arnold Shapiro, who produces the hourlong series, hosted by William Shatner, that airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m.

Investigative reporting, Shapiro added, “is not our mandate.”

Selling the virtues of the 911 system clearly is: “We’re doing a positive, upbeat kind of thing that shows people at their finest. We’ve visited 50 911 bases across the country so far, and I can really say that almost without exception, we’ve seen people act with the utmost professionalism.”