Cop pleads guilty after aiming gun at co-worker to avoid Top Gun: Maverick spoilers

An Australian police officer has been sent to community correction and will undergo 100 hours of community service following an incident in which they pulled a gun on a fellow officer after the latter threatened to spoil the plot of the 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick.

Top Gun: Maverick was one of the biggest movies of 2023. The Tom Cruise-led sequel broke box office records and marked a major return to theatres following the global pandemic that saw many films struggle to bring fans back to the cinema.

However, the hype and anticipation of the movie has resulted in one Australian police officer pleading guilty to “carrying a firearm with disregard” after he threatened to shoot a fellow police officer after they said they would spoil details of the film. 

As first reported by the Australian Broadcasting Company, police documents from the trial reveal that 30-year-old police officer Dominic Gaynor took out his gun and pointed it “in the vicinity” of fellow officer Morgan Royston. 

Royston had gone to see Top Gun: Maverick the day before the incident and said he would “spoil it for” Gaynor. The guilty officer then reportedly told Royston, “Don’t spoil the movie” and “I’ll shoot you.” 

He then proceeded to take out his gun and “held it stationary for five seconds” in the direction of Royston. However, the court notes added that his finger was on the receiver and not the trigger.” Gaynor’s lawyer stated the moment was “a case where the skylarking and tomfoolery in an employment context has gone awry.”

Following the initial incident, the ABC also reported that Royston, who was on the receiving end, fell into a depression afterward. He stated that while officers do tend to “share jokes and tease each other,” this left him in “overwhelming shock and fear.”

As a result, Gaynor was given a community correction that will last 2 years, 100 hours of community service, and a recorded conviction. His lawyer revealed that his actions would “definitely see him removed from the police force.” 

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