People all over Chicago are talking about the 14 year old who fooled the Chicago Police Department into treating him like an officer for 5 hours. Yesterday Mayor Daley called for the commanding officers to be held accountable, but I think there’s someone else who is culpable: Burt Reynolds. His 1993 film Cop and a Half is practically a training video for this sort of thing. Take a look at this synopsis from IMDB.com:

Devon Butler is an eight-year old who dreams of being a cop. He watches police TV shows, knows police procedures, and plays cops and robbers with his friend Ray. One day, while snooping around in a warehouse, he witnesses a murder. He goes to the police, who want the information, but won’t get it until they make Devon a cop. The police then team him with veteran cop (and child hater) Nick McKenna, and the two team up in comic series of events to find the killer.

For shame, Burt Reynolds. For shame…