IT WAS NYPD TRUE

Late Bochco got our life right: cops

City cops mourned “NYPD Blue” and “Hill Street Blues” creator Steven Bochco as one of the few Hollywood types who accurately portrayed the lives of New York’s Finest.

“I became a cop because of the show ‘Hill Street Blues,’ ” said a detective who was a rookie in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in the early 1990s. He said “NYPD Blue’’ was “a great show,” too.

“You know how many people got inspired by that show?” asked retired NYPD Detective Rick Terelli, who was a creative consultant for “NYPD Blue.’’

“There are only two shows that have ever been that true to real life: ‘NYPD Blue’ and ‘Barney Miller,’ ” he said.

Ten-time Emmy-winner Bochco — a New York City native who died Sunday at 74 following a battle with leukemia — rose to fame with “Hill Street Blues,” which chronicled the lives of police officers working in a rough-and-tumble precinct in an unnamed large city.

The show garnered critical and public acclaim during its run from 1981 to 1987.

But “NYPD Blue,” which ran from 1993 to 2005, provided an even more realistic view into the lives of police, law enforcers said.

“I think ‘NYPD Blue’ is probably one of the if not the best de- pictions of law enforcement in a big city like New York,” said retired Detective Dan Austen, who joined the department in 1985 and retired from CSI in 2005.

“I tried not to watch it because I lived it. And when I watched it, I was like, ‘I remember that, and I remember this,’ ” he said.

Another retired NYPD detective, Bill Clark, also a show consultant, recalled how Bochco prized realism and respected the input of real-life officers.

“What happened was, I told him I want the show to be realistic. He said, ‘Well, let’s do it that way.’ I said, ‘Think about “Barney Miller,’’ ’ ” Clark said.

Police commissioners and former commissioners were fans of “NYPD Blue,’’ according to Clark.

While most of its filming was done in Los Angeles, some police-building exteriors were shot outside the Ninth Precinct station house in the East Village, and then-Commissioners Ray Kelly and Bernie Kerik dropped by the set, according to Clark. Then-LAPD Commish Bill Bratton also stopped by the set on the West Coast, he said.

Clark said he knew Bochco’s health was failing, but he was still stunned to learn of his death.

“That phone call I got yesterday really devastated me,” Clark said Monday.

‘INSPIRED BY THAT SHOW’: Real-life cops on Monday paid tribute to Steven Bochco (inset), whose “NYPD Blue,” starring Dennis Franz (right), made them want to join the force.