# Fucking cops... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 23, 2008, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087 "2008-11-23T08:05:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/81 "2008-11-24T03:18:42Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Where the hell did anyone get the idea that there was a laser pointer in any of this? Nobody was playing with a laser pointer, _a cop_ was playing with _a weapon_. But at te time AD hit the deck and went for his weapon all he knew was that there was a laser dot on his chest. > [@](#): > > In the words of the late George Carlin: “Let me repeat that one more time, because it sounds _vaguely important!_” > > An _officer of the law_ > > was _playing_ > > with _a weapon_ > > in a bar. > > You don’t see a problem with this? Yes, the office was a complete dick and should be disciplined if not fired. But if AD had shot him (or someone who really just had a laser pointer) then there would be a dead person, a person with lots of guilt and remorse, and we’d miss an interesting poster because he was in jail. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/82 "2008-11-24T03:23:29Z")
**Fantome** , brandishing a fake weapon can indeed be a crime. I believe in CA that if you rob a bank with a realistic toy gun and the teller believed it was real, then it’s still armed robbery. Will try to find a cite, or ask my husband for the code… ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/83 "2008-11-24T03:24:52Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > **Fantome** , brandishing a fake weapon can indeed be a crime. I know that. ---
**Author:** ![Punintentional](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punintentional](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punintentional)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/84 "2008-11-24T03:37:58Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > I was not intoxicated. But were you drinking? ---
**Author:** ![fatnugly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@fatnugly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fatnugly)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/85 "2008-11-24T03:54:06Z")
Hostile Dialect, your first post I found neither rambling nor paranoid. You have experienced some of the same officer I have met. However to say this is world wide oversteps your personal experience I believe. I have traveled in 51 different countries and usually the only police type officials I meet are customs/immigration types. However many experiences in other countries mimic my experiences in the US. Airman Doors, maybe instead of blind defense of the police you should sit and listen. Watch closely and put yourself in the place of the citizen not in the place of the police. Go to places where police hang out and quietly sit in the corner and listen to what is said. Go to a parties at police residences and sit and listen. Do this with an open mind. Remember the founding fathers of this country did not trust government therefore the constitutional restrictions on government. The police are part of government and following in the steps of the authors and signatories of the constitution are not to be trusted. IE. They should be kept on a short leash. Shakes, you should learn to spell or at least check your post. Misspellings indicate either slovenly thinking or too lazy to check your spelling or just plain stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/86 "2008-11-24T04:04:29Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > You don’t think it’s more reasonable to stick with the cite I provided from a lawyer in the OP’s state and not an old edition of the World Book Encyclopedia? Sure: I was presenting a disclaimer. And that’s why I linked to the Findlaw article. I am slightly leary of presentations by commercial sites though. > [@](#): > > No, jokes aren’t threats, even if they’re meant to frighten one to momentarily believe there’s been a threat. I’m agnostic on this. If it mattered, I’d want to look at the case law. FWIW, here’s a media presentation from PA that backs you up. A cop brandished a weapon at another cop in jest, and a judge ruled that it was not assault. > [@South Philly Review](#): > > “We were all kidding,” Aviles said. “It’s not like I pointed this gun right towards his head.” > > His attorney, Gerald Stanshine, backed him up. Police are weapons experts trained in gun safety, he said, and that greatly reduces the threat Aviles posed to Leone. > > “If it is some kid with a weapon in his hand or a civilian … accidents are too likely,” the attorney said. “With somebody who is an expert that knows what to do and what not to do … it is a whole different risk factor.” [http://www.southphillyreview.com/view\_article.php?id=995](http://www.southphillyreview.com/view_article.php?id=995) Of course, having a cop point a weapon at another cop is different from an off-duty officer pointing a weapon at a stranger. I’ll leave it to others to give Officer Aviles a well-deserved pitting for his April 2002 behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/87 "2008-11-24T04:31:01Z")
> [@fatnugly](#): > > Shakes, you should learn to spell or at least check your post. Misspellings indicate either slovenly thinking or too lazy to check your spelling or just plain stupidity. Agreed somewhat, I’m posting at work and have many distractions. Not a great excuse, I know, I should be paying attention to my work, but there you have it. ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/88 "2008-11-24T05:02:44Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > It means I’m curious where someone picked up such a term. No idea where\* I picked it up \ ***quizot** , I’ve just always known it was a racial insult. And again I want to state, IMHO, and just based on me reading **Airman’s** previous post’s, I do not believe it was a racial insult. I do think he is justified to be pissed at the dumbass cop for painting him with a laser, and I also think he should report the idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/89 "2008-11-24T05:20:47Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > 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. Are the enemy fighting in Iraq in the habit of using lasers for targeting? I don’t know, but if not, then the reaction is overboard until it was confirmed that the ‘weapon’ was, in fact, a weapon. In this case it was, but it is far more likely that the laser was of the pointer variety. The cop should be fired for such a violation. This wasn’t a harmless prank. Weapons of any sort are not toys and if AD had blown his fool head off I’d have not criticized him for it (assuming he saw more than just the laser dot on his chest). I’d be more likely to say, “Good shooting, Tex. Thanks for cleaning up the gene pool”. But AD reacted before he had determined there was an actual threat. He isn’t in Iraq anymore. He should seriously think about his initial reaction, drinking, and carrying a loaded gun. Frankly, I’m all for the right to carry firearms, but there should be a zero tolerance attitude with regards to alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/90 "2008-11-24T06:53:04Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Er… did you know the guy? 'Cause otherwise I don’t think he’d have known about this, etc. That’s the point, that is _exactly_ why the cop was so stupid! He doesn’t know anything about the random strangers he is pointing a weapon at, (they could be in the military/veterans, agents of the law undercover etc.) and he is very lucky he didn’t justifiably get shot for his trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/91 "2008-11-24T06:54:19Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > I guess I’m in the minority here. He saw a laser pointer dot and reached for his gun, which he was carrying in a bar. Holy, crap! This could have been a fucking disaster in which someone not wielding the Taser was killed. If your reflexes are that strong maybe you shouldn’t be carrying a gun around, especially in a bar. > > I’d feel differently if he’d seen the man pointing the Taser; that might look like a gun. I’d still question the wisdom of bringing a gun into a bar. He didn’t reach for his gun, he hit the deck. Re-read. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/92 "2008-11-24T06:57:05Z")
> [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](#): > > If this incident had resulted in a shooting, I’d pin the blame on the guy who was drinking in a bar witha loaded weapon on him, not the guy who was playing with a laser pointer. It wasn’t a laser pointer! It was a weapon. A taser _is_ a weapon, and that is what was pointed at him. They aren’t non-lethal, they are “less” lethal. The idiot cop **POINTED A WEAPON AT SOMEONE FOR A JOKE**! Re-read the OP, _NOT_ the comments. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/93 "2008-11-24T06:59:21Z")
Even hitting the deck is a hysterical overreaction to somebody pointing a light at you. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/94 "2008-11-24T07:01:13Z")
It’s kind of irresponsible to carry a gun while you’re drinking, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/95 "2008-11-24T07:14:45Z")
[At least you weren’t at your father’s funeral.](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/19/national/main4617501.shtml) > [@](#): > > A North Carolina sheriff’s official is apologizing for disturbing a funeral where undercover agents tried to serve an arrest warrant on the dead man’s son - and used a Taser to do so. > > The Star-News of Wilmington reports that the incident happened Saturday afternoon as the coffin was being loaded into a hearse. The officers planned to quietly arrest Gladwyn Taft Russ III, but it turned into a scuffle. > > The 42-year-old Russ was charged with communicating threats against his ex-wife who lives in another state. Officials said he failed to turn himself in as promised. > > New Hanover County sheriff’s chief deputy Ed McMahon said the officers’ move backfired in the emotional environment. McMahon said the officers should have waited until after the cemetery service. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/96 "2008-11-24T07:15:22Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Are the enemy fighting in Iraq in the habit of using lasers for targeting? No. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/97 "2008-11-24T07:19:13Z")
New Hanover County sheriff’s chief deputy **Ed McMahon**. Did he also say **HIGH-OH**?😃 Sorry, y’all. just consider it a bit of comic relief, okay? Q ---
**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:** [November 24, 2008, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/98 "2008-11-24T07:22:37Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Seconded. I’m guessing it’s a Canadian thing. And like Jim, I’m no real friend of **Airman Doors, USAF** but don’t feel there was any racial motive behind the use of that word. I’m 100% concinced that Doors meant nothing racial by it but I have only visited Canada a few times. It is not a Canadian thing. I only know the term as a racial slur. Rather than Canadian I think it is a bit outdated. It is more of a Viet Nam era slur. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/99 "2008-11-24T07:27:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m 100% concinced that Doors meant nothing racial by it but I have only visited Canada a few times. It is not a Canadian thing. I only know the term as a racial slur. Rather than Canadian I think it is a bit outdated. It is more of a Viet Nam era slur. Belushi uses it at the end of _1942_ as he’s kicking the conn tower on the Japanese sub. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/100 "2008-11-24T07:52:08Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Even hitting the deck is a hysterical overreaction to somebody pointing a light at you. Yes, it is. It’s explainable by his military service, where they train you to react that way _without thinking about it first_ in order to save your life in combat. It’s an almost Pavlovian response that a discharge to civilian life doesn’t erase. And besides, it’s harmless. **Airman Doors** _didn’t_ draw his weapon or make any kind of violent action. Sure, it’s an overreaction in an American bar to assume that a red dot is a weapon, not a laser pointer. I’m not sure, but I don’t think **Airman Doors** has spent all of his recent past in America, and that may not be a hysterical reaction in some overseas bars. **Airman Doors** , keep us posted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087.md?page=6)