In the film Training Day, Denzel Washington plays Alonzo Harris, a corrupt LAPD detective who takes Ethan Hawke’s trainee narcotics officer on a nightmare tour of Los Angeles during the titular day in question. It’s easily one of Washington’s best performances and it nabbed him the Best Actor Oscar. In Hollywood, acting like a megalomaniac with a badge gets you rave reviews, but in the real world, it costs you your job.
According to NBC affiliate WESH in Florida, that’s the case for former Lake County sheriff’s deputy Dean Zipes, who was fired following an internal affairs investigation after quoting Training Day and mimicking some of the “cool things” (which you can see in a video here) that Washington’s character does in the movie in front of a trainee officer.
According to an internal affairs report obtained by CNN affiliate WESH 2 News, Lake County Deputy Dean Zipes rubbed his pistol and stun gun together, replicating actions by Washington’s character in the movie, in front of a startled police trainee outside a convenience store. Washington played a corrupt cop in the 2001 film.
Zipes reportedly told investigators he was trying to be funny.
In case you didn’t think ex-deputy Zipes was the funniest boy in blue to come along since Michael Winslow, the internal affairs report goes on to point out that on top of his Denzel Washington impression, Zipes “twice pulled his firearm in an office setting, voiced racial slurs, made a motion to draw his gun at a pizza delivery driver and became upset after not receiving free Starbucks coffee.”
Lesson learned: don’t act like the cops you see on TV.