Fucking cops...

The BBQ Pit
1

I have a reputation of defending police officers through thick and thin, and I must admit that it is well-deserved. I am a supporter of law enforcement. Nevertheless, I was a part of something tonight that was beyond the pale.

So here I was in my local bar. I’m talking with a bunch of my friends, having a good time, the whole deal. Next thing I know I have a laser pointer directly in the middle of my chest. After I hit the deck and reach for my personal weapon (note: it is legal in Pennsylvania to carry a weapon in a bar), I come to find that it is an off-duty police officer pointing a Taser in my direction, pulling a trick on another friend of mine. Fortunately for me, I did not draw my weapon. I just hit the ground.

I looked the guy straight in the eye and said pointedly “Are you NUTS?” He had the gall to ask me what my problem was, and I told him straight that after two deployments in Iraq and all that I had seen he was a lunatic to pull a stupid stunt like that. He didn’t know anything about his surrpoundings, he simply thought it would be funny. What’s worse is that the active-duty police officer in the bar had supplied him with the Taser, which he had no business doing, if only because he might need it and it is irresponsible to violate the public trust like that.

These fucking guys need to know that pointing a Taser at somebody is the same as pointing a gun. There is nothing else to talk about, that is the end of the discussion, it is not my job to determine whether the threat is lethal or not, that is not something that you “joke” about.

I had the ability to walk away. I consider myself lucky in that respect in that the zipperhead with the Taser didn’t hit me with it and that I didn’t blow him out of his shoes for it. It is important to note that a weapon is weapon is a weapon, and carrying one is not to be taken lightly. I did not take my responsibilities lightly, and that is why I am not posting from prison right now. The police officer in question did not, and that is why I am starting this thread.

As we speak I am thinking about my newfound lease on life. Sure, if he had hit me by accident I probably wouldn’t have died, but that is not the point. The point is that people need to be aware of what an awesome responsibility it is to carry a weapon, that they hold life and death in their hands. This police officer forgot that. Those of us that choose to carry a weapon can never forget that.

So now I am leery of my local law enforcement. This is a bad place for me to be. How can I trust the people empowered to protect me when I can no longer be sure that they have the maturity and self-control to do so?

2

Zipperhead?

3

I hope you got his name and contacted his department.

4

Man, I am with you. I hear the, “well, it’s a non-lethal weapon,” shit all the time. I don’t care, if you can’t handle that, you don’t deserve a pop-gun. Thank Og, that you were well trained in the use of force and no one got hurt.

SSG Schwartz

5

That’s the thing though, tasers aren’t non-lethal, they are “less” lethal. Idiot forgot that. I also say you should contact his department about this, especially with all the Iraq vets, they shouldn’t be pointing a weapon of any kind at people “for a joke”! :mad: What a dumbass!

6

I hope I don’t get piled on for this but, maybe you overreacted? I mean, we are talking about a regular bar in a regular Pennsylvania town, not Rwanda: in that context the immediate assumption should have been “idiot with one of them pen lasers”, not “SNIPER!!!”.

Sorry.

7

It’s a scary feeling, innit? Now you know how the rest of us feel when we see our friends and neighbors attacked by the police. Unfortunately, you got to experience it firsthand. And, yes, I would go a step further than you did and say that you were attacked. When you see a laser dot on your chest, you have to assume that your life is in imminent danger and react appropriately, which you did. You would have been fully within your rights to fire at him, IMO, and he’s going to have to put some serious thought into the fact that he almost lost his life tonight.

And you are going to have to put some serious thought into the fact that immaturity and lack of self-control, not to mention corruption and nepotism, are systemic in police forces the world over. This is not a problem limited to your local bar, nor is it a problem limited to your neighborhood or your state. This is something that could rear its head at any moment, no matter where you are, anywhere in the world.

This is why we are afraid of the police. This is why every little lapse in their judgment is a big deal to us: because it’s all part of the problem, and every little thing contributes to the culture of inaccountability on the part of the police all over America. This is why everyone, even if they never break the law, should fear the police. You got a little taste, and fortunately, nobody ended up jailed, hospitalized or dead–but it could have easily been worse, like you said. Easily.

Think about this: how often does a police prank like this go awry, and the police find themselves covering it up by throwing the victim in jail and ruining his life? How close were you to losing everything that you’ve worked so hard for, all of your life?

And on top of all that, you’re paying for all this with your tax money.

Now you see why some of us don’t trust the police.

Of course, they say “less-than-lethal” now, because “non-lethal” is a flat-out lie after their benign little rubber guns killed an innocent college student in Boston four years ago for no reason. How any of this is “less than lethal” is beyond me: at least one cop plus one innocent citizen could very well have died tonight.

He said right in the OP that you can legally carry weapons in bars where he lived. He was packing heat. Anyone else in that bar could have been packing heat. For all he knew, some lunatic with a pistol was about to make him the first tally on a killing spree. He wasn’t far off, considering that what was pointed at him was a less-lethal handgun, not a pen laser.

In fall of 2004, three innocent people were murdered with legal handguns in unconnected incidents in the space of about two months at the University of Arizona, for no reason. I remember it vividly; the first one was right at the beginning of the school year, and someone got shot in his seat at a pizza place right off campus for no reason. Homeboy just walked right through the door holding a nine, acquired a target and killed him dead. When you’ve got a dot painted on your chest, you don’t have time to consider all of the possible explanations and determine the most rational one. You’ve got to assume that someone is about to shoot you in the chest, because they might.

8

You are forgetting, he’s a vet. He has reflexes, and he isn’t supposed to think in such a way. He is supposed to notice and react, and the cop is lucky he managed to be peaceable enough. Just like it isn’t wise to poke at a caged bear with a short stick, it isn’t wise to point any kind of targeting laser (even a laser pointer) at people who might very well have ingrained reflexes. What ever happened to the attempted ban of those laser pointers anyway, did it pass in some states because of the concern that it would trigger the reflexes of members of the military? I know it was a Marine trying to get them off the shelves, and I could see his point. It is VERY stupid of people to point them at others. I can see how they would be useful in the office, and they should stay in the office.

9

Hitting the deck over a laser pointer might make you look a bit silly, but it’s not like he even drew his gun.

I agree with Queen Bruin, these morons need to learn it’s not okay to point a weapon at someone, until then they’re not fit to be in the police force.

10

Very well said. If every gun nut was even half as responsible as you are, us anti-gun nuts wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

11

Yeah, if you know who pulled that stunt, you need to have a chat with the chief of police. If Sparky the Wonder Cop’s brother is going to be that irresponsible with a weapon in a public place, he doesn’t need to be on the force, or at least, he shouldn’t be trusted with a weapon.

Sr Siete, those pen laser pointers aren’t just annoying, they can be pretty dangerous. I’ve had migraines triggered when some asshole decides that it’s perfectly acceptable to shine them in the eyes of strangers in a public place. I’ve also got a friend who suffered a seizure triggered by a laser. And there are also the aforementioned veterans who aren’t going to think “shithead with a toy”.

Sleeps with Butterflies, “zipperhead” is one of Airman’s milder insults. It’s generally intended to convey exasperation rather than contempt or anger.

Robin

12

Zipperhead is actually an ethnic slur. I’m not sure why it’s got to do with asians, but it does.

That being said, yep, Airman, welcome to why I avoid the gun range during cop requalifications. Same lack of thought that lead to tazering a guy standing on a ledge. “They’re not lethal!” No, but the reaction to them might be. Tazers are dangerous because they lower the threshold of judgement the cop needs to use them.

Meh. Improve the breed. Call the Chief of Police and inform him that he almost had newscrews up his ass.

13

That is only one meaning, when I was in the Navy it had no connection to asians but just to dopes that unzipped there head with booze or drugs and left their brains elsewhere.

Additionally a Cite to supportwhat I said though not precisely: See Def #4, 11 & 12. As it has no context as an Asian slur, I assume he used it as I used to hear.

Frankly I was shocked to hear it called racial until I looked it up.

Airman Doors, USAF you probably should report the guy.

14

And hopefully he doesn’t run into the blue wall when he tries it. Perhaps the chief of police will take the complaint seriously, as he should. Then again it’s also possible that Doors ends up on the wrong side of a grudge by cops who think he slighted them by reporting their insanely stupid behavior.

Wasn’t there a video of a reporter in Florida who tried to find out how you file a complaint at his local PD, only to be told he had to give all his personal details to even get at complaint form and then he was threatened and chased away?

15

Yes but he is an *Air Force *vet. Their reflexes are to reach for their golf clubs.

On a serious note. Even if it is legal I hope you weren’t drinking while carrying. Even a little. That would just be stupid.

16

I once tried to file a complaint about the LAPD and all they did was ask me a bunch of personal questions. (Why do they want to know my birthday?) Finally I just gave up.

Still, using a taser to make a “joke” is irresponsible, and I’d report it.

17

I doubt that’ll happen. The Carlisle PD is small enough that there’s a pretty short distance to the top of the chain; all he has to do is make an appointment to talk to the chief directly. Of course, the decision is his to make, and he wants to think about it first.

Robin

18

I know Airman is not given to ethnic slurs, but I too did a WTF? when I saw the zipperhead remark. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing, but it’s definitely a racial slur in my neck of the woods.

Good on him though for being so calm in that situation, I too hope he makes the call/appointment and reports that idiot.

19

Never ever head it as such before today.

20

Some slurs are regional. I’ve never heard the term “zipperhead,” and I have no idea what it’s suppose to mean. However, I would never use it if I hadn’t heard it before, since it doesn’t make any sense otherwise.

I once wrote a memo and used the phrase “in spades,” meaning “completely and successfully,” and one recipient of the memo, who was African-American (and whom I’d never met–I had no idea of his race), took offense, and called a conference to address this “offense.” The fact is that where I have spent most of my life (California), the term “spade” is virtually never used as a racial slur, and I’d never heard it. Also, I play bridge, and in that game spades is the highest suit, so having a lot of spades means you can overbid your opponents more easily. The fools that I work for couldn’t grasp these points.

Still, I wonder out of which pocket you pull the term “zipperhead.”