“CHiPs” star Erik Estrada’s real life has imitated his art.
The 75-year-old actor, who will debut the second season of his faith-based home improvement show, “Divine Renovation,” rose to fame playing motorcycle cop Francis Llewelyn “Ponch” Poncherello on the hit police drama TV series ‘CHiPs” from 1977 to 1983.
While still working as an actor, Estrada fulfilled a childhood dream when he became a reserve police officer in Muncie, Indiana. He later became a deputy sheriff in Virginia, where he joined the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Estrada reflected on his career in law enforcement, which he launched in 2008 when he began working the late-night shift at the Muncie Police Department.
FROM TV TO REALITY: ‘CHIPS’ STAR ERIK ESTRADA SWORN IN AS RESERVE POLICE OFFICER IN IDAHO
“For three years. I stayed with them,” Estrada said. “And then I say, ‘You know what? I’m too old to be pulling cars over at night, going in the bars, knocking on doors during domestic disturbance calls and doing all this at my age.”
Along with concerns about his age, Estrada said his police work became complicated because he was frequently recognized as “Ponch” when he responded to calls.
“Every time I come out of the situation, I got people wanting pictures and autographs,” he said. “I can’t do that anymore.
“Then I figured somebody was going to mess my hair up real bad at 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning because I used to work graveyard, so that I can get away from being in the daylight,” Estrada joked.
While he was still working as a police officer, Estrada said he became involved with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, where former Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown told him about the department’s work as an ICAC task force.
WATCH: ‘CHIPS’ STAR ERIK ESTRADA EXPLAINS HOW HE USES FAKE IDENTITIES TO CATCH ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL PREDATORS
“I got exposed to child internet pornography,” Estrada recalled. “I got so upset when I saw what I saw because my daughter was 7 at the time. It really upset me. And then I got angry. Made me mad.
“Then I said to the sheriff, Mike Brown, I said, ‘Sheriff, if I leave tonight, I would like to leave Muncie, Indiana PD and work to do this work. And he said, ’Well, give me a year to train you. And I’ll check your schooling and what you’re doing over there.'”
Estrada said he joined the Bedford Country Sheriff’s Office as a full-time sheriff and ICAC, where he worked undercover for eight years using the internet and online technology to catch child sexual predators.
In 1998, ICAC was formed as a response to the proliferation of online child pornography and the rise of criminals who were using the Internet to target minors for sexual exploitation.
According to the department’s website, the Bedford Country Sheriff’s Department was one of the first 10 local law enforcement agencies tapped to work as an ICAC task force, covering Virginia and West Virginia.
Estrada told Fox News Digital that the grooming and abduction of children by criminals who first made contact with the victims online was accelerating at the time he joined the force. He said minors were ill-prepared to defend themselves against online sexual predators.
“Nobody was educating our children on what not to do on the internet,” Estrada said. “How not get groomed and taken, what you shouldn’t be doing. Giving out personal information, making contact physically with these people that you think are your, you know, soul brother, but they’re not.
“The kids were getting taken and, of course, damaged because once a child loses their innocence, they never get it back in that manner. They never get it back anyway.”
WATCH: ‘CHIPS’ STAR ERIK ESTRADA RECALLS WORKING AS A POLICE OFFICER BEFORE GOING UNDERCOVER TO ARREST ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL PREDATORS
Estrada told Fox News Digital he has continued his work with ICAC as a deputy sheriff for the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. He explained he uses fake online identities to catch and arrest potential sexual predators, work he described as “poppin’ these guys who crossed the line on the internet.”
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“While they’re talking to you, they think they’re talking to Kimmy, 13½ [years-old],” he said. “Once you tell them your age, if they don’t sign off — just a matter of time before they make that move and cross that line and give you probable cause to go get them. And then once we go to your house or you come to get us thinking it’s a go, then we take you down.”
During his interview with Fox News Digital, Estrada recalled that he had wanted to become a police officer since the age of 4, when he was growing up in a housing project in New York’s Spanish Harlem.
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“My mom had just fired my dad,” he recalled. “Because he was stuck on the needle, OK? And then she started dating a cop. The guy’s name was Pete Panos. CSI detective.
“I used to love this guy. I used to go through his briefcase and look at some really horrific stuff. ‘Night of the Living Dead’ stuff. It was awesome. As a kid, it was like, ‘What?’ And I wanted to catch the person that did that.”
However, Estrada’s life path took a turn when he joined a high school drama club because he was interested in dating a young woman who was a member.
“I got bit by the acting bug,” he recalled. “It really bit me in the a–.
“But now I got to tell my mother, ‘Mommy, you got to live in the projects a little longer, then I can get you out.’ My poor mother. She cried for days.”
When Estrada told his mother of his change in plans, he promised her that if acting didn’t work out by the time he was 30, he would return to New York and become a police officer. The cutoff to do so was 32 years of age.
At the age of 27, Estrada landed his breakthrough role on “CHiPs,” and his success made it possible for him to support his mother.
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“My goal was I got to make that bread and get my mother living like a queen,” he said. “And I finally did it. I had her living on Central Park South overlooking the park for 32 years, and she didn’t work ever until she passed.”
Along with work in law enforcement, Estrada has continued his acting career and taken on other projects, including starring in infomercials and appearing in and hosting reality shows.
In 2023, Estrada began hosting the faith-based home improvement reality series “Divine Renovation.” According to Divine Renovation’s producers at Heartlight Entertainment, the docuseries “takes the runaway success of home improvement shows and adds a spiritual element.”
The show follows Estrada as he works with nonprofits, houses of worship, local businesses and neighbors to make home improvements for families in need.
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Estrada recalled that “Divine Renovation” Executive Producer Monty Hobbs reached out to him about hosting the series after the actor starred in a string of faith-based movies, including 2013’s “Finding Faith,” 2014’s “Virtuous” and 2015’s “Uncommon.”
“He says, ‘I want to do a concept where we don’t hit people over the head with the Bible, but it’s a show about doing good, a feel-good kind of a show, working with the community, helping people of all walks of life,'” Estrada recalled of his conversation with Hobbs.
WATCH: ‘CHIPS’ STAR ERIK ESTRADA ON SECOND SEASON OF HIS FAITH-BASED HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW ‘DIVINE RENOVATION’
The first season of “Divine Renovation” was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, and premiered on Prime Video, Google Play and iTunes in July 2023.
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“Divine Renovation’s” second season was shot in Torrington, Connecticut, and is scheduled for a mid-August premiere.
Estrada told Fox News Digital the show’s second season is “really heartwarming.”
“It’s a great, great season,” he said. “We got a segment with these dogs that are service dogs for people with PTSD. Incredible, incredible segment.”
“The Bold and the Beautiful” alum said another segment of the show was filmed at the FISH (Friends In Service To Humanity of Northwestern Connecticut) shelter.
“We give them a new floor and some other adjustments, a renovation in the big house that they have,” he said. “And then we put a flagpole out there because they just got a grant to be able to bring in veterans and house them and feed them.
“So, we gave the veterans a pole so they can do their flag ceremonies. And the mayor comes out, and the whole thing is awesome. And then we do a thing with the police officer and his family because he has a son that has a major disability.
“We fixed it up where we put a track from his bedroom into the bathroom so it just airlifts him into the bathroom. Made the bathroom bigger. Gave them a removable aluminum ramp outside so it would be convenient, they wouldn’t have to go downstairs,” he added.
“So, it’s a lot of this and a lot of that. And it’s great. I’m going to heaven.”
The second season of “Divine Renovation” premieres Sept. 19 on Amazon Prime, Roku, Tubi and other streaming platforms.
