# Things I learned from watching TV cop shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [May 9, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820 "2023-05-09T18:54:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**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:** [May 22, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/261 "2023-05-22T18:15:52Z")
Searching a house without a warrant is routinely done- I’m looking at you, Tom Barnaby! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/262 "2023-05-22T18:18:56Z")
> [@Celtic\_Kitsune](#): > > On the subject of guns apparently bullets don’t deflect off walls as you would expect, but travel along them on impact, so sticking your head around a corner during a gunfight is not a particularly good idea. Bullets don’t go through couches either. You can hide behind one and the combination of foam and fabric will keep you safe. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/263 "2023-05-22T18:21:19Z")
> [@Celtic\_Kitsune](#): > > > [@terentii](#): > > > > Anybody who ain’t got the balls to pull that trigger has no business being a cop. > > If that’s the standard I guess about half the recruits aren’t going to get through the interview. > > > [@kitap](#): > > > > There is always a point where your most attractive female officer must impersonate a hooker and wander around in super skimpy clothes. > > I read somewhere that back when it used to be mostly or entirely male officers the most junior member of the team was made to do this duty, I wonder where any eyebrows raised when particularly people kept volunteering. > > > [@pkbites](#): > > > > The soft body armor cops wear will stop high powered rifle rounds. The bullets will not pass through the vest like it’s melted butter. > > On the subject of guns apparently bullets don’t deflect off walls as you would expect, but travel along them on impact, so sticking your head around a corner during a gunfight is not a particularly good idea Point taken, but I suspect that sticking your head out in a gunfight isn’t a good idea in real life, either. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/264 "2023-05-22T19:13:23Z")
Same goes for flimsy wooden tables in bars or restaurants. Guaranteed bullet-proof, all you need to do is flip them over and duck behind. ---
**Author:** ![Celtic\_Kitsune](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celtic_kitsune/32/12086_2.png) [@Celtic\_Kitsune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celtic_Kitsune)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/265 "2023-05-22T19:36:38Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@Celtic\_Kitsune](#): > > > > On the subject of guns apparently bullets don’t deflect off walls as you would expect, but travel along them on impact, so sticking your head around a corner during a gunfight is not a particularly good idea. > > Bullets don’t go through couches either. You can hide behind one and the combination of foam and fabric will keep you safe. > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Point taken, but I suspect that sticking your head out in a gunfight isn’t a good idea in real life, either. Actually I should have clarified, I read somewhere that that’s the case in real life, not cop shows. That a bullet doesn’t deflect off a wall at the angle it struck as you would expect but rather that it travels along the flat surface instead. Hhhhmmmm possibly I’ve been misinformed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/266 "2023-05-22T19:56:45Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Also, regardless of what caliber the vest is hit with, the officer will not suffer severe trauma, broken ribs, or even suffer from Solar Plexus Syndrome where he feels like he’s going to suffocate and fucking die! It was a while ago, as you will be able to tell from the quote, but one of my cop buddies was hit in the chest/body armor by a .45. He said it was like “getting hit by Catfish Hunters best fast ball!” > [@DWMarch](#): > > Contrast this to the most recent John Wick movie where he gets shot dozens of times and hit by several cars. Well, not only are the Wick films not Cop TV shows, but they are clearly fantasy in their own world. > [@Celtic\_Kitsune](#): > > I read somewhere that back when it used to be mostly or entirely male officers the most junior member of the team was made to do this duty, They did this in Barney Miller, where each detective had to dress in drag to attract muggers. > [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Same goes for flimsy wooden tables in bars or restaurants. And car doors. Which would stop birdshot or maybe a .22. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/267 "2023-05-22T20:26:05Z")
In defense of people cowering behind random objects, it won’t stop a bullet, but it might infinitesimally interfere with the shooter’s aim. The benefit is tiny, but in a crisis, you try for anything you can get. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/268 "2023-05-22T20:31:45Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rUyNqgsWH4g/hqdefault.jpg "Dodging a bullet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUyNqgsWH4g) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/269 "2023-05-22T20:45:41Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In defense of people cowering behind random objects, it won’t stop a bullet, but it might infinitesimally interfere with the shooter’s aim. The benefit is tiny, but in a crisis, you try for anything you can get. Unless it’s your last day on the job the bad guys will miss with every shot. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/270 "2023-05-22T22:56:06Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In defense of people cowering behind random objects, it won’t stop a bullet, but it might infinitesimally interfere with the shooter’s aim. The benefit is tiny, but in a crisis, you try for anything you can get. So I had an active shooter training at my job and the cop said it’s way better to run like hell. True? Literally the only thing I remember from that training. Well, I remember that and the class full of engineers faring better at surviving Virginia Tech than their peers. They were the only ones to build a barricade. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/271 "2023-05-22T23:15:01Z")
The engineers I know would argue about how to build the best barricade, citing this or that manual, what their professor in college said once, and what would “definitely get them fired from their current job!” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/272 "2023-05-22T23:21:40Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > So I had an active shooter training at my job and the cop said it’s way better to run like hell. True? Literally the only thing I remember from that training. Yeah, we watched a video from a former cop who basically said the same thing. Is it true? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/273 "2023-05-23T02:38:01Z")
This is how you dodge bullets. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1V4SU2_-Ppg/maxresdefault.jpg "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) - Fighting Chiun Scene (2/12) | Movieclips") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V4SU2_-Ppg) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/274 "2023-05-23T12:17:52Z")
> [@Celtic\_Kitsune](#): > > That a bullet doesn’t deflect off a wall at the angle it struck as you would expect but rather that it travels along the flat surface instead. The factual bit is that IRL you do not get a HS physics-textbook rigid collision. Depending on the materials involved the projectile will deform/fragment and the surface will spall and you can’t predict which way will all that stuff be flying, some of it will be at a shallow angle. > [@carrps](#): > > > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > > I had an active shooter training at my job and the cop said it’s way better to run like hell. True? > > Yeah, we watched a video from a former cop who basically said the same thing. Best place to be when there’s a shooting is _somewhere else_. On a more shortened version from other trainings I’ve listened to, the order of preferred action is: Run, Hide, Fight, with “run” being the far and away preference **if practical** and “fight” being for when you’re otherwise as good as dead so why not take the chance. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/275 "2023-05-23T14:06:12Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > This is how you dodge bullets. > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V4SU2\_-Ppg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V4SU2_-Ppg) More like this: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Tl57k1DOBEg/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHUBoAC4AOKAgwIABABGEsgUihlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCMnnkhcelJG19VYdIQPrqtUQi9nw "Police Squad shootout") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl57k1DOBEg) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/276 "2023-05-23T18:39:41Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > On a more shortened version from other trainings I’ve listened to, the order of preferred action is: Run, Hide, Fight, with “run” being the far and away preference **if practical** and “fight” being for when you’re otherwise as good as dead so why not take the chance. Yes, that rings a bell! I work in a secure facility with an elevated chance of gun violence (DV shelter) so I guess this is stuff we need to know. Not pleasant to contemplate, though. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/277 "2023-05-23T20:36:38Z")
It makes sense to run. People can’t aim for shit so the further away you are the less chance they’ll hit you. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/278 "2023-05-23T20:39:03Z")
Not in so many words, but that’s basically what the ex-cop in the video I saw said. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/279 "2023-05-23T20:45:54Z")
The FBI has a [video showing Run, Hide, Fight.](https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/run-hide-fight-092120.mp4/view) Got nothin’ else, 'cept I love Remo Williams (way underrated), and Police Squad was the best. ---
**Author:** ![Celtic\_Kitsune](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celtic_kitsune/32/12086_2.png) [@Celtic\_Kitsune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celtic_Kitsune)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820/280 "2023-05-23T21:05:54Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > > [@Celtic\_Kitsune](#): > > > > That a bullet doesn’t deflect off a wall at the angle it struck as you would expect but rather that it travels along the flat surface instead. > > The factual bit is that IRL you do not get a HS physics-textbook rigid collision. Depending on the materials involved the projectile will deform/fragment and the surface will spall and you can’t predict which way will all that stuff be flying, some of it will be at a shallow angle. Ah I see, thanks! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-watching-tv-cop-shows/983820.md?page=15)