Tonight on COPS: An officer's wife a victim of a home break-in while husband at work.

[Zen21Tao]

I saw an interesting COPS episode tonight. After a high speed chase that ended with a couple of guys being arrested (I think it was a stolen car chase) one of the officers was given a phone. It turned out to be his wife saying she just heard a crash at here house and someone walking through the house. Then she said she had locked herself in the bathroom.

The first thing the officer asked his wife was “do you have the pistol with you.” He then proceeded to remind her of the rules of gun safety telling her to keep her finger off the trigger unless she needs to use it and to be careful where she points it. After a few minutes officers arrived on the scene to assist her.

Imagine that, a cop wants his wife armed so that she can defend herself when she is home alone rather than to rely on him and/or his fellow officers to arrive in time to save her.

 

[Steve in PA]

And?

 

[target1911]

And?

The most cops usually tell us not to do anything but dial 911 and wait for them to arrive.

 

[Zen21Tao]

And... it highlights the fact that those the anti-crowd expect us to rely on for our safety don't want their own loved ones to have to rely on them. That makes a powerful statement about how important being able to account for one's own personal safety is.

 

[.cheese.]

The most cops usually tell us not to do anything but dial 911 and wait for them to arrive.

I have a strong feeling that most of the time they say that for liability reasons.

I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying that I don't think what official policy tells them to say over the phone (if there is one) is necessarily what they personally think.

Remember, it's still a job at the end of the day for them, and like any job, there is policy and procedure to avoid legal liability issues. - that is if they want to keep their job.

That's just my 2 cents though.... and 2 cents doesn't buy anything these days.

 

[GhostlyKarliion]

I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying that I don't think what official policy tells them to say over the phone (if there is one) is necessarily what they personally think.

bingo... I also doubt that most police officers would advise people to call 911 and wait with you thumb up your blessed assurance till help arrives either...

most of the police officers that I talk to advise first and foremost to have a gun, keep it loaded, have two guns and keep them loaded...

what you hear from the spoksman on television and what a real police officer will tell you are usually very different things.

 

[10 Ring Tao]

Was this a new episode, aired tonight?

Can someone point me to exactly what season and episode this was?

This would make for a great piece of youtube enlightenment.

 

[ConfuseUs]

The most cops usually tell us not to do anything but dial 911 and wait for them to arrive.

The Chief of Police, through his spokesperson, tells you that. That's because Chief of Police is a patronage job and most mayors think the peasants shouldn't use guns to defend themselves. Rank and file cops would much rather that you own a gun and use it to defend yourself on the average.

The disconnect between what the bureacrats running the department and what the rank and file think about owning guns is grotesque and wrong.

 

[Davo]

Profound.

 

[Zen21Tao]

Was this a new episode, aired tonight?

Can someone point me to exactly what season and episode this was?

This would make for a great piece of youtube enlightenment.

It aired tonight at 1am on The CW. Here is all I could about the episode going a local listings search:

" Memphis: officer's wife barricades herself in bathroom against intruder."

I'll see if I can find more.

 

[Zen21Tao]

Okay, I found more info on the episode.

http://www.tv.com/cops-1989/cops---memphis-tn/episode/386471/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;2

4th Season, Episode #425, Originally aired: Saturday February 15, 1992 on FOX

Summary:

"From Memphis, Tennessee:

An officer's wife barricades herself in a bathroom against an intruder."

 

[Black Adder LXX]

...and the truth shall set you free...

CLASSIC!!! - I'm glad to know that my approach is the same as this well-trained professional. Somehow I feel vindicated...

 

[nhhillbilly]

Police Officer

I am a full time police officer since 1989. This weekend I am teaching an NRA Basic handgun course to what I believe to be non law enforcement personal. Gent's please police officer's are people made up of society. Most police officer's I know are pro 2nd amendment.

I assisted Mas. Ayoob yesterday with LFI III here in NH. I also believe most if not all the class was non-LE. Mas. I believe is still a part time police Capt..

It does my heart good to hear this officer trained his wife so she could protect herself until assistance arrived on the scene.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

The first thing the officer asked his wife was “do you have the pistol with you.” He then proceeded to remind her of the rules of gun safety telling her to keep her finger off the trigger unless she needs to use it and to be careful where she points it. After a few minutes officers arrived on the scene to assist her.

Imagine that, a cop wants his wife armed so that she can defend herself when she is home alone rather than to rely on him and/or his fellow officers to arrive in time to save her.

nhhillbilly said,

It does my heart good to hear this officer trained his wife so she could protect herself until assistance arrived on the scene.

The officer trained his wife so she could protect herself? It doesn't sound like it from the discussion. It sounds like he has told her where the pistol was kept, how to discharge it, and little more. If the wife was trained to defend herself, I highly doubt the husband would be reviewing the safety rules with her over the phone while there was an intruder in the hosue.

 

[ebd10]

The most cops usually tell us not to do anything but dial 911 and wait for them to arrive.

I disagree. Most Police CHIEFS, Public Information Officers and other politically appointed weenies tell us to call 911. Most of the street cops I have known want law abiding citizens to be able to defend their homes.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

The most cops usually tell us not to do anything but dial 911 and wait for them to arrive.

They aren't all the same.

 

[Archer1945]

Double Naught Spy said:

"The officer trained his wife so she could protect herself? It doesn't sound like it from the discussion. It sounds like he has told her where the pistol was kept, how to discharge it, and little more. If the wife was trained to defend herself, I highly doubt the husband would be reviewing the safety rules with her over the phone while there was an intruder in the hosue."

I have to disagree with this reasoning. My feelings are he was just reminding her what to do in what had to be a very stressful situation. This is very common practice and what 911 operators are trained to do in many circumstances. Knowing what to do and being able to do it under stress takes a great deal of training; one of the reasons soldiers drill so much. You have to train to the point where your subconcious is able to take over when your concious mind is telling you to 'run in circles, scream and shout'.

 

[MechAg94]

I thought episode sounded familiar. I actually saw that one back in the 90's. I haven't watched that show in years.

 

[Pilgrim]

I have a strong feeling that most of the time they say that for liability reasons.

For the most part, you are correct.

When I worked for the Sheriff, the questions, "Should I get a gun?" and "Can I shoot when...?", came after a person just had his home burglarized. He was angry, upset, and it was not a good time to give advice on getting a gun and when to use it.

Our standard answer was, "You will have to do what you think is best for your home and family. If you do get one, please learn how and when to use it."

Pilgrim

 

[Don Gwinn]

They aren't all the same.

Don't you almost feel silly having to point that out to people? It seems so obvious, doesn't it?

Folks, the reason Steve and others are a little perplexed is that they are police officers and they know that most police are on your side. Most cops would like nothing better than to hear that the guy they're arresting didn't actually get around to committing his crime because some woman with a pistol stopped him. That kind of us-vs.-them stuff is one reason Legal and Political closed. If and when it reopens, I personally am going to be closing threads about cops making unprofessional remarks, cops being rude, cops wearing too much black clothing, as well as threads expressing amazement that some police officer did the right thing. They're just cops. They're people. They tend to be people on our side, and sometimes we don't treat them that way.