# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![gang\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f07891/32.png) [@gang\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gang_green)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/121 "2008-11-24T15:21:02Z")
I’d report it. The on-duty officer was out of line for giving his weapon to someone else. The off-duty officer was out of line for asking for it \*and \* for pointing it at someone without the intention of using it to subdue a suspect. Nowadays, pointing a capgun or a water gun can get you arrested. This officer had absolutely no business treating a service weapon of any kind like a toy, much less to do it off-duty, and with someone else’s weapon. ---
**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, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/122 "2008-11-24T15:38:24Z")
It was a taser, not a gun. Continuing to call it a “weapon” is unnecessarily dramatic. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/123 "2008-11-24T15:39:53Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It was a taser, not a gun. Continuing to call it a “weapon” is unnecessarily dramatic. In fairness it is a weapon. His nightstick is also a weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/124 "2008-11-24T15:40:54Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It was a taser, not a gun. Continuing to call it a “weapon” is unnecessarily dramatic. If you ever got tasered, you’d consider it a weapon. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/125 "2008-11-24T15:43:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It was a taser, not a gun. Continuing to call it a “weapon” is unnecessarily dramatic. The hell? Under what definition is a taser not a weapon? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/126 "2008-11-24T15:44:41Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > If you ever got tasered, you’d consider it a weapon. Some also do look like weapons, at least from first impression. Cops have shot people who were “brandishing” wallets and stuff. Something that looks like a weapon in a probably darkish environment (bars are not known for being well-lit), and one could easily have a bad reaction. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/127 "2008-11-24T15:58:54Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It was a taser, not a gun. Continuing to call it a “weapon” is unnecessarily dramatic. This is just mind boggling. What would you define a taser as if not a weapon? ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/128 "2008-11-24T15:59:00Z")
Put a laser sight from a taser onto the chest of an off duty cop in a bar. See what happens to 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, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/129 "2008-11-24T16:03:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The hell? Under what definition is a taser not a weapon? 😕 It’s not that it’s not technically a weapon, but conitinually referring to as a “weapon” rather than a taser in this context is being done to contrive an exaggerated sense of danger and drama. A nightstick is technically a “weapon” too, but it’s still ridiculous to hit the deck and roll around on the floor sobbing if somebody points a nightstick 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, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/130 "2008-11-24T16:07:20Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Put a laser sight from a taser onto the chest of an off duty cop in a bar. See what happens to you… I doub’t he’d dive on the floor like Starsky and Hutch. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/131 "2008-11-24T16:09:31Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I doub’t he’d dive on the floor like Starsky and Hutch. If you were lucky, you would get arrested. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/132 "2008-11-24T16:09:55Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Put a laser sight from a taser onto the chest of an off duty cop in a bar. See what happens to you… Yeah, because cops are so used to being targeted by snipers with expensive laser sights their first reaction is going to be “SNIPER…IN A BAR!!! NO WAY IT"S JUST AN IDIOT WITH A LASER POINTER”. Christ on a cracker, they way you people go on you would think the world is full of hyper alert combat vets with thousand yard stares who are so used to laser combat they will just freak out and kill someone and it will be justified because you know killings with laser sighted weapons are just so damn common and you can’t be too careful. In my job I deal with lying crooked criminal cops everyday, I also deal with some really upstanding officers who take their jobs seriously. On the spectrum of bad things cops do this is definitely on the low end. The cop was an idiot and should be reported if the incident happened as described. BUT I can’t believe people are so credulous of supposedly catlike combat reflexes of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/133 "2008-11-24T16:09:59Z")
> [@](#): > > **Diogenes the Cynic** said: > It’s not that it’s not technically a weapon, but conitinually referring to as a “weapon” rather than a taser in this context is being done to contrive an exaggerated sense of danger and drama. A nightstick is technically a “weapon” too, but it’s still ridiculous to hit the deck and roll around on the floor sobbing if somebody points a nightstick at you. Despite your obvious exaggerations about rolling around and sobbing, I should think that the reaction to a blunt instrument such as a baton or nightstick being pointed from 20 or 30 feet away would be rather different than from a taser or any other weapon **capable of firing a projectile and being effective at that range**. The dishonest nature of your comparison does not validate your point, nor make you less of an ass. Neither does your derisive and deliberately misstatement of the facts regarding **Doors’s** reaction to having a weapon aimed at him. Then again, it is standard operating procedure with you to invent some grandiose bullshit when you have a burning desire to argue against someone you obviously dislike, but no real leg to stand on. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/134 "2008-11-24T16:18:15Z")
I second the motion to file a complaint with the PD. Any officer that points a “weapon” (or whatever) at another unknown person as a joke, isn’t worthy of a badge. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/135 "2008-11-24T16:22:47Z")
> [@askeptic](#): > > Yeah, because cops are so used to being targeted by snipers with expensive laser sights their first reaction is going to be “SNIPER…IN A BAR!!! NO WAY IT"S JUST AN IDIOT WITH A LASER POINTER”. Christ on a cracker, they way you people go on you would think the world is full of hyper alert combat vets with thousand yard stares who are so used to laser combat they will just freak out and kill someone and it will be justified because you know killings with laser sighted weapons are just so damn common and you can’t be too careful. > > In my job I deal with lying crooked criminal cops everyday, I also deal with some really upstanding officers who take their jobs seriously. On the spectrum of bad things cops do this is definitely on the low end. The cop was an idiot and should be reported if the incident happened as described. BUT I can’t believe people are so credulous of supposedly catlike combat reflexes of the OP. When did I say the cop would kill you if you did that? When did I mention combat veterans? You sight a taser on a cop in a bar, on or off duty, and bad things will happen to you. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/136 "2008-11-24T16:28:01Z")
The cop was wrong, it should be reported. I’m glad you can now have some compassion for those of us have been treated unfairly by cops. It happens. > [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Last, I was there with my sister and a few friends of mine. I was not intoxicated. Does “not intoxicated” mean not drinking? Legal or not carrying a gun in a bar is stupid. Guns and alcohol do NOT mix. > [@](#): > > One more thing: I had no idea that “zipperhead” was an ethnic slur. Now that I do I will refrain from saying it in the future. Try snapperhead instead. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/137 "2008-11-24T16:37:29Z")
> [@Punintentional](#): > > I’m more worried about a guy who was drinking in a bar (well, i assume he was drinking, all he said was “not intoxicated” :rolleyes:) and reaching for his firearm when he saw a red dot on his chest than i am about someone pointing a taser at me. > One says stupid cop, one says carries firearms out to bars and overreacts. I’ll buy that. ---
**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, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/138 "2008-11-24T16:39:45Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > Despite your obvious exaggerations about rolling around and sobbing, I should think that the reaction to a blunt instrument such as a baton or nightstick being pointed from 20 or 30 feet away would be rather different than from a taser or any other weapon **capable of firing a projectile and being effective at that range**. It’s a non-deadly “projectile,” which is easy as hell to dodge from 20 feet away, and which nobody with any brains would think was serously going to be fired in that situation anyway. I know people who have been under fire (which I don’t think AD has, but I could be wrong), and none of them would collapse on the floor trying dig a gun out their cracks because somebody aimed a light at them in an American bar. It was a dumb thing for the cop to do, but this fake PTSD act on Doors’ part is making me roll my eyes out of my head. Incidentally, it’s funny that **Doors** is preaching about the “awesome responsibility” of carrying a weapon while simultaneously toting a handgun around while he’s drinking. I’m way more concerned about a guy mixing alcohol and firearms than I am about a cop dicking around with a taser light. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/139 "2008-11-24T16:40:44Z")
The cop should be disciplined if it hapened the way the OP said it did. I doubt it did, though, as the OP is a moron with delusions of heroism and is exactly the type of person who shouldn’t be carrying a concealed weapon. He thinks he is making the world safer, but his response to this incident shows that he makes it a much more dangerous place. I’m glad he lives far away from me. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087/140 "2008-11-24T16:42:36Z")
> [@](#): > > **Diogenes the Cynic** said: > It’s a non-deadly “projectile,” which easy as hell to dodge from 20 feet away, If that were true, cops wouldn’t carry them because they would be ineffective. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-cops/474087.md?page=8)