English Explanatory Dictionary

when the looting starts, the shooting starts

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. Lethal force is justified against rioters and looters.

Word forms

when the looting starts, the shooting starts

Etymology

Originally used by Walter E. Headley, the police chief of Miami, Florida, in response to an outbreak of violent crime during the 1967 Christmas holiday season. He accused "young hoodlums, from 15 to 21", of "taking advantage of the civil rights campaign" that was then sweeping the United States.

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