Cops with Guns: A Personal Story
I have a little follow-up story to yesterday’s post with videos of a police shooting. This is a story about how a police officer pointed a gun at me once.
I was in high school, in Fort Worth, Texas, and I had been out with a friend of mine named Tony. As we were headed back home, Tony announced that he wanted to smoke a cigarette. Rather than simply lighting up in the car like a normal person, Tony decided that he wanted to stop the car at a local park and go have a smoke. He parked the car in the parking lot, and we walked out to a children’s playground so Tony could have his cigarette.
As he smoked, we saw a police car pull up behind Tony’s car. An officer got out and walked up to Tony’s car. He shined his flashlight inside.
We didn’t know what the officer was up to, but we figured that we should let him know we were there. We walked towards the car and called out to him.
He whirled, drew his gun, and yelled for us to put our hands in the air.
And he pointed the gun right at us.
I have thought about that moment many times since. We later learned that the officer was looking for an armed robbery suspect. Lord knows what he was thinking when we called out to him. Lord knows what was going through his mind when he ordered us to show our hands.
Many times since that day, I have thought about that episode. I have been thankful for the officer’s training. I have thanked my lucky stars that he kept his composure and didn’t pull that trigger.
But you know something? When the officer told Tony and me to get our hands in the air — guess what we did?
We got our hands in the air.
Instantly.
This is completely unrelated to the subject at hand (BTW, I have had four police guns pointed at me at one time, so I got you there!!!) Anyway one of the reasons I like visiting your site is the link to Beldar, who it seems has fallen off the face of the earth. I do miss him. Oh well. Maybe someone should start a blog and just link to onces that don’t post any more, like a virtual cemetary.
btorrez (bbda7f) — 6/9/2006 @ 9:27 amyou’re thankful for the officer’s training so he didn’t shoot you, well, ok, but you have tacitly accorded him the right to point a gun at any innocent, well-meaning citizen who calls out to him.
assistant devil's advocate (7adc55) — 6/9/2006 @ 9:38 amthere’s a catchphrase in law enforcement now “it’s an officer safety issue.” i’ve heard it used to justify all kinds of improper aggression. there’s a tension between officer safety and public safety, and sometimes innocent people get shot and killed. aren’t their lives worth as much as the officer’s life? if not, why not?
ada,
you have tacitly accorded him the right to point a gun at any innocent, well-meaning citizen who calls out to him.
No. Patterico has merely noted that he and his friend had ended up at the proverbial wrong place at the wrong time, an empty park at night, right when the officer was looking for an armed robber (aka the suspect). Presumably he had reason to believe the robber to be in the vicinty. Given your chosen handle, I think you know this, too.
If any of us were that officer, seeking out an armed robber, at night, in a place that was normally deserted, we would do the same thing. Kudos to the guy for handling it professionally.
Perhaps we can agree to rephrase the arg as follows:
you have tacitly accorded him the right to point a gun, but not to fire, at any innocent, well-meaning citizen who accidentally walks into the middle of the chase of an armed robber.
ras (f9de13) — 6/9/2006 @ 11:50 amRas has nailed it. It is also important to note that the officer was alone. And of course innocent lives are of equal worth to that of the police officer! Fortuneatly, most innocents aren’t chasing armed robbers alone at night. The Officer has a right to take every legal precaution to protect his own life, he puts it on the line almost daily.
Glenn Beebe (ed5905) — 6/9/2006 @ 1:07 pmI speak as a retire officer and investigator.
It sounds to me like the officer overreacted. Police officers who often overreact should be encouraged to find another line of work in which they are less likely to kill somebody by mistake.
Perhaps Patterico could comment. Are LAPD officers supposed to point guns directly at people they have not positively identified as threats?
James B. Shearer (fc887e) — 6/9/2006 @ 5:12 pmI’ve had my run-ins with the law, enough so that I probably couldn’t win elective office. Mostly because I couldn’t hold my tongue – the serious offense because my friends couldn’t control their fists.
In the midst of that period of my life (college), my roommate and I were walking home from a party – sky-high on mushrooms. The quickest and nicest route was across a footbridge that dropped into a back parking lot for a downtown mini-mall. A mini-mall that had a furniture store, a store that had just been broken into. Summertime, 2:00 am, shorts and sandals… and cops with guns in our faces. This was small town (pop. 12,000) middle America. The two cops were the same age as we, paid less than a couple of my friend’s extra-tuition trust fund. Shooting a .38, western style is one thing, and fun – looking down the barrel of such a weapon held by someone with the authority to shoot me down is quite another. That was the first time I was absolutely accommodating to the police. And a very beneficial learning episode.
bains (7235b5) — 6/9/2006 @ 7:23 pmI had 6 guns at one time (two shot guns, three automatic pistol, one revolver back when they carried these things), but they had a good reason, so who’s complainin’?
Brad Sockpuppet (9824e6) — 6/9/2006 @ 7:29 pmAs for Shearers comments, I’ve mouthed off, got thrown in jail, and had the charges dismissed, with prejudice… contrary to the story above. Cops can be assholes, but by and large, they’re decent folks. They are hired because of that, and they do the best they can because of that. Unfortunately it is the anomoly the press focuses upon.
bains (7235b5) — 6/9/2006 @ 7:36 pmI certainly have a great deal of respect for police officers, and I work with many I’d trust with my life. However, with the power they are justifiably granted, comes great obligations and responsibilities. Unfortunately, some cannot live up to it or were not seriously interested to embrace the responsibilities.
There are, too, responsibilities expected of law-abiding citizens … to do as Patterico did in obeying the officer in the moment.
However, sometimes training isn’t enough and it will be up to the judiciary to hold officers to the standards they swear to obey when they accept that badge.
Sometimes even obeying an officer’s commands can get oneshot.
Darleen (81f712) — 6/10/2006 @ 9:59 amAh, yes, the left-wing illogical mind.
On the one hand, if terrorists—oh, pardon me—‘militants’—strategically execute a careful plan to blow up a bus full of innocents, or a pizza parlor, or a subway in the middle of the day—it is more often than not justified by the left as an expression of some abstract post-colonial ‘anger’ which has no expiration date.
In fact, the responsibility generally is assigned to the innocents.
Yet, if a police officer responding to a potentially dangerous situation late at night in a dark area serendipitously happens across unidentifiable persons whose hands he cannot see, the leftist expects the police officer to behave as if he were patrolling a church carnival on an autumn Saturday afternoon.
See, this is the Marxist mind at work—judging persons by their station in life, rather than by the context of their behavior, or the context of a complex situation.
Desert Rat (d8da01) — 6/10/2006 @ 10:37 am“See, this is the Marxist mind at work—judging persons by their station in life, rather than by the context of their behavior, or the context of a complex situation.”
Desert Rat, I’m shocked at you! Please report to sensitivity training in Room 101 immediately! 😉
Ray (be81f9) — 6/10/2006 @ 10:47 am“Are LAPD officers supposed to point guns directly at people they have not positively identified as threats?”
How do you positively identify a threat? Do you wait until you are shot, or do you consider all unknown suspects a threat? I feel the latter is a better approach. Notice that the cop didn’t shoot anyone in this instance.
I’ve been stopped, had guns pointed at me, and searched simply because I resembled a suspect. I don’t blame the police for that, it’s their job.
Ray (be81f9) — 6/10/2006 @ 10:56 amRay, it is true that the cop didn’t shoot anyone in this instance. However one gets the impression that if a passing car had backfired at just the wrong time Patterico might not be with us. Cops do shoot people by accident on occasion. It is desirable to minimize such occurences. One way of doing this is to minimize the number of times cops point their guns directly at people since this greatly reduces the margin of error.
James B. Shearer (fc887e) — 6/10/2006 @ 12:05 pmJames,
You make is sound like police point their guns at every suspect and that accidents are a daily occurrence. I don’t believe that’s even close to the truth.
Each police force has rules that guide police as to when to draw their guns. Each police force, in large cities anyways, have civilian review boards as to police conduct. Unless an officer violate the established rule regarding the handling of firearm, or a review board determines an officer’s actions to be outside the limits of his or hers duty, I’m not going to second guess as to what an appropriate response shall be, or what limits should be put on the police as regards to when they should draw their weapon.
BTW, Just because a cop points a gun at you, it doesn’t mean that they will shoot at the slightest provocation. They may not have their finger on the trigger but you couldn’t tell that when you see that gun pointed at you.
The police are highly trained as when to use deadly force and I trust their judgment.
Ray (be81f9) — 6/10/2006 @ 12:20 pmAmazing, isn’t it, how well things tend to turn out when you comply with an officer’s instructions rather than try to argue with him — as an acquaintance told me and a friend of mine we should have done after a sheriff’s deputy drew on us one night on a darkened street (link to a recent retelling of the sheriff story)
McGehee (5664e1) — 6/12/2006 @ 4:33 amEr — the acquaintance claimed we should have argued. On re-reading my comment I noticed that could have been interpreted otherwise.
McGehee (5664e1) — 6/12/2006 @ 4:34 amIn response to all the talk of cops with guns, I have my own personal story.
Patti Nielsen (c59aaa) — 6/28/2006 @ 11:43 amMy husband an I and our 9yr old son stopped at a truck wash, where we had park one of our cars that broke down, we stop to pick up a few things out of the broken down car. As my son an I attempted to get stuff from the car my husband had noticed the car we were driving was starting to overheat, as he was trying to raise the hood an check the problem a police car pulled up and a cop jumped out, pulled his gun , with his finger on the trigger , yelling at my husband to get on the ground. Any idiot could plainly see there was no threat to anyone especially to the officer but the officer continued to point his gun (with finger on the trigger). My husband did as told and got on his knees the officer walk up behind him placed the gun to his head(still with finger on the trigger) an hand cuffed him. My husband had done nothing wrong, all this took place because supposedly someone drove by and saw my husband assaulting our son.
Now our son who once wanted to be a police officer, has nightmares about his Daddy being shot by one who was sworn to protect an serve. And by the way, our son has never even had a spanking so saying my husband was assaulted him is without a doubt the craziest thing I have ever heard.
Now you are going to say how was the officer suppose to know that?? Well my husband works across the street from the police dept. and works on all the officers cars, so they know him , they know me and they know our son !!!!!
Isn’t there some kind of law or code about officers pulling their guns or can they just terrorize anyone they want?
This all took place on June 23,2006 in a small Missouri town by the name of Strafford.