We all know how enamored I am with cops shows, particularly cop shows from the ’70s, but there’s a certain genre of copaganda episode, which seemed to be done often in the ’70s, that just hits me the wrong way every time.

An officer killed in the line of duty.

Here’s how this particular variety of copaganda episode typically plays out. We meet a cop, usually a uniformed officer, that we’ve never seen before and will likely never been mentioned again after this episode. We get to know this cop for about five minutes. He’s usually a very likeable guy and he’s usually good friends with one of our faves. Then our new cop friend gets killed in the line of duty, usually by someone who refers to cops as “pigs” and has an all-out hate on for the police. If not, then someone in the episode does and they are very, very vocal about it. It’s all very anvil about showing the audience how thankless the job is because people hate them even though they put their lives on the line every day. It’s an efficient delivery system for some unquestioned stats on the number of cops killed in the line of duty every year.

Now, the whole point of copaganda is to help normalize and valorize the shit cops do that shouldn’t be normalized or valorized, like roughing up a suspect for information or getting pissy when a suspect knows their rights and won’t speak without a lawyer. But this particular genre of copaganda is incredibly and unnecessarily emotionally manipulative.

The point is to highlight how dangerous and thankless police work can be. I’m not arguing that being a police officer can’t be dangerous. My police officer father ended up with a broken knee incurred while handling a domestic violence call (and the guy later apologized for it; such is life in a small town). But when it comes to dangerous jobs in America, law enforcement doesn’t crack the top ten list. According to some lists, they don’t even make the top 25. In fact, police officers kill more people in the line of duty then they themselves are killed. They may end up in some dangerous situations, but the odds are in their favor.

Something that cop shows in general, particularly with these kinds of episodes, don’t acknowledge.

And if you wanna talk thankless, look at any customer service job.

My biggest issue with these episodes, outside of the inaccuracies I’ve already mentioned, is how it’s implied that a cop’s life has more value than anyone else’s simply because of the job they do. And that is bullshit. Not just because of the inaccuracies I’ve already point out, but also because nobody’s life is inherently more or less valuable than anybody else’s.

To drive home the point that these cops’ lives are so much more valuable than the average citizen, they have the cop hater right there to highlight just how derided and misunderstood the police are. Nothing gets the audience more on the side of law enforcement than some asshole screaming “pig” at our heroes. Especially after they’ve lost one of their dear uniformed friends whose name we don’t bother to learn.

It all ends up being overwrought and grating and, like I said, unnecessary. In the context of the show, we already ride with the idea that a cop’s job is dangerous and their work is thankless because of how many dangerous situations we see our favorites in (some of which they don’t survive) and how often they’re disrespected in the course of their investigations. We already know.

This very special episode isn’t required.