Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/05/06/off-duty-officer-holds-man-at.html
…
4 Likes
Regular people get charged with brandishing a weapon. Cops get a, “Oops oh well. Here’s a raise.”
27 Likes
The clerk says nothing till asked , after the fact, if the ‘suspect’ had paid for the candy. Classy.
10 Likes
Officer might have decided to shoot him for speaking. Seriously. The very few times I have been unlucky enough to have been within comprehension-distance of what was going on when a gun was drawn, everyone gets very quiet very fast. I certainly wanted to draw no attention to myself by speaking up, and I’m someone who can generally not shut the fuck up in a bad situation.
41 Likes
Anyone else doing this and it would be a quick firearm confiscation and a brandishing charge. This story is not about firearms, it’s about state power.
21 Likes
Given the disproportionate percentage of cops who are known domestic violence perpetrators, is it really any surprise some of them escalate situations like this so quickly?
18 Likes
But they were Dangerous Mints…
13 Likes
Dangerously minty®
18 Likes
You had to go there.
8 Likes
Say what you will about police violence, but Mentos’ viral marketing game is fire.
20 Likes
I have a personal policy of not immediately joining into situations where people are armed and potentially behaving erratically.
20 Likes
Instinctive mammalian reflex when confronted with a threat. Freeze and stay quiet.
If I were in his position, the only noise you’d hear from me would be my arsehole puckering.
21 Likes
Convenience store clerk-- probably an immigrant, likely a refugee from some police state. He understands the Rules of living in a police state (back in the day I travelled a fair bit in the Soviet bloc, and the Middle East):
- When interacting with authorities, never speak until spoken to.
- Never volunteer anything.
- Never provide additional information or explanation or context.
- One word answers are best.
- Keep yours hands visible.
- Do not make eye contact.
- Do not move unless directed to, and then only slowly.
- Never attempt to intervene or be helpful in any way between the authorities and another person they are interacting with, no matter how obvious and easy the answer appears to you.
- And never ever ever laugh, no matter how ridiculous the situation.
Its about time American’s developed some of these basic life skills. White Americans anyway, non-white Americans pretty much already have them.
45 Likes
You can an hero on mints.
6 Likes
When your society’s primary tool of conflict resolution is a firearm, every problem looks like a target.
16 Likes
He’s a cop.
Cops are good guys.
He had a gun.
Ipso facto: a good guy with a gun.
Any further questions?
Also: the suspect is brownish, so there’s that.
Edit: note that Officer Hair Trigger endangers the cashier. After he fumbles his pistol out of his pocket, he does NOT step to one side, leaving a direct line from him, through Jose, to the cashier. In effect, he pulled his pistol on both of them.
SubEdit: After watching the video again, the only one he points the weapon toward is the cashier - my guess is that that’s based on a combination of training (“don’t point a firearm at anything you don’t intend to kill”) and tunnel vision (“the only people in the world right now are me and this scary brown Mentos thief”). He threatens Jose, but endangers the cashier. Great job.
Edit2: “take your cash and leave.” WTF? It was worth threatening the guy, but not worth the hassle of arresting him and filling out the paperwork?
18 Likes
Say what you want, at least the police officer apologized for his mistake (after drawing a loaded weapon and holding the man at gunpoint…)
I guess in this day and age we shall simply be happy he bothered to ask the clerk if the man had paid for the mentos BEFORE he shot him.
3 Likes
WTF is wrong with people?
7 Likes
As i understand it, there tends to be lots of steroids floating around police stations.
13 Likes
