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DC cop pulls gun out at snowball fight - what do you think?

post #1 of 11
12/21/09 at 12:15pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFC8mNdxV0c
Here's a youtube video - actually, IMO, after I continued watching to the end, is that the crowd was unruly, disrupting traffic and was enjoying riling the cop. They were definitely showing mob mentality, and immaturity - I used to see the same kind of behavior with crowds of drunks where I used to work. Just a bunch of punks who wanted cop attention and now they have it! If they wanted to have a snowball fight, they needed to go to an empty parking lot...
When I first heard the story on the radio, I thought, oh, no, another case of police overreaction---now I wish they'd brought out the dogs!!! Esp. after the arriving officers told the crowd to go down to the station and file complaints, but, no, yelling and confrontation and attracting public attention was just too much fun .
Just my take on it, though....
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post #2 of 11
12/21/09 at 1:31pm
My step-son-in-law is a Boston cop. He works the vampire shift in the worst parts of the city. A lot of times when they respond to a call they do not know whether someone at the scene will be armed and dangerous or not.

What I see here is one cop (who probably radioed for backup) and a lot of unruly people. I don't know what part of town this is but it looks like one where people have a bad attitude towards cops.

If wanted to draw a gun to be ready for whatever might have happened next and/or to make sure he wasn't the cause of an "officer down" report then I have no problem with it.

As far as I'm concerned whoever made the video is a jerk and doesn't deserve police protection if and when they might need it.
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post #3 of 11
12/21/09 at 3:16pm
Actually it looks like the one punk was trying to start a riot.

All of the comments about how that officer should be arrested and have his badge taken away are for the birds. If someone was throwing snowballs at MY car, blocking the street, and making me feel threatened, I would probably pull out my gun too. That's a basic american right to bear arms, who cares if he's a cop or not? Would it have been any different if it had been a regular citizen who was armed?

I see some comments, not sure if they are true, about how this "riot/protest" was about global warming and they were throwing snowballs at vehicles that weren't "green" enough for them.

Everyone has the right to protest, but nobody has the right to start a riot or damage other people's property.
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post #4 of 11
12/21/09 at 9:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nekomania View Post
I see some comments, not sure if they are true, about how this "riot/protest" was about global warming and they were throwing snowballs at vehicles that weren't "green" enough for them.
May I point out that a global warming protest using snowballs is doomed to be at least a little bit ironic?
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post #5 of 11
12/22/09 at 8:45am
I bet that unruly mob were a bunch of liberals.
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post #6 of 11
12/22/09 at 10:06am
Well well it looks like there may be more to this story than meets the eye.
before this cop pulled out his gun, the same crowd had helped a cop get his car out of the snow.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/b...rchist-threat/

And according to this, it wasn't clear that this guy was a cop. All the crowd saw was a guy driving a Hummer and since they were already throwing snowballs they decided to throw one at him.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/b...ht-14th-and-u/

http://www.nbcwashington.com/weather...-79729162.html

Hmmm I'll be curious to see what else turns up on this story.
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post #7 of 11
12/22/09 at 12:42pm
Thread Starter 
Well, the crowd was being unruly, bottom line!!! It was disrespectful in the very least, for them to be pelting ANY cars!!! I think that the responding officers showed incredible restraint. I wouldn't have blamed them one bit for turning a fire hose on them! They want attention - give it to them!!!....and I'm considered very liberal, for the record...
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post #8 of 11
12/22/09 at 2:20pm
Don't think snowballs are dangerous? Pour some water on a snowball in sub-zero temps and see how fast you have an ice-ball. That can do some serious damage, real quick. Or break up some ice-cycles and roll that up with the snow and throw it real hard at someone's face. OUCH! And either one of those can do quite a bit of property damage to a vehicle.

I haven't watched the video. Generally I tend to side with the police, unless they are just plain out of control (which there have been plenty of instances). A group of unruly people throwing "snowballs", blocking traffic, acting in a riotous manner? Sure sounds like he had good reason to pull his weapon.
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post #9 of 11
12/22/09 at 3:17pm
Wow these people were just trying to get the cops in trouble for the fun of it, they should have let it go rather than try to piss off the cops.
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post #10 of 11
12/23/09 at 11:34am
Do off-duty detectives still wear their weapons on them? I'm wondering if perhaps he took the gun out of his glove compartment or something before getting out of his vehicle. He didn't hold it up and point it at them from what I can tell. He just had it in his hand...which to me, it probably a good choice when approaching an unruly mob of people. Which is what they looked like to me...whether they were having fun or not. I wouldn't want to approach unarmed.

Either way, those kids were idiots...first by having a snowball fight in an intersection during what looks like pretty bad driving conditions...and second for giving the cops a hard time.

However, it is precisely videos and things like this that I think creates situations where people backtalk and disrespect cops. Yes, some cops do bad things, but most are there to serve and protect. However, we we see headlines like this it just sounds like another "stupid cop" abusing their authority. It's unfortunate...I wouldn't want to risk my lives for people who show such disrespect.
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post #11 of 11
12/23/09 at 1:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zoeysmom View Post
Do off-duty detectives still wear their weapons on them?
I think the majority of police departments in the US allow off-duty police to carry a weapon- not sure if it is required. I don't know if it is their duty weapon or if they have to qualify with another firearm as their off-duty weapon.
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