Post originally by Manga Boogie Man at 2004-12-05 23:10:40
Converted from Phorums BB System

Man, I'm sorry to hear that. You've got my sympathies. I'm guessing the offbeat comment was made by the two bad apples, and could be considered provocation, at least. I hope those two got disciplinary action over that incident, or maybe even got fired. They deserved it. Even the crap response time should have gotten them an ass-chewing, at the very least. (Please bear with me here, since I know none of what follows happened in your case) What if the fight had been a full-blown brawl between mortal enemies, one or more participants were high on something (or armed), or a fire had started from something knocked over in the fracas? The whole thing could have been over, with a much worse ending, by the time those two jack-offs finally showed up. Just a whisper of an incident like that could cause public relations problems for the department. Good cops have enough trouble dealing with the public these days (the bad ones deserve all the flak they get). Also glad to hear that the rest of the cops involved were professional about the whole thing, and nice people to boot. It's good to know that the thin blue line is still personified by the dedicated cop, not the authority-drunk, corrupt SOBs with guns.

You're right to be wary, too. Just like a cop doesn't know who he's walking up to in a traffic stop, you don't know who's walking up to you from that police cruiser in the same circumstances. It could be Officer Friendly, dedicated policeman and family man, or it could be Officer Odiferous, who's never met a "perpetrator" he didn't want to slap around or wallop with a trumped-up charge, to "keep the streets safe". Or it could be somebody worse.

Even ignorance on the part of a cop can hurt you. Not all cops know the law well, even though they have to know the law to do their jobs. A gentleman stopped for speeding in Arizona, who was very familiar with Arizona firearms laws (worked with an Arizona legislator to draft those laws) and was carrying a gun in the car in accordance with those laws, admitted to the officer who pulled him over that he was carrying a gun concealed in the car. The officer wrote him a citation for carrying a concealed weapon and one or two other minor things. The officer didn't know the law as well as the man he'd stopped. All charges were later dropped, but it wasn't a fun experience for anybody. Nothing happened to the officer. This was just a case of the cop not knowing the law. What if it had been a shake-down by the cop?

Thankfully, bad cops can be worth something to gamers, if not to society. They make great bad guys and good story fodder. Few enemies are more hated than corrupt cops, even basic flatfoots on the take. Guys who are supposed to uphold the law getting fat off others' misfortunes make for enemies your PCs will love to hate.

Also, few enemies can be more dangerous than bad cops. For a somewhat extreme example of a bad cop in a high place, take a GEO Marshal from the Blue Planet and Blue Planet V2 RPGs. Authority along the lines of a U. S. Marshal, but the U. S. in this case is an entire planet under one government. Only a dozen or so GEO Marshals on the entire planet Poseidon. Licensed to kill in the line of duty, under the law. Only very powerful political figures can give him orders, and all others are below him in rank and station. Very nearly absolute power to enforce the law. One bad mamma-jamma, cyber-enhanced and wired to take the fight to the criminals, with all of the authority of Judge Dredd if Dredd was a general. Now make him a disillusioned cop on the take.

Taking this guy down could be the basis of an entire campaign. When he falls, he'll fall hard, so he might do ANYTHING to stay in power. He's certainly got the authority and manpower to make life hell for any enemies, like your PCs. He's also probably got a few more lower-ranked bad apples in the GEO Patrol to do his dirty work. And if you want pathos, think about the poor GEO Patrol officers, real honest cops, being given orders to bring in some enemies of his (the PCs), who haven't done anything except learn too much about this guy's dirty laundry. Give one of them a son or daughter about the same age as one of the characters (the character might even be a dead ringer for the son or daughter in question). This is the sort of plot hook that can make for the best kind of roleplaying. And what are these games for if not asking the tough questions? Melodramatic? Maybe, but it'll certainly be a memorable moment when that officer looks over his gunsight at the cornered PC.