You’re a New York City cop, driving home with your spouse and kids from a pleasant family gathering watching a game on TV… a pedestrian runs into your car, you stop to help, and discover the pedestrian was being chased by a guy in a mask with a gun. That guy points the gun at you…and you draw your off-duty 9mm and shoot him.  He runs away, wounded.

No, it’s not a real case, though it certainly could have been. It’s an episode from the highly regarded TV series Blue Bloods. You can stream it from CBS’s website.

The whole show, well worth watching, is considerably more complicated than that. Ongoing story lines deeply touch what happened on 9/11/2001, and the survivor guilt of those who lived when their brothers next to them died.  But, for purposes of this blog entry, consider the following clip.  The cop’s son – present at the off-duty shooting, in the line of fire of a couple of bullets fired by the masked man – asks the police parent about guns.  See it here

It’s not about genders. It’s a little bit about cops and their loved ones: in the whole show, Tom Selleck classically says that the only thing tougher than being a cop is being married to one. I know female officers, and female armed citizens, who’ve been unable to get the reality across to the men in their lives.

I wish the screenwriters had done a little bit better job of getting the basic safety rules in order, but on the whole, what’s said by the cop in the above clip strikes me as pretty much gospel truth.

What’s y’all’s take on it?

1 COMMENT

  1. I was never “on the job”. I was a Probation Officer in Kern County, CA long ago in a galaxy far away. However, I was blessed to have many associations with LEO’s and their families. I had a few friends who had similar problems, both husband cop and wife cop and sometimes both were cops. I have no idea how these people, who did their jobs honorably, handled the internal conflicts which arose from the job versus the home. It has to be a daunting task and I admire and did admire those who were willing to take it on and make it work. Sadly, some didn’t make it work. I still love ’em all.

  2. Those of us who have worked in law enforcement, fire and EMS or in Emergency Rooms know about what I refer to as the parallel universe.

    If you haven’t dealt with them, you don’t know about the really crazy and truly evil in the world.

    If you have to deal with that part of society and your spouse can’t relate, it can be difficult.

    I think part of the problem of spouses relating is that they don’t see what their partners have to deal with.

  3. I carry a 2″ snubbie Taurus model 606 in stainless steel. It conceals easily, fits my hand very well and is always dependable. I get to practice on my backyard range with .38 cal. loads and I’m as happy as a clam!

  4. “You’re a New York City cop, driving home with your spouse and kids from a pleasant family gathering watching a game on TV… a pedestrian runs into your car, you stop to help, and discover the pedestrian was being chased by a guy in a mask with a gun. That guy points the gun at you…and you draw your off-duty 9mm and shoot him. He runs away, wounded.”

    Except you forgot a point: the cop was standing in front of his vehicle, which meant the “guy in a mask” ended up shooting into the vehicle, barely missing the cop’s family. The cop blew “situational awareness” and his wife was justified in being supremely pissed at him.

    A fine presentation of basic safety rules and the sight of the cop’s kids dodging bullets: I’d say it was a wash.

  5. Luckily the character in the show was an off duty cop and was actually allowed to carry a gun in New York City. I wish that there where a NYC based “Cop” show that at least once would show and somewhat expalin the tragedies that happen everyday there because the common man is not allowed to carry. Just think of how much better it could have been for everybody (besides the assailant) had the man being chased been able to use his second amendment rights and defended himself.

  6. I saw the show last Friday, and thought it was a good take on a difficult part of a cop’s family life. When I clicked to watch the clip however, I clicked off because I’m fed up with these sites that force you to watch a commercial first. News sites, YouTube, whatever, I now click off when the ad starts. If they know how many times a video was watched, they know how many ads were (or were not) watched too.

  7. Mas, I thought you’d chuckle to know that I read your line, “the following clip,” and I’m so used to people getting it wrong that I had already mentally substituted, “magazine,” before I realized you were talking about something different entirely.

  8. From the MUCH fairer sex, let me say that with Tom Selleck as the lead, it’s my favorite show. My husband thinks it’s because the family is Irish. Actually, Mas, Blue Bloods is a pretty show – at least there’s no zombies, vampires, etc. Another good one is Southland. Really intense.
    jo ann

  9. That’s fantastic! I haven’t been watching the show, but I’m going to get caught up on it now.

    There’s no way to completely “child proof” a gun, the best you can do is “gun proof” the child with education and guidance.

    The absolute worst you thing you can do is make the gun a tantalizing, forbidden mystery. That’s like cat nip for kids.

  10. One worked once as a LEO, doing security detail duty for the US Marshals’ Service. Dad was Deputy Sheriff, cousin was on the LAPD.

    Bottom line is that cops have a job one one should have to have, are horrifically underpaid and under appreciated, and most of them do it quite well and more than a few do it in a superior and professional manner.

    However, having said the above, I’ve found that during the last 20 years, more and more ‘Only Ones’ have entered the ranks of PD’s, SO’s, and HP’s, and the mindset of such individuals is nothing less than that of jackbooted thugs: they use the badge, gun, and uniform to intimidate and oppress.

    Sadly, most individuals with such a jackbooted thug mindset seem to live and work in the most gun restrictive states in the country: CA, MA, IL, NYC, NJ, and Hawaii (to name the most notorious).

    Cops with the ‘Only Ones’ mentality do exponentially more harm than just the few bad apples who are into graft; the O.O.’s represent tyranny up close and personal.

    I mention this in light of the video, as Wahlberg’s character seems to NOT be an O.O., whereas his wife takes the standard Anti-Gunner positions of mindless emotionalism vs reality.

    Given the Hard Left Politics of Wahlberg’s brother, the scene makes me want to know where actor in the above clip is on 2A rights.

    You asked for my thoughts and there you have it, bad breath and all!

    Cheers from Wyoming.

  11. I agree with Mas Ayoob. I think they did a pretty good job of it. I am not law enforcement, just an armed citizen, but my daughter was introduced to firearms at an age not much older than the boy in the clip. I made sure she understood the rules. Though she never took to shooting, much to my dismay, to this day at 19 she still does understand the rules. There is value in teaching kids when they are young. The wife makes a good point that perhaps so soon after an incident like that may not have been the best time but television being what it is you have to take it as it comes. Still I think they did a good job for that scene.

  12. I like the show and all the characters except Donnie Wahlberg’s character, who is the detective in the above-mentioned scene. This dick is the worst cop I have ever seen. He is over emotional, takes every case personal, believes that the end justifies the means, rude to suspects and victims alike, smug, arrogant, fully filled with self-importance and wears a stupid hat. I have been a cop over 30 years at almost every rank and this guy would work for me for about 5 minutes before I had him arrested.

    However, in the scene with his son, he did OK.

    Tom Selleck is cool, and carries his father’s “Fitz Special.”

  13. I think you’re right Mas, it hits the nail squarely on the head. A cops spouse needs to be all in or trouble is sure raise it’s head.

  15. I believe that same information is in one of your books. One of the national morning talk shows had Donnie Wahlberg on discussing this scene (the morning the episode aired). When I got home later that day I set my DVR to record it. I’m not a regular viewer but I can believe it’s a show I would enjoy. As to the message, I was very happy to see a show address this in a very real way.

  16. I kinda cringed when he swept the kid’s hands with the muzzle while putting the weapon in his hands. Otherwise, good.

  17. Well, here’s my assessment:

    Learning/teaching gun safety = infinitely good

    Unarmed victim helpless against criminal because the local government refuses to let said victim be armed to any significant degree, “forcing” the cop to intervene, and even then only BY COINCIDENCE = moderately bad

    Mainstream TV rarely going straight out and rightfully conveying that: a) US citizens have a Constitutional right to be armed AT ALL TIMES, and b) you MUST have the mentality of self-awareness of- and resistance to- evil if point a) is to be of any relevance = infinitely bad

    Yeah, the last point is pretty generalized- but it’s vital! Any person whether police officer, military member, or just a plain ol’ armed citizen who means to do well to his fellow man must have a) and b) or else he’s just helpless lamb.

    Here’s a great article I just read today about the above:

    http://www.marksmanshipmatters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=63

    With all of this knowledge available literally at our fingertips, I am astounded, ashamed, and enraged that self-defense is at minimum de-facto illegal in some places…and not just in the US, either. When will we learn?

  18. Good scene for the point made.

    I am very blessed in that my wife and I are of the same mind about firearms, education, and our children.

  19. As an LEO I presume he had a certain responibility to draw his weapon and intervene, but he put his wife and children at risk for a complete stranger. As a CWP holder, if that had been me, I would have returned to my car and backed away; protecting myself and my family.

  20. I haven’t seen the rest of this show, but this clip was spot-on.. This is basically what I intend to do with my future kids. I agree with WR about sweeping the kids hands, but other than that, I think this kind of talk is what every boy should get from his dad.

    The mother’s attitude made my blood boil. I fully agree with the dad that demystifying the gun is the way to go. The kid can either learn in a controlled, safe environment, or let his curiosity get the better of him and possibly hurt himself or someone else.

  22. The show is very welcome. I feel it tried to show good principles and moral values, and in an ocean of liberal stupid shows, I hope Blue Bloods is a bit and stay in the air for several years.

    I stopped watching shows like House Md, after they called a patient who had a panic room with several rifles, paranoid and sick. I have also stopped watching CSI after they described 5.7 x 28mm as a very rare type of ammo, that only the military have access to, and capable of cutting a person in half….

  24. I watched the episode just now and I would say it is one of the better ones. Most of them I haven’t seen, but I have them on the DVR.

    When my son was old enough I went through pretty much the same ritual. Only I added a little more to it. I took a pop can and filled it with water, then we went to the basement, where I shot it with a Ruger Single-six with the magnum cylinder. The can was flattened and my son got the point.

  25. Totally unrealistic. The masked guy shooting would never happen in real life because guns aren’t allowed in NYC (insert sarcasm here). I’m sure it’s a good show, never watched it, prob past my bedtime, lol.
    A parent being responsible is ALWAYS refreshing to see.

  26. Friends:

    Several points:

    1) Dad and kid with gun , carefully and responsibly teaching.

    Good! Excellent! Fantastic! Totally unexpected on mainstream media TV. Tom Selleck must have a hand in the writing direction.

    2) The wife: Clearly a proponent of magical thinking – if we pretend guns dont exist, then “poof” they will all disappear and the crooks and thugs of the world will see the error of their ways and open decorating boutiques and tea rooms. And unicorns will graze in Central Park.

    3) There is implicit in this exchange ” I am a cop and therefore have a gun” or maybe ” I am special and over and above other citizens and have a gun, ’cause I am special”. That kind of thinking, practiced by cops in many places, denigrates the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, because , after all, most of us aren’t ” special”, and dont need a gun; Just ask Mayor Bloomberg or the air-thief Hizzoner from Boston.

    I hope we can find a way to remind every officer in the country that keeping and bearing arms is a right of the citizenry, not a gift from the sovereign , and not reserved merely for sworn badgeholders.

    Regards

    GKT

  27. The clip shown was good stuff. Never watched the show.

    The wife: Unless there is more than shown in the scene, folks lighten up! Her reaction is not of a philosophical position on firearms that is opposed by your philosophical beliefs. It is the instinctual emotional response of almost loosing her son and being confronted with the reality of what her husband does for a living (a reality which most LE spouses keep at mental arm’s distance). While she wasnt happy, it seemed to me that his argument to her on the importance of teaching him about reality and guns had her thinking at the end of the clip. Human dynamics dictates that she is not going to have an instant change of heart, suddenly throw him the scout salute and call little Johnny down to do some dry fire.

    For a modern American TV drama, this is amazing.

  28. OMG…playing with a gun…hmmm….next step divorce her…

    Or maybe we can pass a law that every gun owner has to have a safe. And the guns have to be locked up. Then we can pass a law that says the safe has to have steel of a certain thickness. Then we can pass a law to set up an agency to approve safes. Then we can pass a law to have your local LEO inspect your home to see if your guns are in your safe. Then we can pass a law to have a separate safe for the ammo. Then we can pass a law to have your local Fire department inspect your home cause the ammo might be a hazard. Then we can pass a law …

    If the Wahlberg character wasn’t such a wuss he would have more than one stinking gun in his house. The kids would have been out shooting already or familiarized with them. As toddlers they would learn the Eddie Eagle rules. I grew up before the safety NAZIs made us all think that the presence of gun is a hideous war crime or child abuse. There were guns under the bed. There were guns in the closet. There were guns on the wall. There were guns in the corner.

    I have been listening for the last several days to a story on the news about a kid who brought a gun to school. EVERY article and report says the “gun went off in his school bag”. Yup just like some dangerous chemical concoction. The gun just decided to go off. Can you imagine the psychological impact on the MILLIONS who hear that story? Or indeed the MILLIONS more who watch Blue Bloods and see this Wahlberg character having such a lame interaction with his wife?

    This is a brutal battle to fight the Hollywood types and the constant pounding away at scary guns.

    This is more along my idea of how a movie should portray gun ownership! From the classic The Presidents Analyst . Fast Forward to 14:15 . The dad just asked the kid to clear out the car after a long trip from Washington DC to Seaside Heights NJ….

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIgYGQi6Ug0

  29. Just a little tip for people who post: You can type your response into a program like MS Word, copy to clipboard and then paste into the blog.

  30. Yup, guns exist in our lives, everyone. It’s best to educate our children, and train them, because they *will* encounter them.

    Those children who have been show respect and taught will likely handle the situation much better than those who haven’t.

    Yes, all my guns are locked up (when not “in use”), but I do basically the same thing the cop in the clip does. When asked, I share, explain, supervise, etc. When I clean my guns, it’s in a common area of the house and the kids are encouraged to ask questions.

    Stay safe; hug your kids and your guns. 🙂

  31. “The worst thing we can do is pretend there is no gun in this” country. Gun safety should be offered in every school in this country. Because you never know where your kid might find one & they should/must know how to be safe around them.

  32. This show is consistently one of the best on TV. Acting, writing and production values are what we have come to expect from something that Sellick is involved in.

  33. And, I will add, that Donnie holds a gun like Angie Dickenson. If they can afford Tom Selleck, why can’t they afford a shooting coach?

    Next week’s episode is “Woman with a Gun.” A female friend of Tom Selleck is mugged. A perfect chance for him to recommend a means of defense. Let’s hope they have the nerve to do it.

  35. I have enjoyed this show almost since the begining.
    been a fan of selleck from all his great westerns. As far as the scene(with son), I’m sure that I might have done it a little different had it been me but, that being said, I remember thinking while watching it how thrilled I was seeing a father teach his son gun safety on a major network.
    Maybe there is some hope? And that’s coming from a resident of New Jersey…Nuff said!

  36. Sadly watching the show yesterday. They had this conversation.

    “He knows his rights” (partner)

    “I hate it when that happens” Danny (im not sure the quote is exact but pretty close)

    This is after they tried to shake down a fellow (who while rude was later shown to be innocent).

    I still like the show and I plan to continue watching it, sad to see this attitude accepted.

  37. I love the part where the son says “It’s heavy” then the Dad repeats back “It’s heavy,” and “It’s not a toy.” The gun felt heavy to the child, but the situation and the responsibility of owning/using a gun is the really heavy lesson the father was trying to impart. It reminds me of a bible verse that tells us to be wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves. God, our Heavenly Father, does not want us to be ignorant of the adversary, the devil, or his devices, but God does not want us taking part of the evil or sin. Likewise, we need to teach children about guns, safety &responsibility, so they understand, but they don’t fear them, nor will they want to misuse them. I’m not saying guns are of the devil, they most certainly are not! Our responsibility as parents is to dispel the fears and myths, to teach how and when to rightly use guns(or other tools), so that the children grow to be responsible adults. Proper teaching prepares children for life.