Thread: Question about this photograph

Originally Posted by Gimme_Coffee
And, more importantly, how exactly are you supposed to know the difference between LEOs and guys who are threatening your personal safety?

He's holding his gun SIDEWAYS. He's a criminal.

And he's pointing his gun at ME.

Which means unless there's something convenient I can duck behind, he's about one second away from taking a .38 Special between the eyes.

Double fail for him.

Have I mentioned the reason we put policemen in uniforms? It's so that we know who they are. Yeah, some banger could have gotten a haircut and rented a uniform or bought one off eBay, but chances are, if they're in a uniform, they're a real cop. Back before there were uniforms, the badge was the sign of their authority. Now it's the uniform.

Some nutball can wave his eBay badge and scream "POLICE!" all he wants, doesn't mean jack to me. And if he doesn't have a uniform and actually has some kind of standing, he's probably some kind of "law enforcement officer", which could be anything from a court security guard to a dog catcher. (yes, both are "LEOs" in some jurisdictions!) Not worth my time, even if they think they're Dirty Harry.

Exactly. There's a fairly distinct difference between that scene and the words "gimmie your wallet, now" and "metro police, back up".

It doesn't matter what words are coming out of their mouth. They're pointing a gun at me, I'm not going to wait for them to have their say.

They made their choice when they pointed the gun my way. It was their BAD choice.

Originally Posted by Gimme_Coffee

I'm not asking this to prompt a discussion about the police officers or other people involved, only to ask this: If you were standing in the place of the camera, or nearby, and you're not doing anything illegal or that endangers anyone else, what do you do?

And, more importantly, how exactly are you supposed to know the difference between LEOs and guys who are threatening your personal safety?

There is NO context; my presumption is that I've just encountered some whacktard who is pointing a gun at me. Nothing about a riot, or a photographer, or any of the other baggage people dragged into the discussion. Just a goob with a gun.

Rule Number 1 *: don't point the gun at anything you don't intend to shoot. Which is, apparently, me.

* my Dad's Rule Number 1, which I learned by heart long before I ever heard of Jeff Cooper...