MovieChat Forums > The Devil's Own (1997) Discussion > O'Meara's a lousy cop and a lousier serg...

O'Meara's a lousy cop and a lousier sergeant

posted 15 years ago by cm289
27 replies | jump to latest

Any officers out there think that Harrison Ford's character is a piss-poor cop? First he lets the shoplifter go, then he doesn't even draw his own gun when his partner is being held at gunpoint at the domestic, and finally there's the scene where Ruben Blades shoots the auto-burglar in the back and Ford goes ballistic on him for shooting an unarmed suspect, totally ignoring the fact that Blades had a reasonable belief the suspect was armed (since he had just been shot at by the suspect) and that the suspect a posed threat to the officer and the public. How'd he pass the sergeant's exam?

[–] blescha 14 years ago

the less cop-like he acts, the better it's for the population

A.C.A.B. and tools of government oppression

[–] copinblue 13 years ago

Amen cm289...he got shot at twice, the perp runs into a deadend alley, and then Ford's character turns into Sgt. Noble....I have a great partner at work, and I'd switch shifts before I'd have worked with Ford's character...maybe he needed a transfer to the goon squad...

[–] themanis33 13 years ago

wow are you kidding me? you want him to arrest a guy for stealing a 3 pack of condoms... your a joke.

As for the fleeing suspect, theres no need to shoot a guy in the back.. maybe the second the guy turned around give him a couple pops, but whats the point in shooting someone thats running away.

Also pay attention, ford didn't ream him out that bad, in fact he covered for him... putting his badge on the line...

[–] cm289 13 years ago

You run from the police and get caught, you get charged with a crime/go to jail for fleeing- it doesn't matter how petty the original crime was- otherwise bad guys learn it's okay to run. PS, you're pretty generous with other people's property- are you as easy going when you're the victim?

The point of shooting the guy was to stop a violent felon from escaping, and possibly committing further violent felonies.

The fact that O'Meara was too stupid to know that his partner was legally justified in shooting the suspect, and then allowed him plant evidence and give false testimony, all point to what a lousy cop he is. They should've told the truth about what happened.

[–] Final_Hitokiri 13 years ago

The point of shooting the guy was to stop a violent felon from escaping, and possibly committing further violent felonies.

You'll need to carry a lot of bullets with you if you're justifying shooting an unarmed man in the back over crimes that he MIGHT commit.

With that logic, why shouldn't O'Meara shoot the kid who stole the condoms to prevent him from commiting further crimes?

[–] cm289 13 years ago

Um, because the kid that stole the condoms wasn't a violent felon (he didn't just get done shooting at the cops), and a reasonable person wouldn't infer that he would commit more violent felonies should he escape (since he hasn't committed any so far). You're ignoring the fact that the Blades didn't know the suspect was unarmed at the time he shot him- all he knew was that the guy just got done shooting at him and was escaping.

Look up Graham v. Connor and Tennessee v. Garner sometime if you'd like to learn the fleeing felon law from the Supreme Court, and not from a movie.

[–] Final_Hitokiri 13 years ago

Not disputing your knowledge of law, but from your previous post, "it doesn't matter how petty the original crime was- otherwise bad guys learn it's okay to run." you imply that the theif will commit further crimes because O'Meara used discretion over the nature of the crime. (which you disapprove of)

And going off of your second statement "shooting the guy was to stop a violent felon from escaping, and possibly committing further violent felonies", you state that it is okay to kill such a person to prevent other crimes that they might commit. (which you approve of)

So, why shouldn't O'Meara just shoot anyone who runs because they might commit further crimes?

[–] cm289 13 years ago

Regarding condom guy- maybe he'd never commit another crime. Maybe he was entered NCIC as a runaway. Maybe he was wanted for murder. We'll never know because O'Meara just let him go, without so much as checking him for wants & warrants. And I actually do believe that actions without consequences typically lead to similar future actions. (PS, I hope that most people disapprove of crime, not just me).

My main gripe is that O'Meara, a supervisory officer with years of experience, doesn't know the laws governing the use of deadly force - the fact he didn't know the law makes him dumb; the fact he lied about it in his statement/report makes him a criminal.

And I didn't say it was allowable to kill any criminal for running because they might commit any future crime, but that it's totally legal and justifiable to shoot at, and possibly kill, a violent fleeing felon when you have a reasonable belief that he would commit further violent felonies- I'll say it again, Blades had just been shot at and he thought the guy still had a gun; the idea that he can only shoot back when the guy is facing him is absurd. And yes, I totally approve of cops using deadly force to protect the public (and defend themselves)- I'm weird that way.

The reason O'Meara shouldn't shoot all fleeing criminals is that it's illegal and immoral- I never implied otherwise.

[–] mojorising_you 13 years ago

I agree with much of what is said here, but for me, his actions from the basement encounter with Frankie til the end says it all. He has no right to arrest Frankie and bring him to NYC. All Frankie had was cash. If he suspects wrong doing, call the FBI. Right before he gets his ire up with blaming Frankie on the hooded beat down in his house, he's crying and retiring because of the gray area of this job witch just surfaced after 23 years of service. Now he's banging a judge's head into the wall, following Frankie on a boat, shooting him. Come on!

[–] esor-2 13 years ago

also,if he shot him in the BACK...How could "half his face be gone",as O'Meara stated?

*beep* that jive ass with the rubbers! No WAY was that goof 15yrs. old and ...."Too embarrassed to buy them" let alone wear one!!

[–] proteus122 11 years ago

Bullet goes in back comes out front. If it's a hollow point then half his face would be gone.

[–] nutsberryfarm 13 years ago

o'mera should shoot at least one person a day. for whatever. run a red light? pow.

"It's for the pain. Rarely touch the stuff...Can I have another?"

[–] mcgallagher_8 12 years ago

Re the shooting ..... Blades also said that the guy turned and had a gun ... wich is when OMeara went off at him because he knew that was a blatant lie. But I agree that if theyd just told the truth and said he shot a fleeing suspect who he SUSPECTED of using a gun and who had just shot at them they would be ok

don't call me shirley

[–] climbingivy 9 years ago

Stealing is stealing.

[–] Dennis_Cooper 13 years ago

Agree about the shooting, disagree about the kid with the condoms.

Letting the kid go was a judgment call. Maybe the kid will learn his lesson and the scare he got will set him on the right path.

Regarding Blades shooting the the guy WHO SHOT AT HIM, the shooting was justified. First off, Blades had to assume the guy was still armed and could at at any time had shot at him again.

Ford's whole lament about the guy only stealing stereos and having not much of a record was just plain STUPID. That ended the second the guy TRIED TO MURDER TWO POLICE OFFICERS! Every murderer has a first victim and this guy decided it would be a pair of NYPD Officers. That makes him an armed and very dangerous felon who was in the midst of a running gunfight with the police. The shooting was justified.

[–] GMEllis625 12 years ago

Catching the kid stealing the condoms and choosing to let him go with a warning would be OK. Catching the kid after a long chase was not OK. At that point his crime was fleeing the police (resisting arrest), and the underlying crime is irrelevant.

You point about the radio thief who then shot at two cops is directly on point. The underlying crime became irrelevant the moment he pointed a gun a at cop.

[–] do-bye 13 years ago

The burglar threw his gun away. That's why he thought it was wrong.

"Peace and love"

[–] bear022013-588-696101 12 years ago

HARRISON PLAYS HIMSELF IN ALL FILMS AND CANNOT ACT A LICK.HE IS RUSSIAN JEWISH...WHY NOT AN IRISHMAN AS LRAD.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] al666940-3 12 years ago

"First he lets the shoplifter go"

In any high crime precinct (say East LA or Bronx, you name it), cops have better things to do than waste hours booking a shoplifter. Remember Alonzo Harris in Training Day scolding Jake for wasting time bothering with street junkies (not for stopping the rape, but for attempting to process them knowing they are dead men).

At best cops let these go on condition to turn snitch. They are far more valuable as informants than as collars. Ford failing to do that is indeed idiotic.

"he doesn't even draw his own gun when his partner is being held at gunpoint at the domestic"

Domestic calls are every beat cop's worst nightmare. If you go too far, the abused spouse turns on you, if you don't go far enough the abused spouse sues you. It's almost always a lose-lose situation. I'll let this one slide as a judgement call.

"there's the scene where Ruben Blades shoots the auto-burglar in the back and Ford goes ballistic on him for shooting an unarmed suspect"

In real life he would be wise to act that way, but for different reasons: out of fear somebody saw/recorded everything and backing him up risks him getting slapped with a criminal charge.

"How'd he pass the sergeant's exam?"

More like how did he make it on the streets long enough to even qualify to take it? He would be dead in every real inner city ghetto.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]