The taxi cab incident is surely not what Crowley first imagined cop life would be like.

Crowley says he first wanted to be a police officer after watching action-packed cops and robbers television.

As he learned more about the field, Crowley says that he "found it was more public service than chasing bad guys."

"I get just as much satisfaction helping somebody out that might be in a jam as I do making a big arrest," Crowley says in his thick Boston accent.

On the Beat

Crowley and the other Harvard cops may have chosen to work in a department that sees less action than most big-city forces. But the HUPD sees its fair share of gun-slinging.

"We've all been involved in car chases," McCarthy says. "Harvard has been involved in all of the things you see on 'COPS.'"

McCarthy says he remembers an incident last summer when he had to draw his gun.

He was standing at Au Bon Pain when he saw a car peeling around the corner at Holyoke Street. Upon seeing the driver, the HUPD sergeant recognized him as a man suspected of selling guns in the Square.

As McCarthy approached the car he says the man tried to hide a bag under the passenger seat.

"Do you mind if I take a look at the bag that you're trying to hide there?" McCarthy recalls asking the driver.

When he looked in the bag, McCarthy says he saw what looked to be a machine gun.

"Control, get me back up. I have a man with a machine gun," McCarthy called in to the dispatcher.

The suspect was arrested and charged by the HUPD.

Like McCarthy, Crowley also says he has drawn his weapon, although only "a few times."