# Cop shows in which the main characters rarely or never fire a shot or throw a punch. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722 "2012-04-23T18:31:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/21 "2012-04-23T21:29:57Z")
_L&O: Criminal Intent_ is pretty low on the guns & knuckles scale. Concur that _Barney Miller_ is probably the all-time winner. I remember a scene where Fish was being taken to the hospital and somehow convinced the ambulance crew to let him go. “The gun helped,” he explained to Barney. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/22 "2012-04-23T23:29:38Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > 1. It’s **Patrick** Jane. > > 2. He’s not a cop, but a “consultant”. > > 3. He’s part of the CBI, which is a fictious California analogue to the FBI, so they are detectives solving murder cases, not normal cops. > > 4. It’s not because he has a moral aversion or something like that to guns - he’s a real bastard when manipulating people. It’s just that he’s a coward and has no experience with guns, using his mentalist tricks instead. > > 5. His colleagues do the shooting instead if necessary. Dammit, I _knew_ something sounded weird when I typed his name. I’ve only watched every episode since the debut. 🙂 The OP asked for cop shows where the main characters rarely shoot or punch - Patrick Jane qualifies for that even thought he isn’t a cop. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/23 "2012-04-23T23:30:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > _Dragnet_. I remember an episode where Friday shot a guy trying to break into a coin machine at a laundromat. The guy fired, Joe fired back, and got in hot water when the shooting team couldn’t immediately find the bullet the bad guy supposedly fired (they eventually did). > [@Procrustus](#): > > Adam 12 It wasn’t every episode, but they did have use their guns in the line of duty. One early episode has Reed shoot a man, then have the investigating team interview him afterward. Malloy cautions him, “Don’t let 'em rattle you. This is routine.” > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Barney Miller. Not onscreen, but there is a first-season episode where Chano (Gregory Sierra) is forced to shoot a young man in self-defense. The episode mainly focuses on his (non)reaction until he’s alone in his apartment (this was early _Barney Miller_ that actually moved off the squadroom set) and he breaks down in tears. I think the all-time champion is _Columbo._ As stated upthread, he never seemed to even carry a gun, and on at least one occasion bluffed the suspect/murderer who seemed about to shoot him by saying the (nonexistent) patrolman backing him up outside would just arrest or shoot her. Classy. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/24 "2012-04-23T23:36:49Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Columbo actually paid someone else to pass the firing-range test for him. That’s got to be the winner. Columbo hated guns and only fired one once in the entire series, as far as I remeber – and that was into a box of sand as an experiment to see what the sound effect would be. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/25 "2012-04-23T23:40:56Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > The archetype is Andy Griffith of course. He’s known as the “Sheriff Without a Gun” Which was a bit of a retcon, as in some earlier episodes he indeed had a gun, though I don’t know if he actually fired it (WAG probably not). Barney had a gun, but kept the bullet (singular) in his pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/26 "2012-04-23T23:55:01Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Most of the British shows are pretty non-violent. Inspectors Morse and Lynley had little or no police-perpetrated violence that I recall. Likewise Foyle’s War and even Prime Suspect. I’m trying to remember if any of the dramatic cop shows created in the U.S. (that I’ve seen) were non-violent or at least largely non-violent, and I’m drawing a blank except for (as mentioned above) Law & Order. Homicide, maybe? Likewise Midsomer Murders, 10+ seasons and I don’t recall a shot fired by the guys at the CID. They don’t even carry weapons. Barnaby does wait unitl every suspect is murdered before he makes an arrest though, so there is still plenty of violence. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/27 "2012-04-24T00:17:57Z")
The British series _[Dixon of Dock Green](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixon_of_Dock_Green)_ was another non-violent police series. It ran for twenty-one years (1955-1976) and I believe only one person was ever killed in the series. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/28 "2012-04-24T01:04:45Z")
Though to be fair, the Law & Order show replaced officer involved shootings with courthouse step shootings. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/29 "2012-04-24T01:13:28Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > It wasn’t every episode, but they did have use their guns in the line of duty. One early episode has Reed shoot a man, then have the investigating team interview him afterward. Malloy cautions him, “Don’t let 'em rattle you. This is routine.” I remember that episode! Reed calls his wife to tell her why he was going to be late, and tells her, “I killed a man tonight”, breaking up as he did so. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/30 "2012-04-24T02:29:52Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Which was a bit of a retcon, as in some earlier episodes he indeed had a gun, though I don’t know if he actually fired it (WAG probably not). > > Barney had a gun, but kept the bullet (singular) in his pocket. There was an episode where a gun-toting Andy confronted a would-be bank robber who had been pretending to be a director making a movie, trying to find weaknesses by asking all kinds of questions about how small town officers worked. His reaction to getting caught was “I thought you never carried a gun.” Andy’s reply was that he didn’t say he **never** carried a gun, just that he usually didn’t. He certainly wasn’t dumb enough to go after a bank robber unarmed. Nearly every time they were going after a real criminal he would grab a sidearm or a rifle from the armory before leaving the courthouse. He also occasionally gave Barney a handful of bullets and told him to load up. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/31 "2012-04-24T02:35:22Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > I remember an episode where Friday shot a guy trying to break into a coin machine at a laundromat. The guy fired, Joe fired back, and got in hot water when the shooting team couldn’t immediately find the bullet the bad guy supposedly fired (they eventually did). The bullet pushed the shelf up and went into the wall behind it. Joe noticed the line on the bottom of the shelf. That’s one of those odd things that’s always stuck with me. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/32 "2012-04-24T02:58:23Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > 1. He’s part of the CBI, which is a fictious California analogue to the FBI, so they are detectives solving murder cases, not normal cops. Not at all fictitious, although since the show started there have been some changes and the name is now just [BI](http://oag.ca.gov/bi). Though the job they do on the show bears as much resemblance to what the [C]BI does as about any other show of its type. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/33 "2012-04-24T03:04:12Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Homicide had a few episodes where the main cops shot at people, mostly in the Luther & Georgia Ray Mahoney episodes. Forgot about those, but all-in-all, firing guns, or even drawing them, was very unusual on the show. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/34 "2012-04-24T03:07:37Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > The cops in The Wire hardly ever use their guns. They pull them out on occasion but I think there may only be one shot fired by a cop on duty in the whole series. Actually, Prez fires twice in the series while on duty: The crucial shot in Season 3, and also the (accidental) shot into the wall of the basement office at the very beginning of Season 1. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/35 "2012-04-24T03:08:15Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Most of the British shows are pretty non-violent. Inspectors Morse and Lynley had little or no police-perpetrated violence that I recall. Likewise Foyle’s War and even Prime Suspect. I’m trying to remember if any of the dramatic cop shows created in the U.S. (that I’ve seen) were non-violent or at least largely non-violent, and I’m drawing a blank except for (as mentioned above) Law & Order. Homicide, maybe? American Police show: Halt, or I will shoot _BLAM_ _BLAM_ _BLAM_ _BLAM_ British Police show: Halt, or I will yell Halt again! (yeah it’s a cheap joke but somebody had to do it) ---
**Author:** ![SnakeBabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SnakeBabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeBabe)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/36 "2012-04-24T03:13:25Z")
Batman never used a gun 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/37 "2012-04-24T07:06:25Z")
_Los misterios de Laura_; they do have guns (being cops and whatnot), but in most episodes the only violence being commited is what led to having a corpse in the first place. _Los hombres de Paco_ (named after _los hombres de Harrelson_, SWAT in the original) had the occasional shot. Laura is currently running in RTVE (Spanish public television), Paco’s was Antena 3 (a private chain, also Spanish). Laura is a fortyish separated woman with kids, an ex who’s more infantile than the kids, a widowed mother who’s always in search of new husbands for both of them, and a family which does things such as murder each other in the middle of a wedding. Oh, she also happens to be a homicide inspector. Paco was the _comisario_ (captain) of a precinct in one of those parts of Madrid which can have super-posh flats with 6 bedrooms and 4m ceilings in one block, half-run-down tiny ancient poor folk’s apartments just across the street. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/38 "2012-04-24T12:25:12Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Most of the British shows are pretty non-violent. Inspectors Morse and Lynley had little or no police-perpetrated violence that I recall. Likewise Foyle’s War and even Prime Suspect. I’m trying to remember if any of the dramatic cop shows created in the U.S. (that I’ve seen) were non-violent or at least largely non-violent, and I’m drawing a blank except for (as mentioned above) Law & Order. Homicide, maybe? The cops may be non-violent but I have learned from those shows that the English countryside is awash in blood. > [@mhendo](#): > > Actually, Prez fires twice in the series while on duty: > > The crucial shot in Season 3, and also the (accidental) shot into the wall of the basement office at the very beginning of Season 1. And he fired blindly into the towers after he knocked that kids eye out and bottles started raining down. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/39 "2012-04-24T13:54:30Z")
> [@SnakeBabe](#): > > Batman never used a gun 🙂 I think he may have thrown a few punches though. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722/40 "2012-04-24T13:56:49Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > American Police show: Halt, or I will shoot > _BLAM_ > _BLAM_ > _BLAM_ > _BLAM_ early cop shows might have had this, it may have been a carry over from radio where you had to always have meaningful sound (long chases didn’t work well). though movies from the same period as radio did the same as i recall. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cop-shows-in-which-the-main-characters-rarely-or-never-fire-a-shot-or-throw-a-punch/619722.md?page=3)