Never Get Busted

NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL 2025 REVIEW! Directed by David Anthony Ngo and Stephen McCallum, Never Get Busted tells the extraordinary true story of Barry Cooper, a former Texas narcotics officer whose hunger for power and the thrill of the bust made him one of the state’s most decorated cops. His drive to be the best led him to seek out top officers across Texas to learn from them, and he elevated his game by training his own drug-sniffing dog. However, soon the veil of reality lifted from his eyes. When Cooper became involved in cop reality shows, he realized the true impact of what he was doing.

After a raid destroyed a family much like his own, he began to unravel, first emotionally, then spiritually. Seeking redemption, Cooper threw himself into Christianity and became a dynamic preacher at an adults-only church, only to become disillusioned after learning that his pastor was a fraud. The moral contradictions of his past and his role in the War on Drugs drove him into a nervous breakdown.

Cooper’s journey toward reinvention began when he met Candi, a marijuana dealer who showed him a world far different from law enforcement. Weed, he later said, changed his life. Their relationship quickly sparked an epiphany: he had been fighting on the wrong side. Fueled by guilt and a desire to expose the truth, Cooper began revealing the tricks of the drug enforcement trade and, with the help of a filmmaker, started filming his infamous video. From this idea, Never Get Busted was born—a viral, adults-only DVD teaching users how to hide their stash and avoid arrest. The success of the video turned Cooper into both a media sensation and an enemy of the state.

“When Cooper became involved in cop reality shows, he realized the true impact of what he was doing.”

As the backlash from law enforcement intensified, Cooper decided to fight back with the same tactics he once used as a cop. He began investigating police misconduct and exposing illegal searches, planted evidence, and false drug dog alerts. His next bold move was the creation of KopBusters—a rogue team that staged reverse sting operations to catch corrupt officers on camera and force them to account for their actions. The ultimate goal of the series was to expose corruption and bring attention to a woman who had been set up by officers who planted drugs on her, using the publicity to win her freedom. In turning his badge against his former law enforcement brothers, Barry Cooper transformed from a brutal lawman into one of the most unpredictable adversaries in the police ranks.

The greatness of Never Get Busted is its subject, Barry Cooper. Not only is he a dynamic storyteller, but he’s charismatic as hell. He’s a highly intelligent man who comes off as a bumbling idiot—think a weed-smoking Columbo. He speaks with excitement, passion, and remorse when reflecting on his past. Frankly, this should be a limited series.

The brilliance of Ngo and McCallum lies in somehow whittling down hundreds of hours of interviews and archival footage and producing a documentary that runs over two hours yet feels too short. The doc matches the same high energy that emanates from Barry Cooper himself.

Ultimately, Never Get Busted tells an impossible-to-believe true story. Cooper is a man like no other, who gets involved in unbelievable situations and ultimately puts his life on the line to do what is right. It’s a story that could only be told in the movies, and Cooper is the man writing that movie on the fly. This is a wild, unapologetic ride through one man’s transformation from law enforcer to outlaw truth-teller. It’s a story so unbelievable that if it weren’t true, you’d swear someone made it up for Hollywood.

Never Get Busted screened at the 2025 Dances With Films and the 2025 Newport Beach Film Festival.