How To Not Get Shot By The Police

I’ve had a cop point a gun at me.

You can even see the picture of it – which, come to think of it, was probably a bad idea. Who puts his hands over his head and takes a snap of a police officer pointing a rifle at him? But, I was in full journalist mode covering 300 cops in riot gear running a bunch of dirty hippies from the Occupy Movement out of a park in Denver. Earlier, I had been up close to the line of cops taking pictures when they charged forward and they probably thought I was some kind of protest leader. Maybe I should have yelled, “Don’t shoot me, bro, I’m a Republican,” but I didn’t think of it.

I’ve also been pulled over quite a few times because of my lead foot, which always felt more like an annoyance than a threat. You get pulled over; you pay a lawyer; your ticket goes away. Repeat every 6-12 months.

Incidentally, that’s the first key to not getting shot by the police. Don’t think of the police as a threat. They’re really not going to randomly beat you, arrest you or shoot you for no reason whatsoever. It’s like a bee. Don’t start swatting at it and chances are, it’s not going to sting you.

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