Saturday Night Live’s Thirsty Cops are back, and wearing Baltimore Police uniforms again

Baltimore Police uniforms and the “thirsty cops” wearing them were back in action on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.

Two police officers, played by Ego Nwodim and “SNL” host RuPaul, berate cast member Pete Davidson in the sketch after pulling him over for “being a snack.” And like the last time we saw the “thirsty cops” — a similar sketch aired in 2018 — the officers’ uniforms are adorned with Baltimore Police patches.

In the four and a half minute sketch, RuPaul and Baltimore native Nwodim make sexually tinged comments toward Davidson after using his phone while driving.

“I apologize officers, I know I shouldn’t have been texting while driving,” Davidson tells the two.

“Yes, that’s right you are only permitted to use hands free devices,” Nwodim replied. “But with me you can be very hands on.”

The thirsty cops characters first debuted in October 2018 and drew criticism at the time from former Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 president Lt. Gene Ryan for how the officers were portrayed.

“It is a difficult time in Baltimore and to portray our brave, hard-working members with such an inappropriate manner is very unfortunate,” Ryan wrote in the 2018 letter to SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels.

It’s unclear why “SNL” chose to evoke Baltimore; other than the patches, there aren’t any other references to the city in the sketch. (Whether Kate McKinnon is attempting a Baltimore accent could be up for debate, though.)

Current FOP president Sgt. Mike Mancuso and NBC officials for “SNL” did not immediately respond to request for comment.

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An Oct. 13, 2018, sketch featured Baltimore native Ego Nwodim and Leslie Jones as police officers -- wearing Baltimore Police uniforms -- stopping Seth Meyers. It opens with the title “Thirsty Cops,” and let’s just say they are not thirsty for a beverage. The sketch returned in February 2020, this time with host RuPaul. (Will Heath/NBC)