Robo Cop
About 6 months after beginning my job as Radio Operator, the department gained a new police officer. This officer came to us from the Sheriff's Department which was common back then since the salary of our department was far more attractive than that of deputies. This officer was experienced and was very proud to be in law enforcement. His appearance was always just so...his uniform was pressed to perfection, you could see your face in the shine on his shoes, and his brass was always polished. Also, he was well liked among our officers.
But, all new officers go through an orientation....hee, hee! This officer was no exception! Since he was experienced, he was given his own unit right off and would begin patrolling by himself. After he left the station, the shift commander called the rest of the shift into his office and told them of his plan.
The movie "Robo Cop" was in all the movie theaters at this time and was very popular. The Captain had managed to obtain a large poster of Robo Cop from the movie theater in town and he told the shift he planned to tape it to the passenger door of the new officer's unit. They knew how he parked his unit and he would never see the passenger door unless he had some reason to go around to that side of the car. The Captain called the new officer back into the station and while he talked to him on a trumped up reason in his office, another officer went to the parking lot and taped the poster to the unit. The new officer left the station in his unit, never suspecting that he had been labeled "Robo Cop".
About an hour later when some of the officers were in the coffee room on break, the Captain called the new officer back in to the station. He took him into his office, leaving the door open so everyone could hear, and read him the "riot act" for defacing a police unit. The new officer was shocked and had no idea what the Captain was talking about. They went to the parking lot where the Captain showed him the Robo Cop poster on the passenger door of his unit. He told the officer that he had been getting complaint calls from citizens all over the city about the patrolman who thought he was Robo Cop.
By this time, the other officers had joined them in the parking lot and being unable to contain themselves, were almost hollering they were laughing so hard. The new officer drove off in a huff, but he's still known as "Robo Cop" today.
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