# Calling a police officer a(n) LEO. How do you say it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2018, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812 "2018-06-10T10:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/1 "2018-06-10T10:25:14Z")
Just a quick poll, mainly for Americans as I think they’re the only ones who use this acronym reuraly but anybody is welcome to vote. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/2 "2018-06-10T12:19:34Z")
I’ve never seen it used any where but in print. Like never heard it spoken, or said aloud. If it’s formal enough to use the entire Law Enforcement Officer phrasing, then saying it aloud would be correct, to my ear. If it’s sufficiently informal as to not require that phrasing then, cop or officer would sound better. Saying the acronym seems overly officious to my mind. Sounds militia wannabe ish. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/3 "2018-06-10T12:30:27Z")
I call them Deputy. As in Deputy Sheriff because that’s mostly what I interact with in my area. Or call them by their names if it’s not official business. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/4 "2018-06-10T12:47:27Z")
When actually speaking to them, I will use “officer”, “deputy” or whatever their actual title is as best as I can determine. I have referred to them a "LEO"s when discussing them in a general sense. There was a car wreck down the road from me a few days ago. I don’t know if members of the local PD or the county sheriff’s dept showed up and it wasn’t really relevant to me. They were all "LEO"s. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/5 "2018-06-10T14:46:01Z")
The only time I’ve heard this term used was on TV shows like NCIS. They pronounce it like the astrological sign. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/6 "2018-06-10T15:04:30Z")
I usually say ‘cop’. I use LEO as a general reference, and I pronounce most TLAs by spelling them out. Some of have become words though, like PIN, if LEO were more frequently used it will probably become a word also. But sometimes I really hate the words, it drives me nuts when people pronounce OID (object ID) as ‘oyd’, rhyming with ‘toyed’. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/7 "2018-06-10T15:05:35Z")
I answered the second, based on how I say it in my head when I read it. I’ve never heard/used the term spoken, so far as I remember. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/8 "2018-06-10T15:07:22Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > When actually speaking to them, I will use “officer”, “deputy” or whatever their actual title is as best as I can determine. I have referred to them a "LEO"s when discussing them in a general sense. There was a car wreck down the road from me a few days ago. I don’t know if members of the local PD or the county sheriff’s dept showed up and it wasn’t really relevant to me. They were all "LEO"s. So how did you pronounce it? As “Leo?” or as “Ell ee oh”? ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/9 "2018-06-10T16:30:35Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > So how did you pronounce it? As “Leo?” or as “Ell ee oh”? “Leo” as in the big toothy feline in the MGM logo. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/10 "2018-06-10T23:40:38Z")
What if his name is Leonard? Or he was born in early August? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/11 "2018-06-11T01:17:35Z")
As the speaker, it is incumbent on you to make your expression meaningful and comprehensible to the listener. That will dictate the form of what you call the particular officer. Your choice of article is not based on the spelling of the term on paper, but whether the noun begins with a vowal or consonant phoneme. In baseball, for example, it is an RBI, a ribbie, or a run batted in. Decided which to use according to the vernacular of the person you are talking to. Personally, I have never in my life heard the spoken expression LEO in any form. I would think it is down to two choices: A law enforcement officer, or a cop. Nothing else would work in any conversation I can imagine myself involved min. LEO would strike me as shop-talk among first responders ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/12 "2018-06-11T05:45:38Z")
I have never heard it said like the astrological sign, always spelled out. Also it’s almost always used when talking about the profession as a whole and not an individual. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/13 "2018-06-15T01:10:28Z")
> [@siam sam](#): > > what if his name is leonard? Or he was born in early august? leo leo leo ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/14 "2018-06-15T01:36:04Z")
Ive used it as a word, like the shortened Leonard. I don’t hear it often, generally I think it was used around the dealerships I worked at when discussing police models. In real life I just refer to law enforcement as, the cops. Hey call the cops Did you see all the cops etc ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/15 "2018-06-15T01:42:46Z")
I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever heard it aloud. I do know I think of it as ell-ee-oh. Though I might see “a LEO,” I always assumed that’s because the person is saying what it stands for in their head. Saying someone is a “leo” makes it sound to me like you’re talking astrology. Plus it’s just one fewer syllable. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/16 "2018-06-15T12:10:34Z")
I use LEO solely when writing. Verbally, it’s “cop”, “popo” or “5-0”. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/17 "2018-06-15T12:31:06Z")
In the Smoky Mountains central dispatch or radio (911 equivalent, though some differences, called and ‘Seven Hundred’ on the radio), I recall them using the letters L-E-O often when wanting someone with authority to goto a location. That is really the only time I can recall anyone saying the term as all other times it just seems used in text. I suspect this is because they have local and, 2 state police, and federal rangers and even one native tribal community ‘force’ which may or may not be called police. Also they have a vast area to cover, so when the call goes out as a L-E-O request they can get the closest one of any type (with respect given to jurisdiction). ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-a-police-officer-a-n-leo-how-do-you-say-it/815812/18 "2018-06-16T15:07:15Z")
I use both in the context of my employment. I work for child welfare and we get abuse reports from a centralized state location. Frequently we get information that does not actually meet the criteria for a child abuse investigation. These are always referred to as “LEO” only reports (Eleeoh pronunciation). If we are discussing contacting or working with a police force we often use the other pronunciation (astrological Leo). Nor sure why this has evolved like this.