"Apparently..." would have been the perfect way to describe my reaction. I didn't realize that "cover me" meant "lay down suppressing fire" to Marines. I guess it makes sense, but that's not the meaning I would have expected. So I would probably have been just as confused as the cops in the story. I wouldn't be surprised if most cops would have been similarly confused.

So yeah in conclusion, I don't really understand the point you're trying to make.

You'll find Popehat is a heavily sarcastic poster.

Read it in the sense of "I told my toddler they can't have ice cream three times a day and apparently that makes me a meanie".