Quite true. It's not blanketly true, but there are a lot of cops who "look like cops" because of their demeanor and appearance, even in street clothes. The same can be said for other professions as well. Many military and ex-military folks have a similar vibe, to the point where you can tell what branch they're from (most notably Army and Marine foks).Rockrz wrote:
I've know a few guys that were active police officers and every where they go it seems like thier actions say "I'm a cop" even when they are off duty, in plain clothes, having nothing to do with their job.
One of the more noticeable giveaways for off-duty cops is the fact that even in plain clothes they still retain the habit of standing with an arm tucked at the side, mostly immobile above the elbow - as they would in uniform as a weapon retention technique. I did something similar to this myself for a while (mostly subconsciously) when I first started carrying, as cover garment retention. My girlfriend pointed it out to me, and it took a couple of months of actively trying to quit to purge the habit. As I became more comfortable with my method of carry and more fully understood when my weapon would actually be visible with various clothing movements, I was able to retrain my demeanor habits. Also, a black gun carried at 3:00 in a black holster, on a black belt, over a black/dark undershirt and pants with a dark - or even bright red - cover garment is very difficult to see, even if the cover shirt opens up some.
Back to the topic at hand, quite an unfortunate set of circumstances for the officer. What began with a simple mistake turned into a very serious situation. Whether or not some may think his manners in public with a spouse were proper, his mistake certainly didn't warrant the cowardly ambush attack that transpired as a result.