{"id":969,"date":"2010-10-28T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-28T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=969"},"modified":"2018-07-03T07:25:38","modified_gmt":"2018-07-03T11:25:38","slug":"cop-uniform-halloween-legal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/?p=969","title":{"rendered":"Cop Uniform Halloween Legal?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phrases like, “is it legal to wear a cop uniform on Halloween?” are pouring in lately from search engine to this blog. I understand why. When I posted “You Want To Wear A Cop Uniform on Halloween?<\/a>” on this blog last year, that post continues to draw a lot of visitors with questions like that.<\/p>\n

Visit that post<\/a> or check out the complete instructions on how to assemble a uniform on my website<\/a> if you want to know how to assemble a cop costume for Halloween. I also address the issue about whether it is legal to do so, but I’ll repeat that info here for convenience.<\/p>\n

Yes… it is legal to assemble and wear a cop uniform (if you’re not a cop) with some provisos:<\/p>\n

1. Don’t wear the uniform representing an agency that has jurisdiction where you are. For example, if you want to wear a California Highway Patrol (CHP) motor officer uniform, don’t wear it in the State of California. That’s illegal as noted in California state law<\/a>. I live in a county in Maryland. I would not wear a uniform that looks like<\/i> the same uniform my county officers wear. Even if I do not wear the insignia of my local police department — it’s “too close for comfort” and technically, while it’s not illegal to wear a uniform of the same color and appearance as a local PD as long as it doesn’t have that PD’s insignia on it, the “second rule” of making a choice to wear a uniform comes into play.<\/p>\n

2. That “second rule” is a question: “could a real cop think I am trying to impersonate an officer?”  Impersonation of an officer is a civil crime, punishable by fines and\/or a jail sentence.<\/p>\n

You can<\/i> wear a replica police officer uniform as a costume. Just don’t go around acting like a cop. Impersonation is measured both by what you are wearing, but also by what you do — how you act and behave. Do not try to pull someone over, write a citation (a ticket), handcuff someone in public, or do other things that you see actors-as-cops on TV do.<\/p>\n

If you keep the uniform appearance to look like a uniform that is not worn by real cops in your area (town, city, county, or state), and if you keep the cop-acting behavior behind closed doors, then you will be okay — and probably have a lot of fun, too!<\/p>\n

Straight guys as well as gay guys like to wear a uniform — and Halloween is a fun “excuse” to wear one. Just be cool, and think before you act. It is dumb actions that get you in trouble. Don’t be stupid — like wear a uniform that has the same insignia of your local or state cops, or carry a gun, billy club, baton, or other weapon, and don’t say foolish things (like you might hear on some TV shows) and you’ll be fine.<\/p>\n

Life is short: have fun, but be safe, sane, and sensible.<\/p>\n

DISCLAIMER: All the information and photos contained in this post are provided solely for the benefit of those who wish to assemble and wear a replica cop costume. In no way is it intended for use in any attempt to impersonate any law enforcement officer.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phrases like, “is it legal to wear a cop uniform on Halloween?” are pouring in lately from search engine to this blog. I understand why. When I posted “You Want To Wear A Cop Uniform on Halloween?” on this blog … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cop-boots","category-leather-gear-information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bootedmanblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}