MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > So... what's a cop supposed to do?

So... what's a cop supposed to do?

posted 5 years ago by kukuxu (5409)
28 replies | jump to latest

A cop must arrest/restrain a potentially dangerous guy who is uncooperative. The guy can be quite strong, or he can carry a concealed weapon.

So, what he's supposed to do?

This is the big elephant in the room, and for some reason nobody is talking about it. What's the right protocol? Guns? dismissed, if the cop can't shoot, once that becomes clear this is the most likely outcome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGIpAweGQGQ. Taser? dismissed, it's non lethal, but in some rare cases and health conditions, it could be lethal. Knee on the neck? the same.

Then what?

The only solution I can find is the cop asking the suspect to cooperate. If that's not the case, the cop should tell whoever called him 'sorry, mate, best wishes' and walk away.

Discuss.

EDIT
Answers that actually have proposed something specific until now:
■ Use a taser.
■ Use a spray.
■ Check first that nobody is recording.
■ Tranquilizer darts.

A taser can be lethal in some rare cases (heart condition). A spray can be very dangerous too in some rare cases (respiratory problems).

Tranquilizer darts can be quite dangerous and lethal if you don't the exact right dosage: https://www.quora.com/Why-don-t-law-enforcement-officers-use-tranquilizer-guns-when-they-re-shooting-someone-as-a-way-to-control-the-situation-without-definite-consequences?share=1

What remains is to check that nobody is recording. So, at the end of the day, that's what cops have. If I was a cop, I would walk away and wouldn't get into trouble.

[–] jriley555 (8552) 5 years ago

not strangle people that are already cuffed
not shoot people in the back who are running away

for starters... that right there would go a long way

i recommend officers use back up, clubs, spray & tasers as appropriate. if the perp runs, fucking PURSUE. run him down. use the power of the PD, keep the guy in sight. gang tackle, if necessary.

these perps aren't supermen with superpowers. use common sense.

[–] Redsfan001 (6218) 5 years ago

Floyd was 6 ' 6" who refused to get in the back of the cop car.

Trying to choke him out with your knee is obviously the wrong approach

So what do you do if are the cop and he just stubbornly refuses to get in the partol car?

[–] moviechatterer (16326) 5 years ago

chloroform? :)

[–] TalkinPikchorBox (2250) 5 years ago

I don't think floyd resisted. I think he fell on the way to the suv and that's how they all ended on the ground.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 5 years ago

use back up [...] fucking PURSUE [...] use the power of the PD, keep the guy in sight

That just delays the problem: how you arrest/restrain him? It doesn't answer the question.

spray & tasers as appropriate

Well, here we have something. Unfortunately, tasers can be dangerous if the suspect has heart problems, and spray can be dangerous if the suspect has respiratory problems. Those cases are rare, but it that happened, and if you were the cop, you'd be labeled as a racist white supremacist, fired and maybe sent to prison.

Not good enough.

[–] jriley555 (8552) 5 years ago

i don't buy any of these responses. you are PRETENDING that cops, with an entire PD at their disposal, can't subdue perps without strangling or shooting them whilst running away.

its a ludicrous proposition.

the only cops under the gun are cops murdering people. they SHOULD be under the gun.

[–] johnmarti59 (2356) 5 years ago

Of course, it's ludicrous. Because democrats thought it up.

[–] tcrum (31863) 5 years ago

Your first two seem so obvious. Hmm don't shoot someone in the back. My God if you did this in the old West you were considered a coward.

[–] TimMC (9143) 5 years ago

i recommend officers use back up, clubs, spray & tasers as appropriate.
END QUOTE

THEY ALREADY USE THOSE. Those items wouldn't be common knowledge if cops didn't use them.

Backup???? LOL. Backup. Do you know what backup is? I'll tell ya, it is more cops being instantaneously transported there, via a magical machine, to the crime scene to help out. They don't have do drive across town and deal with traffic or another case or a million other possibilities. LOL.

BACKUP.

HILARIOUS.

BACKUP.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT>

LOL

This simple rule works if you are a civilian or a cop:

When seconds count cops are minutes away. That's not a diss on cops. It is FACT.

[–] jriley555 (8552) 5 years ago

they could have pursued the suspect and called for back-up to assist. they had his id, knew who he was, where he lived.

why act like that approach is impossible or infeasible.

murder is not acceptable.

[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 5 years ago

> A cop must arrest/restrain a potentially dangerous guy who is uncooperative. The guy can be quite strong, or he can carry a concealed weapon. So, what he's supposed to do?

The answer is obvious to any sane person with an IQ over 40. The officer is supposed to arrest/restrain the guy anyway, using sufficient force if necessary, unless doing so would jeopardize public safety.

> This is the big elephant in the room, and for some reason nobody is talking about it.

Oh, people (ordinary citizens) are talking about it. The problem is, the mainstream media isn't talking about it; they're not mentioning that people are talking about it; they won't even admit the question exists at all.

Why isn't the MSM talking about it? What's their motive in slanting their coverage? What do they intend as the effect of their slanted coverage? That's the big elephant in the room.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 5 years ago

- So, what's a cop supposed to do?
- The answer is obvious to any sane person with an IQ over 40.
- Great, then, what?
- Using sufficient force if necessary.
- Great, and that means, exactly?
- Any sane person with an IQ over 40 would know that.
- Great, so what's the cop supposed to do, exactly?
- Using sufficient force if necessary.
- Great, how that translates to the real world? HOW???
- ....
- ....
- Nazi!!! KKK!!! White supremacist!!!

[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 5 years ago

I assume you're not trolling but are demonstrating the opposite of what you argue by proceeding reductio ad absurdum from flawed premises; and what I write is intended not for your benefit but for others reading who might not understand these things.

You say that guns and tasers are unacceptable. Problem is, criminals sometimes use guns. They sometimes use them to commit crimes, and they sometimes use them to attempt to prevent police from arresting them. Police officers should not draw their guns as a first response when seeing a driver park in front of a fire hydrant. But police officers must have the capability for lethal force and the legal authority to use it.

You ask, what is sufficient force, exactly? There is no exact answer because we're talking about real life, which does not operate like a textbook. The force should be the minimum necessary to accomplish the task. But because a police officer's responsibility is to protect public safety, and a person who resists arrest is already jeopardizing public safety by refusing to comply with the laws we all live under, the force should not be the minimum the officer believes might work; rather, it should be the minimum the officer is confident will work.

Should a police officer kneel on a man's neck? If that's what it takes, yes. Should he continue kneeling for several minutes once the man has stopped resisting? No, he should immediately handcuff the man then stop kneeling.

Sadly, we've reached a point where some officers are terrified of doing their duty because of the real possibility of becoming the object of national wrath, whipped up by media who prefer spraying gasoline on fires to objectively reporting facts. And even more absurdly, some officers buy into the leftie BS and won't do their duty because of the fear of hurting people's feelings.

That's what it's come to. We're headed for a real bloodbath.

> Nazi!!! KKK!!! White supremacist!!!

Yep, you're right; that's some people's answer to everything.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

Easy. Only do it when no one is recording.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 5 years ago

Sadly, this is the first answer that gives a method that actually works 😂 😂 😂 😏 😐 😟

[–] L1 (1316) 5 years ago

Even if they go to jail, in alot of these states, they end up getting out and doing it again.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Ask one of the 3 cops standing there doing nothing for assistance.

[–] johnmarti59 (2356) 5 years ago

You have to make the person sign that they won't prosecute if they run and get into more trouble.

In the future, there will be TWO drones to every cop car. They will follow the cops on all traffic stops. Hover above and record all of the action.

[–] MonStar (13552) 5 years ago

The cops would be looking in the Politics section of MovieChat for the answer, where this thread belongs.

[–] TalkinPikchorBox (2250) 5 years ago

Elephant darts, why can’t they tranquilize a perp just like a rhino in Botswana.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 5 years ago

https://www.quora.com/Why-don-t-law-enforcement-officers-use-tranquilizer-guns-when-they-re-shooting-someone-as-a-way-to-control-the-situation-without-definite-consequences?share=1

"On a SWAT raid I borrowed a traquilizer dart gun from the animal control officer to try to tranquilize a German Shepherd. He asked me how big the dog was, since the thing had tried to attack me when I was reconning the site, i shrugged and said 100 pounds. He gave me the appropriate dart for a 100 pound dog. I perfectly placed the dart into the dogs right hind quarter. The dog took about 4 more staggering steps and curled up. As soon as the dog was down, we cut the lock on the fence and executed our search warrant.

The dog died from the tranquilizer dart. He was about 85 pounds, not 100. Kinda hard to tell the dogs weight when it is growling and barking in your face. We had recently had to shoot a Rottweiler and hoped not to kill another dog.

While a tranquilizer dart may be effective it would be very difficult to get the right dosage to incapacitate the person without killing them. How would you like to be on the stand being asked by a defense lawyer suing you for 20 Million, where you got your medical training to administer powerful drugs to their client."

[–] TalkinPikchorBox (2250) 5 years ago

Then there’s no solution. We can’t have no cops and cops have the right to defend themselves. Or maybe all cops should be football coaches. When coach said run, we ran. When coach said take a knee, we took a knee. Maybe that’s why the old school cops use to carry whistles.

[–] kukuxu (5409) 5 years ago

The final consequence will be having no cops.

Don't get me wrong, there will be cops, but they will avoid anything that could mean trouble. This is how it works in many South American countries. A former girlfriend of mine, who was high-class, couldn't go the center of her city (the capital of a South American country) without a bodyguard.

US is gonna become a really nasty place to live.

[–] TalkinPikchorBox (2250) 5 years ago

The cowboy days were pretty nasty. Ive been preparing for this my whole life. The weak are fucked.