An article — from the parody-news website CalltheCops — went viral last week. If you’re unfamiliar with the site, just think of what we here on Police1 do on April Fool’s. They do that stuff all year long.
The site does post some pretty amusing spoof news, but this one was just not funny.
“Gang members are painting the ends of gun barrel orange. The theory is that cops will be slower to shoot because that orange tip is a signal of being a toy gun.”
The “joke” has since been taken down, with an explanation stating that an abundance of racist comments and a very real officer safety issue led the site’s purveyors to take down the post.
“People who do not know about CallTheCops took the story as 100% real and have shared it over and over. Officer safety bulletins have been created off the story.”
That’s true. It took less than 12 hours for the post to go from idle Facebook chatter to squad room safety briefings.
During the past half-decade, I’ve repeatedly written about individuals camouflaging guns inside of “super-soakers” and NERF guns and whatnot, and painting weapons in bright colors to make them look like toys.
I’ve also been told (repeatedly) that this practice of painting just the barrel and/or the tip of a pistol in that bright orange color is being done. I’ve never seen an example of this firsthand — either in person or in an evidence exhibit — but I do believe that this is not only possible, but it’s also likely to be happening.
Remember, it’s the totality of the circumstances that ultimately dictates what an officer will do when he or she encounters what may be a harmless child with a toy, or what may be a dangerous suspect bent on taking the life of a cop. Let’s review a handful of thoughts on this topic. Add your own tips to the comments area below.
1.) Is the subject complying with your commands? We all know what non-compliance is, and what it frequently means. Enough said on that one, correct?
2.) What brought you to this scene in the first place? If this was “unknown trouble,” you’ve got what you’ve got. But knowing the call was armed robbery might influence things.
3.) Did the subject muzzle you or someone else at any point? For that matter, are we dealing with someone (a little boy) who would be predisposed to “playing” with a toy?
4.) What does the subject’s facial expression tell you? Gritted teeth? Flushed complexion?
5.) What does the body language tell you? Bladed feet? Target glances? Escape glances?
