It is claimed that Police in Oakland, California spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers discovered that the man was standing beside them, shouting out to give himself up.

In 1983 the West Midlands police received a call advising them that there was an abandoned safe on some grass. A uniformed police officer arrived on the scene and stood guard over the safe until a group of detectives arrived who dusted it for fingerprints. Once this was completed they attempted to take the safe back to the police station. Unfortunately it was too heavy and they could not lift. Another group of policemen arrived to help, but even with that large group, they were unable to lift the safe. Eventually the traffic division sent a Landrover with towing gear but after 20 minutes, the safe still could not be budged. Suddenly, one of the officers realised that the object in question was not actually a safe. It was a Midlands Electricity Board junction box that was concreted into the ground. They were really bunch of bright sparks weren’t they?

Have you ever been on the receiving end of nastiness or name calling? A Magistrate in Ulverston in northwest England has set a bit of a precedent regarding name-calling of policemen. In May 2003, the Judge ordered a teenager to pay US$160 for mental anguish he caused a policeman by calling him “fat”. On foot patrol with a fellow policeman, Jack Montague was abused by the drunken 17 year old. The officer, a 173cm man weighing about 89kg is quoted in the local paper as saying, “Coppers have feelings too, and I'm glad that the magistrates have taken the unusual step of recognizing that. Sure, I enjoy the odd curry and a pint or two, but I am not fat at all. That's unfair. I play cricket for my local club and coach junior football, so if anything, I think I am quite sporty."

In London in 2003, Mike Ferguson was due to appear in court for a speeding charge, for which he had pleaded not guilty. Mr Ferguson had even delivered a petition to the Prime Minister, that contained 20,000 signatures supporting his “not guilty” charge. Now you may be thinking to yourself, why should he get away without paying for his speeding fine. The fact of the matter is that Mr Ferguson is an ambulance driver, and when he was caught speeding, he was driving an ambulance on an urgent mission. He was delivering a liver for an organ transplant patient. Police decided to drop the charges.