Stupid police stunt puts public in danger.

Just a week after a Philly cop was shot dead while walking home, another senseless act of violence against a police officer shocked a quiet Philly suburb.

Bucks police officer shot during traffic stop

Investigators say the Chalfont police Officer John Cousin was shot in the chest after pulling up to investigate a suspicious vehicle around 3:15 a.m. Monday.

The officer was able to radio dispatchers after he was shot in the parking lot of a swim club where the suspicious car had been stopped.

Cousin was wearing body armor. He was transported to a hospital before being released a few hours later.
Authorities say they’re searching for the maroon Oldsmobile the officer had pulled over with two men and a woman inside.

Post Mercury

Police, already shocked from the Philly cop's death, set up a widespread manhunt looking for the shooters, even blocking off streets leading into and out of Chalfont in their drive to find the shooter. Emotions were probably running high as the police searched for the person who would dare to take a shot at one of their own. The prospect of encountering someone who would shoot a cop during a routine traffic stop probably had officers on edge, ready to strike out at the first sign of danger.

A few days later, it was found that no shooting had ever happened that night.

Chalfont police officer faked being shot, authorities allege

Cousin is in jail Wednesday on charges of filing false reports to authorities because investigators say the shooting Cousin reported early Monday never occurred. Although there was a bullet found in Cousin's bulletproof vest worn under his uniform, the bullet apparently was not fired while Cousin was wearing the vest.

Police began searching for an older model Oldsmobile, possibly a maroon Cutlass, occupied by two males and a female. The vague description released by authorities indicated Cousin did not radio in the license plate or a description of the car before approaching it, which is usually standard procedure when making a traffic stop.

It turned out, he had no injuries or bruises to his chest as would be expected from being struck with a bullet.

Borough officials, in a news release, said they also grew suspicious because "Officer Cousin's explanation of the shooting raised more questions than it answered."

Detectives from the Bucks County district attorney's office were called in to take over the investigation.

A ballistics analysis of Cousin's bulletproof vest and other evidence determined the shooting had been staged and Cousin's story was fabricated, the news release said.

The Morning Call

I hope they throw the book at this guy; not only did he file a false report, he put the whole community in danger by initiating a manhunt for nonexistent shooters by police throughout the region. Imagine what could have happened if police had found a car matching his description. If the people stopped had panicked or acted inappropriately somehow. There could have very easily been a car full of dead people as a result of this officer's actions.

I'm glad they quickly saw through his lies but, something needs to be done to better screen potential officers and ensure the public isn't put at risk like this again.

Wow, what an incompetent weirdo cop. He should be forced to pay the cost of the manhunt to the taxpayer. Why make up a story like that? For attention?

Obviously it was for the attention he would have gotten. Humans have become disgusting media whores, and a "look at me" generation, (reality t.v.) However the damage he COULD have caused, had he not been found out. This surely would have become a "copycat" starting incident, a "war on cops" if you will. Im just glad the men in charge actually exposed this and did not try to sweep it under the rug in an attempt to deflect bad publicity.

reply to post by RealSpoke


I figure he's either an attention junkie or he decided to test out his vest to make sure it would protect him and then found out he couldn't get a replacement unless it happened in the line of duty.

I think once a vest take a bullet, it is recommended you take it out of service as it may not be completely effective afterwards. Those vests ain't cheap and he may have been looking for a way to get the department to pay for his replacement.

Well that is terrible. How is it that in this day and age we don't have something better than bulky Kevlar bulletproof vests that officers and soldiers can wear at all times, to prevent deaths from incidents like these? Surely DARPA has researched extensively in this area. I do not think that a standard vest would stop all that many calibers at point blank range, therefore I think something better is needed. But I am not expert, I admit, on bulletproof vests so I could be wrong. The federal government should also supply departments with these vests, as it would cut down on senseless slayings of police officers.

But then again, many times it is the police who really are the bad guys, and extra armor could possibly just cost an honest citizen his life, but that is relatively far-fetched in that circumstances of that nature probably do not arise often at all. There would have to be like a shootout between a good guy and a bad cop or something, lol, and I cannot remember ever even hearing of that happening before.

Originally posted by FortAnthem
reply to post by RealSpoke

 

I figure he's either an attention junkie or he decided to test out his vest to make sure it would protect him and then found out he couldn't get a replacement unless it happened in the line of duty.

I think once a vest take a bullet, it is recommended you take it out of service as it may not be completely effective afterwards. Those vests ain't cheap and he may have been looking for a way to get the department to pay for his replacement.

That makes a lot of sense, actually.

I bet that now he thinks owning up to it would have been the best idea.

whoops, double post

Do an investigation and then throw the book at this guy. We have enough problems with how people view law enforcement and this does nothing but continue that problem.

As for his vest -
I hate the term bullet proof. Bullet resistant is more appropriate because like all things made by man, it can fail.

As for his claim -
What the hell did the idiot think was going to happen when he received medical attention?

For those not familiar with how the vest works -
The vest itself does not stop the bullet. If you take a vest and hang it up on a clothes line and shoot it you will have rounds penetrate the.vest. The vest working in conjunction with the human body is what "stops" the bullet. The vest against the body allows the energy to be spread out.

The injuries that occur from a bullet impact on the vest is not pretty. Lots of bruising / internal bruising / broken bones - ribs etc...

To claim that someone shot him without the effects... sounds to me like the officer is one hostage shy of a hijacking (mental state).