History Main / MustStateIfYoureACop

* ''Series/TheMentalist'': The episode "Black Helicopters" has Jane and the team of {{FBI agent}}s he and Lisbon now work with tangle with an anti-government commune in Texas. Agent Fischer investigates a farmer's market incognito after meeting with a wall of silence as an FBI agent. After one of the members she talked to previously outs her, she is irately informed that she is required to identify herself as a law enforcement officer before conducting questioning.

Contrary to popular belief, this is ''not'' TruthInTelevision. Undercover stings would be pretty useless if a cop was required to blow their cover whenever asked a single question. An officer has the complete legal right to lie about their identity if the job requires it. In such an instance, a real-life undercover cop would say, "No, I'm not a cop," while being careful not to influence the situation so as to be accused of entrapment[[note]]Entrapment is specifically when a law enforcement officer induces another person into committing a crime ''when they would have been unlikely to do so had the cop not approached them''. Ergo, it's not entrapment if an undercover cop builds a rapport with Joe, a known criminal, and goes along with Joe's plans to burgle a house so that Joe is caught in the act. However, the situation rises to entrapment if Joe, still a known criminal, hasn't been doing anything illegal but the cop then persuades him to commit a burglary. In the first instance, the cop had no influence on Joe's ultimate behavior. In the second instance, however, the cop did have influence on Joe's behavior and this has serious ramifications on the legal case against Joe[[/note]].

All that said, one of the reasons that this trope still exists in pop culture and the public consciousness is because cops are in no hurry to correct it. Letting this misinformation float around helps the police with their job, after all. If people think that an undercover cop has to say they're a cop when asked, answering with a straightforward "no" can ease the tension in an undercover sting.

* Parodied in the TitleText to ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3243 #3243]].

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': The season 2 episode "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E8BetterCallSaul Better Call Saul]]" opens with Badger selling drugs on a park bench. A lanky looking dude named Getz walks up to him and asks if he's selling. Badger [[CanAlwaysSpotACop immediately susses out that Getz is an undercover cop]], pointing out the brown "Duke City Flowers" van parked "inconspicuously" nearby. Getz is put off by the accusation and considers not going through with the deal, especially after Badger makes him lift his shirt to prove that he's not wearing a wire. After a bit of pondering, Getz gets an idea as to how to get Badger to trust him: apparently, if you ask a cop to identify himself as a cop, he is obligated to tell you. It's in the US Constitution. So Badger asks him if he's a cop. Getz holds up his hand, like he's swearing under oath, and says he's not a cop. Satisfied, Badger sells him a packet of meth. Getz takes the meth, then promptly whips out a gun and police badge, and arrests Badger on the spot (and the vans that Badger identified as surveillance also pull up). Later, while Badger is being interrogated, he is still peeved at Getz because he still believes that urban legend and thinks Getz is screwing around with the Constitution.

'''Sister:''' Well, if you're not a cop, then how do you ''know'' it's not a real law? ''Busted!''

* ''Film/DeepCover'' includes a scene where the undercover cop protagonist is asked point blank if he's a cop. To cover himself and his investigation he admits that he is, but answers the question in an incredibly sarcastic way to [[CassandraGambit make it seem like he's bullshitting]].

* ''Film/EightMM''
** Tom and Max go into an underground porn market and a guard at the door asks everyone who goes in if they're police officers or affiliated with the police. From his wording and intonation, it's clear he's been instructed to ask the same question to everyone, presumably under the belief that cops are required to answer.
** In an earlier scene, Max insists that Tom (actually a private detective) tell him if he's a police officer, saying that legally he's obliged to do so.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'': When Fry's nose is stolen as an aphrodisiac, he, Leela and Bender go to a "human horn" dealer in search of it. Before letting them in, he asks if they're cops.
-->'''Leela:''' No, in fact, he's a crook. ''(points to Bender)''\\
'''Bender:''' Stolen Pez anyone?

Contrary to popular belief, this is ''not'' TruthInTelevision: entrapment is specifically when a law enforcement officer induces another person into committing a crime ''when they would have been unlikely to do so had the cop not approached them''. Ergo, it's entrapment if a cop approaches some random Joe on the street and suggests they should burglarize a house, not if they approach a known burglar for the same. It isn't entrapment because whether or not the person is a cop would have no effect on a criminal's intentions to commit illegal acts, and undercover stings would be pretty useless if a cop was required to blow their cover whenever asked a single question. An officer has the complete legal right to lie about their identity if the job requires it. Ask this of a real life undercover cop, and they'll just say "no, I'm not a cop."

* The profile for Leo in ''VideoGame/{{Oddity}}'' asks the player if they're a cop when they [[VagueAge ask him his actual age]].

* ''Series/TheMentalist'': The episode "Black Helicopters" has Jane and the team of {{FBI agent}}s he and Lisbon now work with tangle with an anti-government commune in Texas. Agent Fischer investigates a farmer's market incognito after meeting with a wall of silence as an FBI agent. After one of the members she talked to previously outs her, she is irately informed that she is required to identify herself as a law enforcement officer.

* On more than one occasion on ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'', a suspect or civilian has tried to invoke this, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome only to be told that it isn't true]].

* In ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', when Sister first meets Wash, she asks him if he's a cop, and insists that he has to tell her.

* In ''Series/TheTerminalList'', Reece buys "something for his headaches" from an exotic dancer. She invokes this trope, telling Reece he has to tell her if he's a cop; he replies, "I'm not sure that's actually true."

* Referenced in an episode of ''Series/FridayNightLights''. [[FarmBoy Luke]] goes to [[WrongSideOfTheTracks East Dillon]] to get some off-prescription Oxycodone. The neighbourhood dealers take one look at him and go silent, assuming that the clean cut white guy dressed like a cowboy is a narc. He tells them he's not a cop, trying to invoke this, but being career criminals they know that cops are allowed to lie and still say nothing.

Subtrope of ArtisticLicenseLaw and LyingToThePerp. Sistertrope to CanAlwaysSpotACop.

* One of the very first episodes of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' had a prostitute ask Greevey if he's a cop and he says no, then finds cause to arrest her. In the station, she says "You said you weren't a cop". He just says "ILied."

Contrary to popular belief, this is ''not'' TruthInTelevision: Entrapment is specifically when a law enforcement officer induces another person into committing a crime ''when they would have been unlikely to do so had the cop not approached them''. Ergo, it's entrapment if a cop approaches some random Joe on the street and suggests they should burglarize a house, not if they approach a known burglar for the same. It isn't entrapment because whether or not the person is a cop would have no effect on a criminal's intentions to commit illegal acts, and undercover stings would be pretty useless if a cop was required to blow their cover whenever asked a single question. An officer has the complete legal right to lie about their identity if the job requires it. Ask this of a real life undercover cop, and they'll just say "no, I'm not a cop."