Top Gun: Maverick took 2022’s Memorial Weekend crown with tons of people contributing to its box office record success. But that doesn’t mean everyone’s seen it yet. One cop pled guilty to pulling a gun on a colleague for threatening to spoil the Top Gun sequel.
While no one likes movie spoilers, it’s a whole other story to pull a gun on someone for that. According to The Los Angeles Times, 30-year-old Australian police officer Constable Dominic Francis Gaynor pled guilty to carrying a firearm with disregard for the safety of his colleague. Court documents state that 26-year-old Probationary Constable Morgan Royston saw Top Gun: Maverick the previous evening and jokingly threatened to spoil it for Gaynor. As stated by the documents of what the Australian cop did:
“He pointed his firearm at the vicinity of the complainant and held it stationary for five seconds. The offender’s finger was on the receiver and not the trigger. The offender was laughing throughout this incident.”
Gaynor appears to have intended the whole thing as a prank. The Australian Broadcasting Company said that Gaynor allegedly told his colleague something along the lines of “Don’t spoil the movie, c—” and “I’ll shoot you.”
Top Gun: Maverick was one of the top movies of 2022. It was the second-highest-grossing film of that year and the highest-grossing movie for Tom Cruise. It also received six nominations at the 95th Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and managed to win Best Sound. Critics and audiences raved about the Joseph Kosinski movie, who favored it more than the original and felt the flight sequences made it a great theatrical experience.
What Was the Aftermath Faced By the Cop and His Colleague?
Probationary Constable Morgan Royston quit the force after that ordeal. He said he wanted to become a police officer despite the dangers that would come. But after Gaynor pulled a gun on him, Royston felt “overwhelming shock and fear.” Sadly, this officer ended up falling into a depression afterward, as he told the court on Thursday.
“I have completely lost the trust I had and my admiration for the NSW Police Force. When I see a police officer now, I feel compelled to watch them and check their hand is not on their firearm.”
Gaynor’s lawyer, Chris Micali, made a case for Constable Dominic Francis Gaynor that he was remorseful and that there was no malicious intent. Micali summed up the incident as “skylarking and tomfoolery” that “went awry.” The lawyer pointed out that a conviction would remove him from the police force and cost his client “dearly.”
The court handed Gaynor not only a conviction but also 100 hours of community service and a two-year community correction order. Earlier in the week, he also experienced suspension without pay. Thankfully, in the aftermath of all of this, no shots were fired, and no one physically got hurt.
