Was the word 'cop' once considered derogatory?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Maybe I am remembering incorrectly, or maybe I just misunderstood, but in my youth I recall the word ‘cop’ as being a bit of a slur. Like, just one level above ‘pig’.

Can someone confirm or debunk my perception?
mmm

2

I don’t know if I’d go as far as calling it a slur, but some people felt it was disrespectful.

Just ask Jack Webb.

3

I know that my mom scolded the hell out of me around 1970 or so for using the term.

4

Previous threads.

5

Friday was actually proud to call himself a cop.

6

Jack Webb had a lot to do with the acceptance of the term. Prior to Dragnet, it was nearly always portrayed as slang used by criminals, and a lot of cops didn’t like it. Dragnet used the term positively and it began to lose its bad reputation.

7

NM

8

Good cite.

But Friday (Webb) was wrong (or at least eventually he was) I’ve been on the job since '82. Not only was I able to afford to put my kids through college, we were also able to travel to Europe several times, and any damaged uniforms or equipment were replaced by the department. And overtime was paid at time and a half.

What happened was policing went from being just a job to an actual profession between the time Dragnet aired to when I went on the job. This changed the pay/benefits received. I am willing to give Webb some credit for that. He was very, very pro police and many of the shows he wrote/produced/acted in may have help change the image of law enforcement to the general public.

9

In different uses it is still very derogatory: “cop a feel”.

10

Snopes on the subject

11

IIRC (memories back then are a bit hazy for me) it’s about the time “pig” started being the perjorative of choice.

12

I prefer “the fuzz.”

13

That’s not derogatory. As already mentioned, “cop” is just a verb meaning “to take.” The phrase describes an offensive action, but the verb itself isn’t derogatory.

14

Derogatory is the wrong word to use-- perhaps “having a negative connotation” would be more accurate. “Cop a feel” implies the gesture is unwanted or, at best surprising.

15

Yes, but the negative connotation is due to the action, not really indicated by the word “cop.” If you said “grab a feel” it would also be negative.

16

“Cop” as a verb is kind of slangy and it implies grabbing something quickly or surreptitiously. Cop a load of this, cop a seat, cop a donut, cop a look, cop the meaning of a word. It can imply a negative action but not necessarily.