You miss my point. Perhaps I can be clearer. There is a 90% probability that any given police car will contain firearms in the boot. The probability is lower but still well above zero that individual officers will be carrying guns on their person as well, especially if they are plainclothes detectives.
When I was much younger, I was part of a KAOS group (Killing As Organised Sport - http://www.kaos.org.nz/ (http://www.kaos.org.nz/)) and I wanted a shoulder holster for my water pistol. There was a leather shop up the top of Cuba St where they made stuff to order. I went in and described what I wanted, thinking it would be a special deal and they'd have to design it from scratch. He pulled one out of a drawer and said "Is this what you mean? We make them for the D's". I couldn't afford it, and I went away having lost a little of my innocence about the Police. I had always thought they were totally unarmed as well. Then again, I never thought they'd pack rape anyone.
On your second point, the appropriateness of a situation depends on a lot of things - for example, why are they pulling the car over? Does the driver match a description of a known felon who uses violence? Has the car been reported stolen? These days, they have to be ready for anything. Two officers killed in the line of duty in the last few years come to mind - the one in Napier, killed on the side of the road, and the one in Palmerston North, killed by a teenager who had abducted his girlfriend and her mother. What's "routine", anymore?
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Date: 2005-08-09 10:41 am (UTC)When I was much younger, I was part of a KAOS group (Killing As Organised Sport - http://www.kaos.org.nz/ (http://www.kaos.org.nz/)) and I wanted a shoulder holster for my water pistol. There was a leather shop up the top of Cuba St where they made stuff to order. I went in and described what I wanted, thinking it would be a special deal and they'd have to design it from scratch. He pulled one out of a drawer and said "Is this what you mean? We make them for the D's". I couldn't afford it, and I went away having lost a little of my innocence about the Police. I had always thought they were totally unarmed as well. Then again, I never thought they'd pack rape anyone.
On your second point, the appropriateness of a situation depends on a lot of things - for example, why are they pulling the car over? Does the driver match a description of a known felon who uses violence? Has the car been reported stolen? These days, they have to be ready for anything. Two officers killed in the line of duty in the last few years come to mind - the one in Napier, killed on the side of the road, and the one in Palmerston North, killed by a teenager who had abducted his girlfriend and her mother. What's "routine", anymore?