Posted on 12/02/2014 5:05:57 AM PST by Kaslin
I've had a cop point a gun at me.
You can even see the picture of it – which come to think of it, was probably a bad idea. Who puts his hands over his head and takes a snap of a police officer pointing a rifle at him? But, I was in full journalist mode covering a 300 cops in riot gear running a bunch of dirt hippies from the Occupy Movement out of a park in Denver. Earlier, I had been up close to the line of cops taking pictures when they charged forward and they probably thought I was some kind of protest leader. Maybe I should have yelled, “Don’t shoot me bro, I’m a Republican,” but I didn’t think of it.
I’ve also been pulled over quite a few times because of my lead foot, which always felt more like an annoyance than a threat. You get pulled over, you a pay a lawyer, your ticket goes away. Repeat every 6-12 months.
Incidentally, that’s the first key to not getting shot by the police. Don’t think of the police as a threat. They’re really not going to randomly beat you, arrest you or shoot you for no reason whatsoever. It’s like a bee. Don’t start swatting at it and chances are, it’s not going to sting you.
In fact, when a cop pulls you over, you should have your license and registration ready, you put your hands on the steering wheel so he can see them when he arrives and you say, “Yes sir” and “No sir.”
But, but, but….what if you’ve done nothing wrong? What if you disagree with them pulling you over? Why should you treat a cop with so much respect? After all, don’t you pay their salaries?
Like the Bible says, there’s a season for everything. When a cop is pulling you over, that’s the time to be as polite and non-threatening as possible. Why? Because that cop has a gun, he can arrest you and you have no idea what’s going through his head. Maybe someone who looks like you just committed a crime in the area. Maybe one of his buddies got shot on a traffic stop last week and he’s nervous about it. Maybe you just look a little bit like Dave Chappelle and he never forgave him for quitting his show. It doesn’t really matter. If you think a cop needs to be taken down a peg or two, that’s a job for your lawyer to handle in a court room full of people, not a job for you to handle when it’s your word against his.
Along similar lines, move slowly, cautiously, obey the officer and don’t do anything that makes a cop think you’re a threat. You shove your hands in your pants, you could going for a gun. Jerk your cell phone out of your jacket? His brain might be screaming, “He has a gun! Shoot, shoot!” If you start whipping around a “toy” gun, well then you’re just begging to get shot. If you run from the cops, the adrenalin is going to be through the roof when they catch up to you and people full of adrenalin are more likely to shoot you. You don’t even have to run. You start jumping around, screaming at the officer, resisting arrest or generally just getting agitated and guess what? The cop is going to get agitated, too. That’s bad because a calm, cool, cop who feels safe isn’t going to pull out his gun, but a cop who gets agitated is more likely to shoot you in the chest. Of course, it goes without saying that if you attack a police officer, or for that matter, ANYBODY carrying a gun, you might get a bullet between the eyes. Maybe you shouldn’t be shot. Maybe a police officer should have used a stun gun or waited for back-up, but that’s not going to be much consolation to your family at your funeral.
Oh, but what if you REALLY hate cops? Well, if you REALLY hate cops, the best way to minimize the number of interactions you have with them is not to break the law. Just to give you one great example from the news, if Mike Brown hadn’t robbed a convenience store, would he be alive today? Absolutely.
You can take that even further if you like. If you dress like a thug, people – including cops – will respond to that. Back in the day, when I decided to put my psychology degree to work in a group home, I remember one of the kids complaining that every time he walked through a store, he heard them call for “security” to look at different aisles. As he said that, he was wearing saggy pants with a bandana on his head (Wasn’t my call on letting him dress like that), so was it a surprise that he was treated with suspicion? Incidentally, since he was actually WAS A THIEF, their system seemed to be working.
This applies to cops, too. They’re going to look at you differently based on whether you’re wearing a suit or look like a member of the Crips. Is that unfair? Not at all, because if you want to send the world the message that you’re a thug by the way you dress, then maybe it makes sense to pay attention to that message. The police certainly will and if a cop is looking at the “thug life” tattoo on your arm, then you need to be that much more polite to keep him from getting edgy.
Whether you think cops are mostly good guys doing a tough job (I do) or trigger happy, racist meatheads looking for people to push around, the calculus doesn’t change. Good guys can and do kill people. Trigger happy Neanderthals don’t behave like that most of the time because they can’t get away with it. Either way, you don’t want to be the one who gives them ANY REASON to pull out their gun.
Telling people to be polite, not make any sudden moves and obey the police isn’t exactly rocket science, but 99.9% of police shootings wouldn’t have happened if people followed those basic rules and the other 0.1% of cases, like the Akai Gurley case, are tragic accidents. The police should always be held accountable for bad behavior or shooting people unnecessarily, but people interacting with the police also have responsibilities that shouldn’t be shrugged off just because they ended up on the wrong end of a gun.
Well it starts by obeying the law.
I once had a cop point his gun at me.
It was the result of stupidity on my part, followed by an extreme over-reaction on the part of the officer. By staying calm, and following the officer’s instructions, I was able to defuse the situation and did not even end up in custody.
I will say this, though: The business end of a .38 revolver appears to be the size of a cannon barrel when it’s pointed directly at you (at least to me, it did).
This is almost word for word what I always tell people.
In fact, they should give a class that covers this to EVERY inner city school child in America!
I NEVER made that mistake again.
I GOT OUT of my car without being instructed to and started walking back toward the cop car after being pulled over.
The COP FREAKED OUT and pulled his gun and started ordering me to place my hands on the car ect. Everything turned out fine in the end, but I scared the piss out of him apparently and since then NEVER get out of the car. I just sit patiently, move slowly, keep my hands visible, be super polite and respectful (whether it is deserved or not) and don't argue, but just express regret for my actions.
I hope this pic goes viral. Sums up totally the black thug culture.
LMAO! That’s gotta be a photoshop, right?
“Sir” denotes respect, respect is earned, not given freely. I do usually say “sir” to men who are obviously much older than I am.
At 69 years old there aren’t a whole lot of those guys around.
I had one pointed at me in a bar. (Up close and personal)
Good advise. I would add; if you have a CHL voluntarily show it along with your DL and if carrying a gun, either on your body or somewhere in your vehicle, inform the cop that you have a gun and also volunteer where it is located. However, always keep both hands on the wheel and do NOT attempt to show the gun. Although in texas (I live in Texas - God Bless Texas) if you’re a CHL holder you’re not required to show your CHL even if packing unless asked Besides, the Cop already knows this before he/she walks up to your vehicle as its in your DB which he/she more than likely pulled up before coming to your car. And, usually you will be thanked for volunteering the info. Shows you’re one of the good guys and puts the cop at ease.
Cops LOVE to be called ‘SIR’ and they love your deference and respectful attitude.
Why not... he has a gun, a badge and a uniform for a reason... to protect ME.
I don’t know. Looks real to me.
Part of the “urban” underclass culture is hating the police. To them, the police are the unjust, unfair White establishment. They are taught to hate the police.
It’s not “profiling.” It’s thugs acting like thugs.
Wrong guy. Andrew Tahmooressi went to jail.
Bo Bergdahl went to jihad and then to the White House.
I had some guns pointed at me in 1969 but they weren’t police.
Oh yeah, you are right, Tahmooresi. thanks.
While true, it's worse than just hating the police, the 'hood has a completely different set of laws governing behavior. The hood doesn't live by the same laws we do, although they frequently get busted for breaking "our" laws.
Case in point. In Ferguson, the QuickTrip was burned and had "Snitches get stitches" spray painted on the wall. Mike Brown actually robbed the Ferguson Market but word on the street was he robbed the QuickTrip so the hood thugs torched it because it was reported to the police.
Me, too - in Catholic HS English class. Hood classmate was just showing off. I was too naïve to be scared.
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