‘Not him incorrectly mansplaining what day it was’: Woman goes to police for the simplest of problems, but grossly incompetent cop can’t help

The bone-headed cop is an overused comedic cliche, from The Simpsons‘ Chief Wiggum to Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad, but it has to be said that there’s some truth in every trope. And one TikToker seems to have had the misfortune of meeting the man who proves that sometimes fiction isn’t much different from fact.

User @bre_does_art had to air her frustration with others on the app after she had a unique encounter with a cop that’s equal parts frustrating and hilarious. Breanna wasn’t employing his services to solve a murder or locate a missing diamond, but simply to help her find where the local police station was and this oafish officer couldn’t even manage that.

Bre’s brush with the thickest member of the thin blue line began when she was pulled over by a cop one night because her tail light was broken. It wasn’t a big deal, though, as the cop gave her a fix-it ticket and all she had to do was get the issue sorted and then file the ticket at the police station. The only problem was that, come Tuesday when Bre went to do just that, she couldn’t find the station so she phoned them to get directions. Enter Deputy Dunderhead.

After clarifying that she wasn’t in an emergency, Bre explained that she was just inquiring how to get to the state police station. The dispatch cop’s response? “Steak? Why are you saying steak?” Upon Bre repeating her question, the cop groused: “Well, if you can’t find it, I guess I can send two officers to come get you, if you really can’t find it.” Bre again clarified that, no, that wasn’t necessary she was just looking for directions. “Why are you even going to the police department?” he grilled.

Bre stated that she needed a police officer to sign her fix-it ticket, to which the dispatcher deployed his dumbest retort yet. “It’s Monday, so they’re probably not even there,” the cop said confidently, displaying the detective nous that no doubt got him the job in the first place. A flabbergasted Bre then told him it was Tuesday to which he replied: “I said it’s Monday!” At this point, Bre decided she was probably better off on her own and ended the call.

In the end, Bre found her way there and after getting her ticket signed (by a cop who made her repeat herself) she handed it in and told the officer on desk about how Google Maps directs people to the local library instead of the police station, implying that this was a big issue that needs fixing. “Oh yeah, we know,” responded the officer, leading Bre to one final realization. As she concludes her video, “Okay, cool, so you’re all like this.”

TikTok couldn’t believe the empty-headedness of these officers, who appear to have transferred en masse from Springfield and graduated from the Police Academy films. “You should issue them a fix-it ticket,” quipped one commenter. “It’s like an episode of Parks and Recreation,” said another, aghast. Someone else may have solved what’s going on with the Maps address, though: “It probably used to take you to the police department but people found the library personnel to be more help in emergencies.”

The average score for a police officer intelligence test is 21, which translates to an IQ of 104, so that’s only slightly above the national average. What’s more, back in 2000 a man unsuccessfully attempted to sue the city of New York after his application to join the police was rejected because he scored 33 on his intelligence test, and he was deemed too smart for the job.

Clearly, a guy who doesn’t know what day it is and is daydreaming about a steak dinner while at work is a preferable choice.