"and then the cops showed up" Is what happens next a good thing or bad thing?

When I was young, that was the gold standard for parties.

Did the cops show up? Yes? Sweet! Awesome party!!

My first instinct was “bad.”

I don’t actually have anything against the police, I respect what they do.. my husband is a trained police officer, and although that isn’t his current profession, he definitely has the mentality. However, my first reaction was definitely that it was a bad thing that the cops showed up.

@jaytkay Interesting you should mention parties. When I hear “and then the cops showed up” the first thing I think is “and told us to turn the volume down”. Something that has oddly only ever happened to me twice.

Frankly, having to involve the police usually means that the situation is no good to begin with. Either something bad is happening, and you have to call the cops… or the cops are coming to crack down on your fun.

Bad- they took my pot
Good- they let me go

Really. When is the last time you heard “And then the cops showed up and we all had a good laugh.”?

It is a good thing for me. It meant there was someone to watch my back when I was treating accident victims. I could give them my full attention, not have to keep one eye on the traffic for the lunatic drivers.

Bad. Not that I am in trouble, but that something bad is happening or has happened.

I have had two parties broken up by police (college parties), one of those they brought a helicopter.

I’ve also been arrested by suddenly arriving police.

But its not all bad, I’ve had them help a lot too.

Good. What happens next is most likely to be that things quiet down. Crisis over.

I haven’t usually been the one to call them, but they’ve shown up to deal with a few neighborhood situations, and they were a welcome sight.

@JLeslie, but having the cops show up comes after the bad part—and ends it, right? So what happens next is actually good because the situation is going to be under control? That’s how I read it. Or at least that the arrival of the cops isn’t what causes the bad result for you (such as your getting busted).

Bad. Sometimes worse.

Good if you &/or your family are in peril.
Bad if you’re pissing on a neighbours geraniums.

Bad….very unfun. Then you have to decide if you want to press charges against your wife. Sucks. Deal breaker.

In most activites in life, the police are never called.

A too loud party or music is a general complaint of the public. Sooner or later, if the party lingers past midnight, the police will be called to quiten the noise.

Most people expect and understand this situation and that takes care of the problem.

What about a couple arguing and throwing objects at each other? Is this a different situation? Yes, because the potential of bodily injury may occur. So, how do we look at this situation, compared to the loud party? They are entirely different.

In this last case, THEN, the police appear and the complainant and everyone else knows that someone is going jail. Its the law on domestic violence.

Each case is different and has its own merits.

@Jeruba I guess the sentence does imply more of what you and others have interpreted and written about. I thought of it as I was going about my day and then the cops showed up. They came to get information about something, or to tell me someone died, or arrest someone, but not me.

Oh, I see, @JLeslie. In that case, what follows is a bad experience for you. So “bad” is still really your answer.

@Jeruba I have never been at a party broken up by the police, although I heard of them in high school, so I guess it did not pop into my mind initially. When my neighbor shot himself when I was a teenager, the police eventually showed up. I once had a neighbor threatening his wife’s life, but I did not know it was happening, it was inside of the house. So when the cops arrived in the neighborhood, we started to learn what was happening as her husband was arrested, it was something bad, but I was not in trouble. Other situations were neither here nor there, like I found organs on the edge of my back lawn one time, gross I know, and I called the cops in case, God forbid, they were human. And, I have had cops come when I have had a car accident.