throw down

n. evidence, especially a weapon, planted by police on a suspect or at a crime scene. Subjects: English, Crime & Prisons, Police, Slang

Editorial Note: A more common meaning of throw down is “a fight.”

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Citations: 1993 Usenet: talk.politics.misc (Mar. 5) “Re: What the media isn’t saying about events in Waco”: This has been a major embarrassment for the BATF. They would need to prove what they claim just to save face. Just like a cop carrying a “throw-down.” It happens. 1996 New Orleans Times-Picayune (La.) (Apr. 21) “Accused Cop Has Record Of Larceny” p. B1: “It’s a Saturday night special, judge,” Barrett said. “It’s not a mystery that a gun with no serial numbers is used by criminals. It’s used as a throw-down.” 1997 Sydney P. Freedberg Miami Herald (Oct. 3) “Third Cop Arrested In Miami Gun Case” p. B1: Police in Miami arrest narcotics Detective Jorge Castello, third officer connected with “throw down” case, on charges of lying about shooting of homeless man Daniel Hoban who allegedly pointed gun at officers. 2000 David Klinger (NPR) (Feb. 15) “Talk of the Nation: Analysis: Growing problem of police misconduct and its impact on effective policing”: I know I didn’t carry it and I know that nobody that I ever worked with—and I went to the academy in 1980 and hit the streets in 1981. Nobody had a throw-down gun.…if you don’t know the difference between a backup gun and a throw-down, you have no business talking on this show, sir.…If we were all carrying these throw-down weapons, we would have been planting guns instead of saying, “Yep, I made a mistake.” 2002 Bill Hewitt, Siobhan Morrissey, Steve Ellman, Kristin Harmel @ Miami, Fla. People Magazine (May 6) “Federal prosecutors charge that rogue cops called the Jump Out Boys rode roughshod over Miami”: According to the indictments, the cops lied, used excessive force and planted evidence—so-called “throw-down guns"— at crime scenes, 2002 Stefano Esposito News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) (July 5) “Controversy dogs Ruston police chief”: He also said Reinhold showed some city employees a handgun he called a “throw-down piece,” a weapon he would plant at the scene if an officer shot an unarmed suspect. 2003 Bill Muller Arizona Republic (Feb. 21) “‘Dark Blue’ A Black Eye For Cops And Cop Films” p. P4: Later in the movie, Perry orders Keough to shoot a suspect—unarmed, of course—with Perry’s gun and lie about it yet again. Because they tossed a throw-down weapon at the guy’s feet, the extra subterfuge hardly seems worth the effort. 2005 William C. Lhotka St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Mo.) (Mar. 4) “Ex-officer is sentenced in shooting”: Prosecutor John Quarenghi hinted throughout the trial that Zeigler had the dope in the black bag to use as a “throw down”—street language for planting evidence on a suspect.

Posted 7 Mar 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend