# Should police officers carry guns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 13, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548 "2015-04-13T05:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/21 "2015-04-13T12:15:36Z")
> [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](#): > > Oh I’m not advocating disarming the public at all. I’m very pro second amendment and a persons God given right to bear arms and to defend themselves but I don’t think the government being armed is a good thing at all. Why don’t you think cops should be able to exercise their god given right to defend themselves? Or do you think they stop being persons when they start working for the government? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/22 "2015-04-13T12:17:34Z")
The current arrangement has resulted in unarmed black men being murdered by police for everything from selling single cigarettes to having a broken taillight, while well-armed white thugs like Clive Bundy get off free for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Looks like we need to change things. Let the cops work in pairs, one of them unarmed to make the initial encounter and the other packing heat but staying in the car for backup. The perps would know that the first cop was unarmed so that would take away any notion of going for a gun, lowering the potential for either side to escalate the confrontation. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/23 "2015-04-13T12:38:25Z")
I know this is kind of a tangent but I have seen so many stories I’ve seen in the news where the Officer purposefully turns off a camera before obviously doing something they’re not supposed to do. Not sure if it is but I think that should be an automatic termination or something for an officer to do that in and of itself because I can’t think of a justifiable reason a cop would ever need to do it. I know there has been a push lately for all cops to have body cameras and I think some of them can’t be turned off, I think this is a step in the right direction to make officers behave but it’s not completely perfect as they can be damaged, fall off, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/24 "2015-04-13T14:00:22Z")
The short answer is no; I don’t see where it would accomplish much other than raise the body count of police killed in the line of duty. With the number of legal and illegal guns out there it just isn’t functional. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/25 "2015-04-13T14:22:51Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The current arrangement has resulted in unarmed black men being murdered by police for everything from selling single cigarettes to having a broken taillight, while well-armed white thugs like Clive Bundy get off free for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Other than Cliven Bundy, could you list some more “well-armed white thugs” who have gotten off “free for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars?” Your phrasing indicates that this is an appallingly common state of affairs and I would like my ignorance of these men corrected. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/26 "2015-04-13T16:12:21Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > we should just get rid of cops and fix income inequality > if we had a universal basic income there would be no crime And we should all live on Starships and travel to where no one has gone before. Except for the fact that we live in the real world ,with real people, both good, bad, and sociopaths, it would make for a perfect life. Why should there be a universal basic income? Couldn’t you just wish that everything was free? No income required. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/27 "2015-04-13T16:23:35Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/28 "2015-04-13T16:42:37Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Let the cops work in pairs, one of them unarmed to make the initial encounter and the other packing heat but staying in the car for backup. The perps would know that the first cop was unarmed so that would take away any notion of going for a gun, lowering the potential for either side to escalate the confrontation. If you want to _increase_ the number of police casualties in the line of duty, the simplest thing you can do is make it known to dangerous criminals that the first cop that approaches them will be completely defenseless. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/29 "2015-04-13T17:00:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > If you want to _increase_ the number of police casualties in the line of duty, the simplest thing you can do is make it known to dangerous criminals that the first cop that approaches them will be completely defenseless. IIRC **BobLibDem** wants the police to hide in the car if they spot someone with a knife. I would also ask for a cite of some black guy being murdered by the police for selling single cigarettes, but I am pretty sure I wouldn’t get it, being as how it never happened and all. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/30 "2015-04-13T17:27:39Z")
How about, as a stopgap measure while we wait for all the guns to evaporate or something, we remind all the cops they aren’t supposed to shoot people in the back when they’re not a threat to anybody? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/31 "2015-04-13T17:31:36Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > How about, as a stopgap measure while we wait for all the guns to evaporate or something, we remind all the cops they aren’t supposed to shoot people in the back when they’re not a threat to anybody? That’s just crazy talk. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/32 "2015-04-13T17:33:22Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I would also ask for a cite of some black guy being murdered by the police for selling single cigarettes, but I am pretty sure I wouldn’t get it, being as how it never happened and all. I think that was somewhere around issue 200 of Judge Dredd. ---
**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/33 "2015-04-13T19:02:28Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Why don’t you think cops should be able to exercise their god given right to defend themselves? Or do you think they stop being persons when they start working for the government? Your mixing apples and oranges they are agents of the state and aren’t acting as independent private citizens therefore as agents they are a part of the government. Government is force and something that must always be guarded against. ---
**Author:** ![CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptainAmerica_1987)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/34 "2015-04-13T19:06:46Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Tasers, like everything else in the police arsenal, have been subject to overuse and abuse. However, they were a step in the right direction because most of the time that don’t cause lasting injury or pain. The discomfort stops as soon as the current is cut. This is in contrast to getting pepper sprayed where the pain just keeps on keeping on, though physical damage is very rare. More importantly, tasers were an improvement over that old stand-by: the baton. Batons do cause lasting injury and pain even when they are properly used. Improperly used, they easily cause disfigurement, permanent injury, and death. Yes but again pepper spray and batons don’t cause heart attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/35 "2015-04-13T19:08:06Z")
> [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](#): > > Your mixing apples and oranges they are agents of the state and aren’t acting as independent private citizens therefore as agents they are a part of the government. So by accepting government work, do they forfeit their God-given rights? Or does God unilaterally withdraw His granting of those rights to those who serve the state? > [@](#): > > Government is force and something that must always be guarded against. Armed criminals are _also_ force. If force must always be guarded against, why do you resent government’s ability to guard against it? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/36 "2015-04-13T19:09:09Z")
> [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](#): > > Yes but again pepper spray and batons don’t cause heart attacks. So you’re saying that beating someone to submission with a heavy stick is _more_ humane than a brief electric shock? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/37 "2015-04-13T19:10:19Z")
Should cops bring Tasers to a gun fight? ---
**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 13, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/38 "2015-04-13T19:12:21Z")
> [@CaptainAmerica\_1987](#): > > Yes but again pepper spray and batons don’t cause heart attacks. But pepper spray can lead to a fatal asthma attack in some. Why would someone in poor health resist and fight the police. No idea but it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/39 "2015-04-13T19:14:11Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > **if we had a universal basic income there would be no crime** No, no, no, there are plenty of crimes motivated by reasons that have nothing to do with material well-being. Revenge, hatred, emotional jealousy, racism, religious reasons, mental illness, etc. Humans are complex. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548/40 "2015-04-13T19:14:39Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > So by accepting government work, do they forfeit their God-given rights? Or does God unilaterally withdraw His granting of those rights to those who serve the state? God: “Well, just render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. And, your sidearm. But don’t worry–if somebody busts a cap in yo ass, I got you covered.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-police-officers-carry-guns/717548.md?page=3)