History Main / StopOrIWillShoot

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* ComicBook/{{Asterix}} runs into the AncientRome version when a centurion recognizes him as a wanted man and threatens, "Stop or I will put my pilum through your sternum!"

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Parodied in the Sylvester Stallone action-comedy ''Film/StopOrMyMomWillShoot''.

* Subverted in ''Film/NewJackCity'' when the hero cop chases a young criminal through an extended ChaseScene and the cop ''never'' draws his gun. However, when the crook suddenly draws a gun, that is when the cop draws his own and shoots him down.

* ''Film/TheFrenchConnection''. 'Popeye' Doyle guns down the EL assassin as he [[InTheBack turns to flee]], despite the fact that a) he's now unarmed, and b) Popeye couldn't have been sure the man was the same guy who'd taken a shot at him earlier, as there was little opportunity to get a clear look at his face.
* ''Film/{{Fargo}}'': Margie captures Gaer Grimsrud by shooting him in the leg while he's fleeing from her. He had just thrown a heavy block of wood at her head, so it could be argued she was at least justified in pulling her gun to respond to assault with a weapon. Grimsrud's lawyer'll still have his work cut out for him at trial, though.... Then again she caught him feeding a body to a woodchipper, so she could argue he was a threat to the general public.
* The first ''Film/{{Blade}}'' film takes this to particular extremes. A group of police officers shout "Freeze!" at Blade and then open fire on him before he has even moved, and a later group continues shooting at him with barely any warning (even bringing out an automatic rifle) while he is carrying a civilian. It's ''just'' about possible that these were police who were in the pocket of vampires, or that they recognized Blade as a wanted and dangerous criminal, but it is still a stretch.
* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. Cops are very aggressive in this film and open fire on Spider-Man twice onscreen. The first time he was doing nothing but ''talking'' to the cop, and the cop almost accidentally killed the man Spider-Man had webbed up. Apparently, the police officer was assuming Spiderman's webslingers were deadly weapons, and therefore felt justified in brandishing a weapon.
* Surprisingly averted in ''Film/TheMatrix''. Just before the dramatic lobby shootout, the fifty or so SWAT officers position themselves behind columns with dramatic gun cocking. The head Mook then yells "Freeze!" in spite of the fact that Neo and Trinity had already gunned down three security guards and are advancing on them with their guns brandished.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/AdeleHasntHadHerDinnerYet''. Nick Carter, an American private eye investigating in Prague, but cooperating with a local police commissioner, uses this phrase twice when he's chasing a suspect. The suspect is at that point confirmed to be helping The Gardener, who is a mysterious criminal mastermind, responsible for the disappearance Nick is investigating and they know they plan a murder. While going after him, he accidentally meets his LoveInterest who doesn't know he's a detective, and he tells her that he's playing a game of "Cops & Robbers" with a friend.
* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''Film/DemolitionMan'' when the police first approach [[BigBad Simon Phoenix]]. The first command is "Simon Phoenix, lay down, on the ground, with your hands behind your back." Simon responds with "[[DeadpanSnarker Oh, I'm so scared!]]" The cop follows with "Lie down, on the ground... Or ELSE!" There was no "or else" to fall back on. The police in the ultra-peaceful San Angeles not only didn't have guns to shoot with, they didn't have proper training or even ''procedures'' to deal with violent criminals, nevermind complete psychopaths like Phoenix.
* ''Film/BonnieAndClyde''. The OutlawCouple are gunned down without warning in a police ambush -- this was TruthInTelevision. It should be noted that Barrow had shot his way out of several previous attempts to capture him, and his gang had killed nine lawman and several civilians during their crime spree. This becomes a DiscussedTrope in ''Film/TheHighwaymen'', basically a {{deconstruction}} of the above film that takes the point-of-view of the law enforcement officers who took part in the ambush.
* ''Film/CloudAtlas'': "[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Excessive force authorised.]]"
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/NineteenFortyOne1979''. Mad pilot Wild Bill Kelso lands his fighter plane at a roadside gas station and tells them to fill it up. As he's left the engine running, the fighter starts to take off without him, so he fires a warning shot in the air even though there's no-one piloting it. The shot severs a power line which ignites the spilled fuel and blows up the gas station.

* In ''Fool Moon'', book two of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', Harry is shot at by FBI agents as he flees arrest. [[LampshadeHanging As they are shooting at him he explicitly thinks about how they are]] ''[[LampshadeHanging not]]'' [[LampshadeHanging supposed to be allowed to shoot him for fleeing]]. [[spoiler:[[JustifiedTrope It turns out the agents are actually the villains of the book, and have been planning for several chapters to kill him and frame him for their own crimes]].]]
* Justified in ''Literature/HarrisonBergeron'' in that it is said in an oppressive dystopia, and the speaker has an insane amount of power.
* In Creator/AndreiBelyanin's ''[[Literature/TsarGorokhsDetectiveAgency Tsar Gorokh's Detective Agency]]'' series, the main character is a modern-day cop transported into a fairy-tale tsardom, where he is asked to become a detective of sorts, as his skillset is unknown to them. Many times throughout the series he attempts to instill in the locals modern law enforcement practices with mixed results. One of these is for his squad of streltsy (guards in old Russia) to fire a warning shot before shooting a suspect. The sotnik (equivalent of captain) of the streltsy complains that it takes forever to reload their primitive hand cannons, which will allow the suspect to get away. The cop settles for "Stop Or I Will Shoot" instead.

* Subverted in one of the Literature/RogueWarrior novels. One of the characters is a former cop who yells for a man, later revealed to be a bodyguard, to surrender during a hostage rescue on a plane. Problem is, the rescue team are SEALS. They're not meant to shout "Freeze motherfucker or name your beneficiary," anyone waving a gun about during a firefight is fair game, and despite the officer's efforts, the innocent bodyguard was gunned down.
* In ''Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets'', one of the cops interviewed for the book describes how, when he was younger, he was involved in a pursuit of a known criminal and pulled this trope, firing a warning shot into the air -- and the criminal, who the cop knew previously, was genuinely shocked and shaken that the cop had fired 'at' him. The cop discussed how he was chastened enough to never pull this trick again.
* Subverted in ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs''. Clarice ''not'' being able to do this is why she has to chase Buffalo Bill into his basement. When she pulls her gun on him he just flees the room and she can't shoot him.

* Counter-example: the docu-drama series ''Series/{{Cops}}''. If you watched about fifteen cops wrestle down a large, uncooperative, but unarmed suspect, and wondered why someone didn't just whip out a club and [[TapOnTheHead knock the guy out]], the answer is that it's not allowed. In one of the earliest episodes, a rookie cop more or less says the trope title ("Stop or I'll shoot you in the back") and he has never heard the end of this.

* Subverted in ''Series/TheExpanse'' during the defection of [[spoiler:Bobbie Draper]], who flees the Martian Embassy on Earth to seek asylum with the UN. One of the Martian soldiers giving chase shouts this trope, but is immediately countermanded: they're not authorized to do so, as opening fire in the direction of UN personnel would cause a horrific diplomatic incident.

* Averted in ''TabletopGame/TheWorldOfDarkness'' games where several {{Sourcebook}}s give guidelines on standard police procedure when facing suspects. Given that its [[CrapsackWorld the World Of]] ''[[CrapsackWorld Darkness]]'', a player can assume that if a cop fulfills this trope then there's a good chance he's corrupt or being manipulated.

* Pretty much any video game where enemies include police or security guards; these will invariably [[SimultaneousWarningAndAction shoot first and ask questions never]].
** Notable Exception: ''VideoGame/SWAT4'' has you playing the role of, well, a SWAT team (special police). Players have access to a large amount of nonlethal weapons and you get a lot of points knocked off for 'Unauthorized Use of Force' - shooting without shouting for compliance (ie. "Hands up!") unless they've already pointed a gun at an officer or a hostage - which is an open invitation to shoot first for the sake of you, your squad, or the hostage. The game is at its most fun when you mercilessly attack with tasers, paintball guns, and beanbag shotguns. Especially as less-lethal force isn't penalized.
*** The negligently unaggressive police A.I. sometimes makes you wish your SWAT teammates ''would'' shoot on sight, though, since you often get low points on a mission because one of your teammates told a suspect to surrender, and the suspect responded with a shotgun blast to the officer's face, costing you both an officer and 20% of the mission score. Your SWAT teammates won't fire unless fired upon even if you equip them with less-lethal stun weapons (i.e. tasers or pepper spray).
*** This is only the case in SWAT 4. In SWAT 3, your officers are much more likely to shoot a suspect if he's so much as holding a gun, let alone pointing it at them or shooting it. That said, they will immediately stop shooting at the suspect if he drops his gun and surrenders, assuming they missed.
** An interesting aversion to this occurs in the more recent ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games. When the player character gets a single wanted star, police officers will approach and attempt to subdue and arrest the player nonlethally, ''unless'' the character has drawn a firearm. At that point, they open fire. Progressing to a second star, which generally involves inflicting significant property damage or killing civilians/police, will result in the police simply opening fire and continuing to shoot until you're dead.
** Guards who spot an agent in ''VideoGame/InvisibleInc'' order them to stop and point their weapon at them...only to shoot them a moment later even if they comply.
* Averted in {{Creator/Sierra}}'s ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest'' game series. Produced by real-life police officers, the games require you to follow proper police procedure (don't worry, it's AllThereInTheManual). Failure to do so will give you an abrupt game over.
** Not always an immediate game over, though. In some cases, seemingly minor infractions will go unpunished, only to show up later. Example: in the first game, taking a criminal to jail requires you to lock up your gun in a gun locker outside, for safety. Failure to do so will still allow you to get access to the jail, but as soon as you uncuff the suspect to escort him to his cell, he'll take your gun and kill you.
* Mostly averted in ''VideoGame/Postal2'' -- the cops will shout this if you commit a crime and run away, but won't actually shoot unless you pull out a weapon.
** However, if a civilian NPC is caught committing a crime, the cops will chase them down and beat them to death, even if they drop their weapon and try to run away.
*** This is because there is no arrest mechanic for [=NPCs=] (the player arrest mechanic being a simple fade-to-black then restart at the police station). Same thing applies to the later ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games, the ones where the cops actually care about criminals other than the player.
* In the Junkyard of ''VideoGame/FullThrottle'' this is used by the local cops, although it quickly turns out to be BlatantLies- but thanks to ATeamFiring, the hero gets away.
* Played straight for ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto''. Alright, the way most people play, the cops would be perfectly justified in shooting at your character. Sometimes though, it's less justified, especially when you're committing non-violent crimes, they'll still shoot.
** In the third and fourth installation, the cops actually won't fire a single bullet at you at one star. Anything above that though, and they open fire. Less justified than it sounds though in the fourth: if they catch up to you and you keep running instead of letting them arrest you, you'll get another star and they'll shoot you in the back. Which is actually merciful in that one. You lose all your weapons if arrested, but this is the first one that lets you keep your arsenal after [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist visiting the hospital]].
* Averted in ''Mafia: City of Lost Heaven''. The cops will ticket you for minor infractions (running a red light), and attempt to arrest you for major infractions (running over a civilian). Running away from the cops will raise a fine-level infraction to an arrest-level infraction, but they still won't use violence against you. It's only when you physically threaten them (i.e. slam your car into theirs, or fire a weapon) that they actually start shooting (as well as trying to run you over).

* From ''VideoGame/TouhouEiyashouImperishableNight'':
-->'''Marisa:''' Move and I'll shoot! ...I messed up. I mean, shoot and I'll move. In a flash.

* A rare, non-firearm related example can be found in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion''. Upon the acquisition of a bounty, guards will confront the player, and give him a choice of paying the fine, going to jail and losing skill points, or "resist arrest"--basically not cooperating. If the player chooses to resist arrest, regardless of whether he's armed or not, fighting back or running away, the guards will attempt to either snipe at him with arrows or run him through with a sword. The player can still surrender at any time and receive the same three options again. The guards don't seem to have the slightest of interests in incapacitating and incarcerating the player, and seem perfectly happy to merely bleed the player to death instead. [[FridgeLogic This would also explain why various prisons around Cyrodil are so empty....]]
** This is more justified than other examples though, given the Middle Age-esque setting of the game series.
* ''VideoGame/JudgeDreddDreddVsDeath'' had a system where you were encouraged to try and take criminals in alive by ordering them to stop and then disarming/wounding them. You're not particularly punished for killing someone engaged in a firefight with you, unless you kill someone who has surrendered or use your Lawgiver's incendiary rounds on perps.
* Averted and called out in ''VideoGame/LANoire'' by Cole Phelps. If you're chasing down a suspect with your gun drawn, you can aim at the running suspect to fire a warning shot into the air, and Cole will tell the suspect to stop or he will shoot them. However, if you actually shoot them you fail the case and have to start from the last checkpoint.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'' where despite the cops clearly having a visible firearm, when Jimmy or any other student commits any treasonable act, they instead try to approach the suspect and bust them with physical force instead of simply firing on them.

* WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse, of all characters, pulls this on WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck in the short ''WesternAnimation/SymphonyHour'', stopping him at gunpoint from bailing out on a concert performance gone awry.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', Uncle Ruckus is told by police officers to get out of his truck and show them I.D. even though he was doing nothing and in fact was the one that ''called them''. Even though Ruckus fully cooperated, and told the officers what he was doing, when he pulled out his wallet, a cop shouted "GUN!!!" and they [[MoreDakka opened fire]]. [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy They missed]]. Then he tried to pull out a ''spare'' '''safety orange''' wallet. Cue another "GUN!!!" and Ruckus being brutally beaten by nightsticks.
* Used in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' where ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}} has just accidentally caused a truck to crash. The cops tell him to freeze, and when he puts his hands up, they shoot a rocket launcher at him.

* Ouka does this in ''LightNovel/KyouranKazokuNikki'' when someone reveals they were using MindControl on him.

* This phrase is repeated verbatim along with countless other deliberately cliche phrases in an issue of ''Comicbook/TooMuchCoffeeMan'' where he battles a supervillain with the actual name of Cliche.

* The two SpacePolice officers in ''Radio/TheHitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' ([[AllThereInTheManual named in the credits]] as [[MeaningfulName Shooty and Bangbang]]) subject the unarmed Heart of Gold crew to a continuous barrage of firepower, only pausing occasionally to tell them how bad they feel about it. (This was a parody of Adams's impression of seventies US cop shows, where the main characters were sensitive, understanding guys, but seemed to shoot people just as much as in previous cop shows.)

* The Imperial Stormtroopers in the VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga have a tendency to loudly yell out "Stop or I'll shoot!" or "You're under arrest!" while simultaneously opening fire on you with their blasters.

* From ''[[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Imperishable Night]]'':

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/NineteenFortyOne''. Mad pilot Wild Bill Kelso lands his fighter plane at a roadside gas station and tells them to fill it up. As he's left the engine running, the fighter starts to take off without him, so he fires a warning shot in the air even though there's no-one piloting it. The shot severs a power line which ignites the spilled fuel and blows up the gas station.

** Like many procedures of the Singaporean military, this originated in the [[UsefulNotes/IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles Israel Defense Force]].

->'''Mook:''' Alright. Stay where you are and we'll shoot you!\\
'''Krillin:''' Don't you mean "''or'' we'll shoot you"?\\
'''Mook:''' We know what we said!
-->-- ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''

* DoublySubverted in new ''Series/DoctorWho'': Villain is about to kill an innocent. Doctor threatens Villain. Villain kills innocent. Doctor does nothing until Villain threatens a Named Character.

This trope is a form of ArtisticLicenseLaw. Very often occurs together with mild variants of ArtisticLicenseGunSafety (i.e. nobody gets hurt). See also SuicideByCop, PutDownYourGunAndStepAway. If the target calls their bluff, see YouWouldntShootMe.

** An interesting aversion to this occurs in the more recent ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games. When the player character gets a single wanted star, police officers will approach and attempt to subdue and arrest the player nonlethally, ''unless'' the character has drawn a firearm. At that point, they open fire. Progressing to a second star, which generally involves inflicting significant property damage or killing civilians/police, will result in the police simply opening fire and keep on shooting until you're dead.

* In France, unlike the National Police, which is civilian and under the general self-defense rules of the Penal Code, the Gendarmerie is military and thus under the Defense Code, and allowed to shot fleeing suspects if they didn't stop to the cries of "Halte gendarmerie" and no other means exists.

This may also be a JustifiedTrope in historical or foreign settings, where the law (and public opinion) may have different views than present-day American citizens, legislators and media on what sort of force the police is justified in using to apprehend a criminal.

* ''Film/BonnieAndClyde''. The OutlawCouple are gunned down without warning in a police ambush -- this was TruthInTelevision. It should be noted that Barrow had shot his way out of several previous attempts to capture him, and his gang had killed nine lawman and several civilians during their crime spree.

This may also be a JustifiedTrope in historical or foreign settings, where the law (and public opinion) may have different views than present-day American legislators and media on what sort of force the police is justified in using to apprehend a criminal.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/NineteenFortyOne''. Mad pilot Wild Bill Kelso lands his fighter at a roadside gas station and tells them to fill it up. Because he's left the engine running, it starts to take off without him, so he fires a warning shot in the air even though there's no-one piloting it. The shot severs a power cables which ignites the spilled fuel and blows up the gas station.

'''Krillin:''' Don't you mean ''or'' we'll shoot you'?\\

* In Creator/AndreiBelyanin's ''[[Literature/TsarGorokhsDetectiveAgency Tsar Gorokh's Detective Agency]]'' series, the main character is a modern-day cop transported into a fairy-tale tsardom, where he is asked to become a detective of sorts, as his skillset is unknown to them. Many times throughout the series he attempts to instill in the locals modern law enforcement practices with mixed results. One of these is for his squad of streltsy (guards in old Russia) to fire a warning shot before shooting a suspect. The sotnik (equivalent of captain) of the streltsy complains that it takes forever to reload their primitive hand cannons, which will allow the suspect to get away. The cop settles for "StopOrIWillShoot" instead.