Sensational buzz phrases that make good cops look stupid.

The victim was shot execution style. What does that phrase mean?

To me it sounds like they took the victim blindfolded to a stake in the ground, first offered him a cigarette then a squad of Riflemen shot him dead. Too often what it really means is that the person who uses that phrase while describing a homicide exaggerates and can't be believed.

He was shot at point blank range. Go ahead define that term if you dare!

I remember watching a defense lawyer destroy a cop’s testimony on a murder case. Tell us officer, what’s the definition of the term, point blank range that you just used?

I watched the homicide detective react like a deer caught in the headlights. He stuttered, coughed, babbled and finally confessed he was just not sure what that meant. I watched as members of the jury laughed out loud. That came back to haunt the detective again in the defense lawyer’s closing argument to the jury. The jury acquitted the defendant who later sued the police department and received a settlement.