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Contempt of cop

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"Contempt of cop" is U.S. law enforcement jargon for perceived disrespect by citizens towards police officers. The term is most often used in connection with police misconduct in reaction to such disrespect, i.e., arrest or police violence solely as a reaction to the disrespect, rather than for any legitimate law enforcement purpose.

To officers so inclined, any perceived challenge to their authority can trigger a "contempt of cop" reaction, including a lack of deference, disobeying instructions, flight from the police or expressing interest in filing a complaint against the officer. Offences such as the "trilogy" of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer may be cited as official reasons for a "contempt of cop" arrest.

The term is derived by analogy from "contempt of court", which unlike "contempt of cop" is an offence in many jurisdictions. It was already in use by the 1960s. It has also been referred to as "flunking the attitude test" and as a form of "interactional discrimination" (i.e., discrimination against people more likely to "talk back" to the police, such as young black men in the U.S.).

References

Footnotes

  1. Baruch et al., 140.
  2. Walker, 55.
  3. Steverson, 300.
  4. ^ Lawrence, 48.
  5. Walker, 52.
  6. ^ Collins, 51.
  7. Walker, 153.
  8. Cashmore, 180.
  9. Coleman, 136.
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