If a cop can't figure this in advance and act accordingly, he or she really ought to get out of the business. This incident smacks of, "We're cops. We rule." As some cops found out in Atlanta, GA following the shooting death of 92-year-old grandmother Kathryn Johnston during a drug raid based on bad informant info, that attitude can cost you dearly after the fact.To not at least shout POLICE is to invite bullets from the good guys (even off-duty plain clothes police) in the establishment.
I've broken up two robberies in my time, both by making serreptitous moves that caused the suspects to abruptly cancel their plans and leave the scene. I've also been in a couple of eateries where mass killings occurred later on, so I am sensitive to suspicious looking people acting fool in such places. And I, along with a growing number of citizens in this country, am armed and ready to act if necessary as permitted by law.
If I was a cop, I'd take heed of the above facts and adjust my behavior accordingly in public. A badge is not a license to run roughshod over the citizenry, who just might be your last chance in a crisis:
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