Can't wear a shirt that says police?

Question

I was reading around and heard some people say that you can't wear shirts that say Police or SWAT... is that true?

Because I know a lot of stores that sell that stuff in Texas and if it was illegal for people who aren't police officers to wear it then why do they sell it so publicly?

Such as a black shirt with white lettering.

Wearing it and walking into a Grocery store, to a party, to a public event... and if asked if you were a police officer and you said no.

Answer 1

You can't identify yourself as a police officer or carry a badge as that IS identifying yourself as a police officer. But to simply wear a shirt is OK.

Answer 2

I don't know if a T-shirt constitutes impersonating a police officer. The last time I was in New York City NYPD shirts were for sale on practically every corner. It is pretty common to see shirts like that, I would expect more than that to think you were a police officer.

I do think the orange (inmate/corrections) shirts I keep seeing people wear should be illegal though. That shirt is bright and unique for a reason: so when you are walking around in public wearing it you stand out to people and the police. Those shirts are ruining that uniqueness.

Answer 3

That would be a little nitpicky, but it's true that it's illegal to pose as a police officer. You probably wouldn't get arrested just walking down the street. But if you were wearing a shirt like that, and told somebody that you really were a cop, you'd get into a lot of trouble.

Answer 4

The wearing of the shirt itself should fall under the First Amendement, but I would suspect you need to add a little common sense.

The problem would be if you did anything at all to represent yourself as an officer, you would be looking at a felony. With that in mind, wearing the shirt to a private poker game would be fine. Wearing it to a parade, and you will be just asking for trouble.

Answer 5

Several years ago, someone was arrested (or ticketed) for wearing a baseball cap that said LAPD.

Shirts saying SWAT are only an issue if they appear to refer to the SWAT team. If they clearly are using the verb "to swat" or the noun "flyswatter", that should not be a problem.

Answer 6

The authority of the police isn't in their uniform or badge, it's in their credentials. I would think that wearing a shirt that says police wouldn't be illegal, but if you represented yourself as a police officer that would definately be illegal.

Answer 7

Yeah, they do sell that stuff in Texas, but it looks nothing like the official shirts that LEO's wear. I had one that had SWAT written in pink camouflage lol

Answer 8

Don't know about that one. I have a friend who used to always be getting into minor incidents, and he bought a shirt that said 'DO NOT ARREST THIS PERSON' on it, and they never did, when he had it on. Nowdays he's serving in the Perisan Gulf.

Answer 9

EVERYTHING ILLEGAL SELLS--MYSELF WEAR THE SHIRT AND WHEN THE FLYING FECAL MATTER HITS THE ROUND OSCILLATE YOU STAND THERE AND TELL THE BAD GUYS WHO YOU ARE AND SEE IF THEY BELIEVE YOU. (THEN YOU'LL THINK SWAT OR POLICE)
SHIRT SHOULD HAVE A WEARER WARNING:

DO NOT GOT TO CRACK HOUSES--PROSTITUTION AREAS--GANG BLOCK PARTIES ETC IT MAY BE DETRIMENTAL TO YOUR HEALTH

Answer 10

Why in God's name would anyone want to be seen or thought of as a member fo the most corrupt bunch of thugs on the planet? I'd wear a shirt that says "God bless Timothy McVeigh" before I'd ever wear anything that said anything about pig sh!t.