COPS circa the 80's

**Cochese** · 03-05-06, 06:39 PM

LOL.

I am watching an episode from the 80's. LASD. Two man car en route to a dope bust.

Passenger is repeating: "Here doper, doper, doper!"
as well as: "It's Saturday night! Time to go to jail!"

**Welpe** · 03-05-06, 07:00 PM

The late 80's / early 90's COPS episodes are the best. Especially the ones based in Phildadelphia, Boston and Texas.

Signal_W · 03-06-06, 01:12 PM

I love the old COPS shows. They do shit that we would never get away with nowadays.

**Cochese** · 03-06-06, 03:07 PM

A favorite of mine is from Philly,

"Get on it Mel!"

from the passenger, as he is racking the shotgun inside the squad.

**lcsodre108** · 03-26-06, 05:56 AM

My favorite was from Little Rock, Troopers chase this guy finally catch him and yank him out of the car and the trooperscreams at the poor SOB, "You're goin to Sherwood." You have to know Sherwood PD's jail, not real big, but they are freakin rude.

**Magnum440** · 03-27-06, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by Signal_W

I love the old COPS shows. They do shit that we would never get away with nowadays.

Signal_W, back to the 80's ain't far enough back. Go farther back to the 60's. I know an old retiree gets boring to you all, but Lordy, talk about the way we policed then versus how you guys are hamstrung now. Pitiful. I would NOT want to be an LEO now, knowing how it used to be. STAY SAFE

**cajunguy** · 03-27-06, 09:33 AM

Oh yeh. The good old days, when po-leece work was po-leece work.

Kick ass and don't even bother to take names.

**TXCharlie** · 03-30-06, 08:57 PM

I wonder if those are out in DVD? I'll have to look

**BACADetective** · 04-23-06, 08:50 AM

I had around 6 years on the job when COPS first aired on Fox in 1988. It was fascinating to me to see how other jurisdictions hadnled the same crap I was dealing with on Patrol in my City at that time.

LA Sheriff's, San Diego Sheriff's, Riverside Sheriff's, Boston PD, and Las Vegas Metro PD were favorites. Back then, they didn't take a whole lota crap from people.
Only Vegas remains now as it did in 1991 when they were first featured.
You really REALLY don't wanna piss Vegas metro off.
All the Sheriff's Departments in California have a distinct advantage over us City Cops: When they look a bad guy square in the face and tell them: "That's right...keep that shit up. You'll be spending time in MY jail...."

**Bandit** · 04-23-06, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by Magnum440

Signal_W, back to the 80's ain't far enough back. Go farther back to the 60's. I know an old retiree gets boring to you all, but Lordy, talk about the way we policed then versus how you guys are hamstrung now. Pitiful. I would NOT want to be an LEO now, knowing how it used to be. STAY SAFE

I can't go back as far as the 60's, but I do remember listening to the war stories my dad would come home with. In particular was the respect shown to the MD cops during the 1968 riots. They burned big sections of DC, but stopped right at the MD line. I think it had something to do with the governor giving an order to shoot to kill any rioters or looters who crossed the line. Ahh, the good ole days.

I do remember working in the 70's. Most cops were military veterans, many with Vietnam experience. Lessons on giving respect were dished out regularly. Now we're into the new millenium, breaking in generation X and Y. Nobody wants to earn anything anymore. Nobody is willing to go that extra mile. It's "give me this" and "give me that," or "why do I have to do that?". Hell, most of the kids we are looking at now have never been involved in a knock down, drag out fight. My career is coming close to being over, but I fear for those just entering the trade.

**StanSwitek** · 04-23-06, 11:52 AM

I remember when I was new on the job in the mid 70's. A veteran cop told me.
"Public relations & respect are the same in that they both come from the barrel of a gun." Those were the days.

**E-man** · 05-19-06, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by Cochese

A favorite of mine is from Philly,

"Get on it Mel!"

from the passenger, as he is racking the shotgun inside the squad.

Sorry but that was Cleveland, they are chasing the red Nissan and they are on teh other side of the road, the pass. racks his guage and was probably ready to shoot at the fleeing car. Nice to see how it ended up with the b/g car into a guard rail and the fat pass. from the back in the front window...

Philly had the naked guy throwing shots in the barber shop. Took like 5 guys to get him cuffed.

**Cochese** · 05-22-06, 12:54 PM

Touche

**dla4079** · 06-21-06, 09:19 PM

**CO_Cop** · 06-26-06, 01:54 PM

Just a quick observation, COPS premiered on March 11, 1989. Oh, and my favorite ones are the ones with the bad guys getting taser'ed. I crack up every time.

Can you tell, I dont carry a taser.. YET

P.

**Pedro56** · 06-26-06, 02:15 PM

I had a retro phase, hahahaha. I seen an old picture of my old man from the 70's in his uniform with the big bushy mustache w/mutton chops and the had tilted on top of his head. So I grew the bushy mustache the mutton chops busted out my well worn leather and my old hickory night stick, wore the hat a little tilted over to the side and went to calls. It was funny because some of the older people in the community actually reacted to it.

**x5150x** · 06-26-06, 06:56 PM

My favorite COPS is one featuring Broward County, FL from probably the early 90's. There are a lot of cops on the scene and they have a male and female in custody. The male is up against the back of a squad getting searched but not handcuffed (IIRC). The cop searching the male turns around and the male suspect takes off running down the street with several cops not too far behind. The closest cop removes his NUNCHUCKS from his BACK POCKET and proceeds to spins them around and toss them at the suspects feet!

Why don't I have nunchucks?

**Julie** · 06-26-06, 07:26 PM

I remember academy being six weeks of old movies from 60s , where officers walked nicely to vehicle wearing white gloves and everyone was respectful , and the books were old too , went to range 3 times , had a final and then on to streets . Yep back then the job was done with more street sense than book sense and the goverment wasnt taking the power from the cops and giving it to the perps and there was no sensitivity training .

Females even in late seventies and eighties had some acceptance problems, when we did our jobs we got labeled butch , but somehow i didnt think going on the streets meant i had to wear an apron and peruse a cookbook on duty, smile and giggle , i thought we were there to do the same thing as the men ... sigh.... oh well ..... just my thoughts ...

**OffDuty** · 08-25-06, 12:26 AM

I have to chime in with another favorite character(s)

Officer Harry Jackson from Portland, who apparently had the prostitution beat. He stopped a bunch of girls and the one girl in white all cracked out who he had never seen before kept saying "oh come on Jackssssin, you know me Jackssssin. You cant get me for nuthin, Jackssssin". And then after he goes to put her in the car she climbs up on to the roof shouting obsceneties at the camera, finally she gets a foot takedown from roof to trunk.. classic. I have to work the area with all the hoes now and I feel like Harry yelling at these chicks all day long.

Or the LASD with Sean and Paul (who was in FTO at the time). Theyre doing PR24 training and one guy shouts out as he is wailing on the bag with the PR24 "talk to him, Sean", which proceeds to have him bust out laughing in the middle of the workout.

I need to find my VHS tapes somewhere...

**oldtrooper** · 09-01-06, 03:59 PM

I started in 1964 and the old trooper who did what passed for FTO then had been on just over twenty years. He was fully ambidextrous and wore his holster on the left side. Most never saw the right hand move before impact.