I suppose anyone who followed Jim Cirillo's advice might then have to deal with a responding officer whose feelings are hurt by some imagined betrayal of trust, but I can't see that a citizen's terms of employment require that he make the cops feel good.
Well, there's Utopia and there's Reality. Two totally different planets, but in the same universe and often much closer to each other in orbit than realized.
As a federal officer, whenever I arrived at a crime scene, I was there to do a job--not make friends. Any distractions, threats, implied threats, instigators, etc, were culled PDQ. Even all the moreso when firearms/shots fired were involved.
If you, as a citizen, have the attitude of "To hell with you, copper, I'm a citizen and you work for me and I don't give a damn WHAT you think," there are a couple of thoughts that might go with this.
One is, yeah, you're probably right. But you might also win the battle, but lose the war. After all, you called us--we didn't call you. I love these "I don't dial 9-1-1" bumper stickers and t-shirts and other chest-pounding crap I see. Who you gonna call right after you just discharged your weapon in defense of yourself or another? Ghostbusters?
Yep, you might call your lawyer, but ultimately you're gonna call the cops. Why piss them off with a tin toy badge even though it might be your by-God
right to do so? Stupid move.
Second, go ahead--piss off the LE community. See how far it gets you and the "gun rights" movement. It's by acting and conducting yourself responsibly, legally and in harmony with the average flatfoot that will keep the average flatfoot in favor of citizens having permits to carry a weapon.
Start acting like mall ninjas and flashing badges and watch how fast the support from the flatfoots go away.
Right, wrong or indifferent, that's how it is. Your choice. Choose wisely as you are an ambassador to the gun rights bunch.
I suppose that a decent citizen, seeing hurt he caused to the officer's feelings, could give him a big hug and a wet sloppy kiss to reassure him that the love is still there. But I can't see why an officer would feel betrayed and need to reevaluate his responses to a man holding a badge in such a situation and I certainly hope that he wouldn't become cynical and shoot the next one he sees.
No one said he (the cop) would shoot the next one he sees. But try rolling on a call where the dispatchers advise "shots fired, proceed with caution," and then have some guy waving a badge. Your training says "Thank God, fellow cop--I can trust this guy." It completely changes your demanor and how you approach the situation.
Then you find out he isn't a cop.
I doubt you'd be real happy.
A badge, even moreso when in combination with a gun, represents training, experience and authority and implies that a non-badge toting individual can trust in the badge-toter. Why do you think cops despise fake badges so much?
And finally, I had a CCW permit holder save my bacon one night many years ago by using his firearm. I didn't have much difficulty in determining that he was "a good guy."
I know, realize and respect where Cirillo's point of view is coming from, but I stand by my contention that he missed the mark on this one.
Jeff