Would you gripe at a cop about poor muzzle control?

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proud2deviate

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A while back, I was shopping around at the local FastenAll. I had just made my purchase and I was heading for the door, trying to get my change organized as I went. I looked up from stuffing my receipt in the bag and reached for the door handle. Surprise! There's a cop on the other side of the door, holding a tacticool 870 with the muzzle pointed in the general direction of my groin. Needless to say, I side-stepped in a big damn hurry. Mister LEO swung the door open and merrily entered the store, either oblivious to my shock, or simply not caring. Turns out, he was there to find a screw or something for the shotgun.

Now, I take a special sort of offense when folks point guns at me. Besides being dangerous, or perhaps because of it, I find it rude in the extreme. I've been known to have words with perfect strangers when they sweep me at the range.

However, in this case, I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I suppose the unusual setting (you're somewhat mentally prepared for such an occurance at the range. At a store in the middle of town, much less so,) combined with the LEO status of the offender threw me off. After a stunned "how dare he?" moment, I left quietly and went home.

So, would you have said anything? Why or why not?
 
I would have mentioned, politely, to the cop that I would appreciate not having a firearm pointed at me and to please be more careful in the future.
 
If you ran into the same cop regularly and he continued to show no muzzle discipline at the shop, then, yes, I would recommend you address it with him. This seems like a one-time gaffe, though, so perhaps you should just let it go.
 
Was the gun open and empty?

I know it's still not okay, but it's a bit different from if it's loaded. If it's loaded, then it can be a crime in some states to do that.
 
I'd hope I would have the midsectional fortitude to give him a piece of my mind, but I'm normally so non-confrontational that I'd probably silently slink away as you did. This dang apathy might get me killed someday.
 
The action on the 870 was closed. Don't know if it was loaded, but aren't we supposed to assume, however uncharitably, that it was?
 
I would have told him in no uncertain terms that doing something that stupid could get him killed!
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There ya go, there's an intelligent and mature response. I'm sure the officer would have cowered in fear of your awesomeness!

I think a simple "Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing!" would have sufficed, and been warranted.
 
I don't care if it's a cop or the Dalai Lama. Point a gun at me and you're going to be told not to do it again. The cop deserves a harsher notice since ALLEGEDLY, he should know better. He's like a fireman smoking while washing something with gasoline.
 
Don't know if it was loaded, but aren't we supposed to assume, however uncharitably, that it was?
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Absolutely.

It's also really rude to walk into a shop with an uncased gun with a closed bolt, even if the gun is empty.
 
From your description of the incident it sounds like the cop was carrying the shotgun in one hand while reaching for the door as you came through it from the other side. It also sounds like you stepped around it before he could have moved it if he wanted to. The shotgun may have been pointing forward because of the way it was being carried but that's not the same as being actively pointed at you. I'd call it a "whoops" moment and chalk it up to unfortunate timing rather than assuming the cop is just wandering around ignorantly pointing his shotgun at people.
Based on your description of the event I wouldn't have said anything.

Out of curiosity, how do you know he was after a screw for the shotgun and what prompted you to bring it up now if it happened "A while back"?
 
Gun control, the theory that 110lb. women have the "right" to fistfight with 210lb. rapists.
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That's one of the greatest signatures I have seen. Nicely put!

I did however run into a similar situation with a Texas State Trooper when I was at What A Burger with my sisters boyfriend. My sisters boyfriend carries a H&K USP and we noticed a State Trooper walking in with a full size H&K on his hip. We got into a debate about what type it was. I thought it was a P2000, he insisted it was a USP. So I said, well go ask him. So he walks over and asks him what gun he's carrying.To both of our surprise he completely removes his weapon from its holster and starts turning it all sorts of ways trying to read what it says on the slide. Both mine and my sisters boyfriends jaw nearly hit the floor. To this day we still don't know what it was because we were too stunned to pay attention to anything he was saying after he did that. I mean, your life depends on the weapon you carry everyday, and you don't even know what it is?
 
i'll dare

LEO's are given the authority by the state to be a janitor if they put any person in deadly risk for any reason other than a justifialible one.

thats the bigest reason we loose so many boys in blue. their so afraid of being slamed by the hindsight 20 / 20 people for having their gun on someone that turned out to be harmless, that they tend to rely on last second reconition and speed.:banghead:

as for the op, i would guess the officer was concentraiting on the door and didnt even relize he swept you. i would have let it go, but if something was said i think most leo's would be embarrised and aplogise.:eek:
 
I think that if I am at the range, where, you know, people are shooting the guns, I am alot more worried about being swept with a muzzle, then say, if I am at a gunshop. I don't like it to happen anywhere, but, in a gunshop it seems like a lesser offense then if you are standing on the line with a full mag ready to shoot.
 
WC145 said:
Out of curiosity, how do you know he was after a screw for the shotgun and what prompted you to bring it up now if it happened "A while back"?
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I caught a snippet of his conversation with the clerk as I was headed out (he had my attention at that point, understandably.) The clerk didn't seem at all alarmed or surprised, so I'd imagine that bringing the shotgun in was either pre-arranged or a common enough occurrence.

As to why I brought it up now, I'm still kind of conflicted on how I handled it (or didn't handle it, depending on your view.) It's one of those funny little things that plays over in my head at odd times, and I wonder if I could have done better. Though it'll probably never happen again, I'd like to try to come up with an appropriate plan of action, just in case. That, and I'm simply curious as to what others might have done in the given situation.
 
I am my brothers keeper, so having said this you bet I would have brought it to his attention. I don't think just because he has a badge he should be excluded from being held accountable for his actions
 
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I would have told him my nuts didn't appreciate seeing the business end of his shotgun.
 
"Ahhhh Officer---do you have any idea what you just did to my blood pressure pointing that shotgun at me?"

i think a statement like that would catch him embarrassingly off guard and elicit an apology of sorts. I'm further thinking that in his mind he was carrying a 'tool' he needed a part for and forgot just what kind of tool it was for the moment.
 
"Officers' Wife, the name says a lot.

Either IS now, or has been married to one or more Officers. But chill-pills ARE very cheap, and Gun Safety is taught for a reason: prevention of "accidental" tragedies. Semper Paratus!
 
Was that comment for real? We (the people) give police officers "temporary" power to enforce laws, make arrests, and serve warrants, period. They are not supermen, do not hold office for life, and are subject to the same laws and frailties that us common folk are. To any officer, or wife, that thinks they are more than that, consider just how important an officer is when he has been suspended or terminated, either of which can be the result of using poor judgment when waving a gun around on duty. If that officer, or any officer for that matter, does not have a bona fide reason for pointing a gun at someone, then it could be aggravated menacing, assault, etc, and even criminally punishable. We know by the poster's description it was probably just an oversight of safety, but let's not get indignant because the person holding the gun has "authority" for specific purposes....
 
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