Didn't I see this in True Lies?

June 1, 2000 5:21 PM

Didn't I see this in True Lies? Life imitates art.
posted by Steven Den Beste (10 comments total)

Well it worked. Any individual who turns to using a gun to plead his case has already lost the argument. He can hold as many hostage or kill as many as he likes. Makes no difference. Might does not make right.

What concerns me is this: if a member of the media were to pose as a law officer, he'd be thrown in jail. However, police can pose as the media and this doesn't throw into question any legal implications?

Fortunately I'm rarely in a position where anyone in media wants to 'shoot' me, but if a camera ever gets thrust into my face, now I may just duck for cover.
posted by ZachsMind at 5:29 PM on June 1, 2000

I want to see a picture of this camera
posted by starduck at 5:50 PM on June 1, 2000

guns don't kill people, cameramen do...
posted by mathowie at 6:32 PM on June 1, 2000

Those *morons*.

The police, as soon as this gets widely disseminated to the media, will cease to get any cooperation that they may have ever gotten from the media.

They've just mortgaged those peoples *lives*.

What assholes.

There is a *reason* that it's against federal law for intelligence operatives to cover as reporters...
posted by baylink at 7:58 PM on June 1, 2000

And yes, I know; it was in Europe.
posted by baylink at 7:58 PM on June 1, 2000

This trick reminds me of the old Looney Tunes gag about the auditioning vaudevillian who drinks gasoline, chews a stick of dynamite, then swallows a lighted match and explodes... Nice act, but you can only do it once.
posted by wendell at 9:54 PM on June 1, 2000

I'm with baylink; all props to the cops because it worked, but it may make it more difficult and dangerous for the media in future crises.

There was a similar hostage case in France about six-seven years ago where a policewoman exchanged herself for several of the child hostages. That took incredible courage. And I believe that was resolved peacefully.
posted by dhartung at 11:23 AM on June 2, 2000

The ol' use the media to get the crook unawares has been used before, also, but in a much riskier fashion.

I don't remember many of the details (and no, it didn't happen to a friend of a friend of mine :-) but there was a hostage situation, with the crook holding a handgun to the hostage's head. Nozzle on temple type deal.

A cameraman walked in for a close-up, and with the camera right in the crook's face, suddenly grabbed the gun hand, forced it against the brick wall behind them and saved the day.

The cameraman was, as you've probably guessed, a cop. Still seems awfully risky.

posted by cCranium at 11:44 AM on June 2, 2000

Everybody rips off Kurosawa. Something similar to this happens in the early part of "Seven Samurai", only instead of pretending to be a reporter, he pretends to be a monk.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 12:47 PM on June 2, 2000

Well, *that's* ok. I don't mind clergy getting offed.



</joke>
posted by baylink at 1:08 PM on June 2, 2000