How did policemen come to be called 'cops?'

India
December 30, 2006 12:46pm CST
from where did the word cops originated?
3 responses
@swak1962 (129)
• United States
30 Dec 06
The term originated in the United States back in the 1930s. The "beat cop", or the officer who patroled the streets on foot, uniform had copper buttons on it. Street thugs and gangs at this time started calling police officers "coppers". Hollywood later immortalized this term in movies. Remember the line "You'll never take me alive, Coppers!" Later, the term has been shortened to "cops" and has remained as our current eumphanism for police officers today.
@evileye (50)
• India
30 Dec 06
May be from US.
@ezzrssi (11187)
• Italy
30 Dec 06
maybe from the word caps because they are maiuscol :)