Cop Pulls Gun On Customer Who Already Paid

That guy should be fired. No questions asked.

 

Timing was really bad in this instance. The police officer was calm, not screaming and was not pointing the gun at his head telling him to get on the ground while using excessive force....

 

I think he overreacted. Needs to be put on administrative leave and put through a few courses. Then back on probation, if he messes up again... You're fired.

 

Mentos... The deathmaker.

 

Suspicion of retail theft of something the average person would reasonably assume is worth less than $5 does not in any way justify displaying your weapon. Being calm is great, but when you are 100% in the wrong it doesn’t matter much.

 

Isn't there a saying that you shouldn't pull out your gun unless you are prepared to kill? There's no way it was ok to pull out a gun over a pack of gums.

 

Wow, talk about bad judgement. Willing to kill someone, just because he thought the guy committed a petty crime. A simple "I'm a Police Officer, I saw you put that candy into you pocket, did you pay for it?" would have sufficed.

 

There's also a saying (probably a policy where this guy works) that you damn well better be able to articulate a good reason for needing to display deadly force. I also thought "cocking a gun" was a Hollywood thing and most cops keep a round in the chamber ready to go, but I could be wrong about that.

 

Not only that, from the video it looks like he had his gun inside his sweater pocket. That's just plain amateur and dangerous, no knowledgeable, or trained carry would do that. He should've had it safely holstered with an IWB.

 

He was in the wrong. As I watched the video multiple times I agree. His actions don’t justify pulling out his firearm. But perception and timing was really bad on the officers part. He should be suspended with no pay and when he returns he needs to work behind desk for a while.

 

Yep that part too. Some guy pulls a gun out of his sweatshirt pocket and then has to rack the slide....he can say he's a cop all day long but I wouldn't believe him. Thankfully nobody got hurt.

 

Not only that, he was struggling a little bit to get it out of his pocket. If he had a round chambered, he could've inadvertently pulled the trigger trying to get it out and discharged the firearm, possibly killing an innocent. That seems just as concerning to me as him pulling it out.

 

Why not? Cops are just people, and in any sufficiently large group of people there are bound to be a few incompetent ones.

 

I’m glad everyone is ok. That said if you are going to draw your weapon over some Mentos you shouldn’t be a LEO. He should be fired immediately.

 

Cop's an idiot. BTW, has it been confirmed he was indeed a cop?

First, who in their right mind carries a gun in the floppy pocket of a sweatshirt?

Second, Why did he not just take out his ID and ask the clerk if the guy had paid for the Mentos? Or maybe, if you see the clerk making change, just assume that the item had just been bought?

 

This Officer made a bad assumption and acted on it. Are they teaching officers to pull their gun at any possible negative interaction with the populace now?

 

Don’t be ridiculous. Nobody is being trained to act like this dope.

 

Good to know, but based on actions, not with just this guy, not a ridiculous question at all.

 

When I was a toddler, I took a candy bar off the shelf from my stroller; my parents didn't notice until we were outside the store. This guy probably would've pulled a gun on me

People who are "trigger happy" should not be cops. Pulling a gun on someone should never be your first reaction unless the person is dangerous.

 

I only read the posts and my only comment is when off-duty be a good witness unless it’s a serious felony or a risk of bodily injury/death.

 

He should be fired immediately. He'll probably get the lightest possible "punishment" and it'll be business as usual.

I'm sure this idiot has every criminal he's ever interacted with salivating at the thought that this video will help them on appeals or pending cases.

 

That video was kind of disturbing... for reasons mentioned.

First, it was candy. Even if he stole it, was there a reason for an off-duty officer to brandish a gun? Did he have a badge or display a badge? What if this guy was scared ******** and was legally armed and killed the cop? The cop wasn't exactly wearing his Sunday's finest...

How did the cop know what happened beforehand? Why did he assume the guy was stealing when he was at the register? Why would the cashier be giving him cash?

It's noble of the guy to want the cop to get better training, but in all honesty, if this was another line of work, that guy would be fired. That's akin to working at a bank and getting your singles mixed up with the hundreds.