Cop allegedly pulled gun on pregnant woman over too many grocery items in checkout

reply to post by getreadyalready


Well you are correct that we don't know the whole situation. Perhaps causing a scene would have been sufficient and the use of a firearm was uncalled for.

Its the principle I agree with and maybe not so much the actions of the officer.

Interesting thread though

reply to post by uscitizen859


Of course your right. That would have been the logical response by an adult.

Law Enforcement is a public service career field that represents authority.

Most people choose such career paths highlighting a desire to serve the public.
Some people choose such career paths because they crave authority.

We mustn't judge the many because of the actions of the few.

reply to post by Kenrichaed


One more thing, being pregnant means your not only breathing for one person but two. What if the gun had accidentally gone off and it killed her and the baby, would you still think what the officer done was just?

reply to post by madhatr137


I agree and maybe I'm wrong for hating the entire police force due to the police stupidity/brutality that you hear about on a daily basis, and that's just what is reported so it's hard telling what goes on unnoticed! I will continue to hate until I see some correction but I doubt that correction will ever come!

Originally posted by madhatr137
Law Enforcement is a public service career field that represents authority.
Most people choose such career paths highlighting a desire to serve the public.

I disagree. Motives aside, being a police officer is a job, and they make more money than most people. It's not a "public service" anymore than being a doctor, attorney or security guard is a public service. It's a career. It's not like it's a volunteer service or they're being paid minimum wage. And the reason most of them sign up to be police officers is not to serve their community but rather because of the money and because something about being on the force and the job responsibilities appeals to them.

The courts and media like to try and color the police force as being an entity that's present to "serve the public" like volunteer firefighters, but this is a fallacy. Those people are there to primarily make money the same way everyone else is. It's a job. Hospitals aren't there to serve the public, either. They're there to make money. That's why they charge you $20.00 (literally) for an ibuprofen tablet while you're an inpatient. The doctor and hospital staff are not there to "serve" you for some philanthropic reason. And not only do they charge outrageous fees, they often treat you like crap at the same time.

The fallacious labeling of police officers as public servants is what's primarily used as justification for their various abuses with courts and prosecutors turning a blind eye to even the most egregious use of excessive force.

If being a police officer is a public service, shouldn't also those who clean the toilets and the facilities we use every day also be called public servants? To be quite honest, I'd rather call the those people public servants. After all, their job is demeaning, they tend to not get paid crap for it, and no one shows them any appreciation or respect for their efforts. As far as I'm concerned, the poor people making minimum wage serving us our fast food during lunch breaks, cleaning the toilets, not getting paid crap, not getting any appreciation, and getting yelled at and put down all the time are more deserving of the title "public servant" than police officers are who get paid decent money, get respect, and have some recognized standing in society.

Ok I'm with the cop on this one too many times do people go through the express lane with a lot of things and I've said things many times of course I would naturally want them arrested

Originally posted by Biigs
Somone breaking the law, pregnant or not is subject to the law still, just more gently perhaps, as a pregnant woman is unlikly to make a run for it.

If the story is true, that it was just over some completly petty crime or disagreement then obvously, MAJOR shame on that cop. Disgraceful.

10 Items or less is a law?
It's more like a Walmart guideline.
Hell the cashiers don't even care as long as you're not completely asanine about it.

I can't believe some of the responses here. I have been to Walmart numerous times and been directed to the speedy lines by someone trying to move people through the lines quicker. We don't know if this was the case, regardless, folks need to take a breath and think.

Had I walked off and returned to find a grown man yelling at my wife, pregnant or not, it would be on. This man's stupidity is unacceptable, cop or not. His superiors should never have allowed the husband to be arrested or charged. I hope he is removed from his job, charges are dropped, and it cost's a pretty penny to settle the lawsuit. Maybe a stint as a Walmart greeter is in the cops future.

Originally posted by GoldenRuled
The crap is really getting deep. I've been aggravated by people going through express checkout with a cart load. I ragged at them. Never felt like pulling a gun on them. At least it is being investigated. Or so some say.
Raw Story

The clerks should just not accept there cart, tell them to move. I don't know why anyone would make such a big deal out of it.

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
Ok I'm with the cop on this one too many times do people go through the express lane with a lot of things and I've said things many times of course I would naturally want them arrested

In the right on complaining of the items, ok, maybe.

BUT, I carry my gun 100% of the time, and I've been in many altercations, and I've never needed to pull it out of its holster, or even mention that I have it on my person. Responsible gun owners and carriers don't pull their gun every time someone disagrees with them. This guy is a terrible gun carrier period, and he gives the rest of us a bad name, and then the fact that he is actually a cop, and actually has gun training and other training means he is entirely a moron, and entirely unfit for the job, and unfit to wield a lethal weapon.

If I did what he did, I would be in jail for at least 10 years in Florida for brandishing my weapon. We have a 10-20-Life law here. The cop wasn't in fear for his life, so using the weapon to threaten someone is a felony. It would be a minimum of 10 years in prison in this state.

These "tyranny enforcement officers" are really getting out of control. I come from a long line of law enforcement officers going back to Pat Garret of the Texas Rangers. There was a time that they were referred to as peace officers but that title has long been dead. I can say this, I took an oath to defend the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic when I entered the service 16 yrs ago and I didn't spend the last 12month years serving my nation so that our citizens can be intimidated by those whom.are sworn to protect our liberties by law. If that had been my wife I would be sitting in jail now because that no good donut disposer would have woken up in a trauma unit.

People need to stop taking their crap or we will end up living under gestapo tactics and our freedoms will be forever lost. The 14th amendment is known as the equal protection clause because it is supposed to provide equal protection under the law and from the law.

The really sad thing here is that this POS copwill get a 2 week paid vacation while he is investigated and then it will be found that he did nothing wrong.......always the same story with them. So how does it feel to know that as citizens we pay with our tax dollars to be treated this way?

reply to post by IamCorrect


Wow...that is a pretty bleak outlook you have there.

Motive aside.... Yeah. I suppose that, if you remove the human element from ones choice of a career path, it does simply come down to how one chooses to make money.

Never has any person had any reason, aside for personal profit, for making any choice...ever.

Being a doctor is about making money, not healing the sick and injured.
Police, Fire Fighters, Military service, about the money; not about protecting ones friends, neighbours or nation.
Teachers, money. Screw future generations.

Well #1 - it was the self check out line IIRC. The Walmarts I have been in do not have a specific number of items in order to use self check out. I've seen one that had a "suggested 20 items or less", but no hard, fast rule.

#2 - Pregnancy hormones mess with your brain function. I'm a smart, logical person. Embarrassed myself completely while pregnant by unloading my entire cart before noticing I was in the express lane. Thankfully it was slow and the cashier & person behind me found it funny and told me to stay put. Glad THAT guy wasn't behind me, I might have dropped the kiddo right there and then!

Originally posted by madhatr137
Law Enforcement is a public service career field that represents authority.

Most people choose such career paths highlighting a desire to serve the public.
Some people choose such career paths because they crave authority.

We mustn't judge the many because of the actions of the few.

I've had my rants about cops and their authority / power-trip issues. However, it does make me realize how fortunate I am to live in a smaller town, where I've seen cops behave like true gentlemen.

How many people have seen a real policeman, badge, gun and all, open a door for senior citizens with a smile on his face? I have actually seen it happen and they weren't "rich" old folks, either.

As for the rest of this country, I think people, cops included, are losing their minds, and fast.

How about in situations like the the Check-out Clerk simply refuses to check her out?
Tell her flat out that she will have to go to another lane.
And it could be done before all the items were out of the cart.
After all the clerk can see it coming.

Pulling a gun on somene over the situation----way over the top -- no excuse for it.
Good thing the cop didn't shoot to kill, as is the usual.
Too many thugs and gang members in the Police Force.

TextNicole Thurmond and husband Jason were reportedly checking out recently at a Walmart store in Oswego, Illinois when a man confronted them wearing civilian clothing, not identifying himself as an officer. The couple said it was only after his gun was drawn that the man told onlookers he was a police officer.

from ops source www.rawstory.com...

TextNicole Thurmond told NBC Chicago that officer Craig French just walked up to her and said, “Don’t you know how to count? You are holding up the whole store.” When her husband returned from getting an item they forgot, he described the situation he encountered as “a guy in her face, yelling at her.” Jason Thurmond, an African-American man, reportedly pushed the man away from his wife. That’s when the gun was allegedly drawn. In the ensuing moments, Thurmond claimed that the officer asked if he was on welfare.

so it seems it was a cop not in uniform who seemed to POSSIBLY have a problem with this African American and with his pregnant white wife...or at least wanted to try to police the line at wall mart (not there job i dont think)think this is an example of a cop bringing his work home with him and trying to flaunt authority due to being inconvenienced in a wall mart line perhaps if your going to try to act like your on duty identifying your self first might be a better idea then i dunno just pulling a gun then identifying your self(some person might also have a gun and shoot you before you end up identifying your self) either way at least they are investigating this as opposed to sweeping it under the rug

edit to add any one find the surveillance footage from the wall mart or is that illegal as its in Illinois
and it seems from futher reading it was the self check out line(no limits as far as i know) and the cop was just irritated they were taking too long

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Originally posted by andersensrm

Originally posted by GoldenRuled
The crap is really getting deep. I've been aggravated by people going through express checkout with a cart load. I ragged at them. Never felt like pulling a gun on them. At least it is being investigated. Or so some say.
Raw Story

The clerks should just not accept there cart, tell them to move. I don't know why anyone would make such a big deal out of it.

I cant believe there are fools on this thread who are making a bigger deal of the people who had to many items at check out, rather than a psycho almost killed a family. Are you kidding me? what has this site come to people, for real........ I'm disgusted at all of you who are making such a fuse about the amount of items they had, and not the fact that a gun was pulled on them........

misdemeanor battery?

if i pulled a gun on an offduty cop for having 9 items in the 1-8 item express checkout lane,
and if i manage to make it out of the store before his buddies arrive to shot 300-400 rounds at me, i would be facing a judge on attempted murder charges.

no wonder the cop was brazen enough to pull out his gun if that's the most discipline a member of the illinois county police force would likely face.

battery: "unlawful physical contact".

that's what you charge someone for slapping you on the head. terrorism is what you charge someone when they point a loaded firearm at you chest a woman with her baby.