Of two things I am certain when it comes to criminals and police officers: nobody says one day, “I’m going to become a cop so I can kill bad guys,” or “I want to break the law and take a chance that nothing bad can happen to me.” Considering what has happened lately between cops and suspects, that might be important to note.
Cops don’t want to kill bad guys or any guys: they just want potentially dangerous people off the streets so the rest of us can lead civil lives. It’s sad when somebody dies because of a circumstance related to crime, and I’m certainly not trying to downplay what has happened recently to a few people who died on camera during police interactions. Death is tragic however it happens.
Not all bad guys want to live fast and die hard; the smaller scale criminals are about as similar to Public Enemy Number One as Casper Milquetoast. The little criminal, unfortunately, is the one most likely to get panicked and run, or they may have health problems or family problems (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a personal backstory). The cops will still chase a runner down with everything they have.
It doesn’t matter if you habitually knock off jewelry stores, rob convenience store checkers at gunpoint, or just commit insurance fraud or miss an alimony payment or two; when you join the ranks of the law-breaking establishment, you’re signing a contract with no guarantees or assurances of a good, happy or long life. Handcuffs don’t come color coded to suit the level of your misbehavior, but if you’re hard to detain, the shackles may come out.
Your fellow criminals may not have half your conscience or an iota of common sense, and these guys have worn the police departments of our country down to a nub of sanity. These are the guys who sneer, “You can’t get me, copper; I know my rights” and get off on technicalities because they have well-seasoned lawyers in their corners. Your career hardened criminal knows his trade chapter and verse and can recite policy and procedure in his sleep (when he gets it).
When you, the little guy criminal, comes up against a police officer, they don’t know you from Adam; they’re not sure if it will take six men at 200 pounds each to subdue you when you try to run (you might be on some heavy drugs and go psychotic when restrained), and they’re not sure if a Taser will even break your stride. They don’t know that you would simply go home and try to catch some sleep, should you escape their grasp; they assume you’re going to head straight to your arsenal and go on a civilian shooting spree. Your more knowledgeable crime savvy friends have put the cops in this frame of mind, and officers don’t have the time or luxury of asking questions first.
Don’t become a criminal in the first place. If you obey the law, you have nothing to fear. The cops won’t know you from Adam, and that will ensure you (and the officers who risk–and regret–the actions they take in their lives daily) a better outcome.
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