Why are cops called pigs?

Question

And come to think of it, I don't even know what the acronym, cop stands for. Who can tell me?

Answer 1

In 1811, the word, 'pig' was mentioned by the Oxford Dictionary as the name of the earliest police force headquarters. This was before the era of Sir Robert Peel and before the Metropolitan Police came into existence. Before this time, people used the term pig around the middle 50s to describe an extremely disliked person in 20 century. The usage, however, was reserved for criminals until the 60s when protestors adopted it. If you have always believed the term pig came into use in the 60s, you are quite wrong.

The masks used by the police in that era when they threw tear gas coupled with the character in the Animal Farm by George Orwell lent some false explanations to the origin of the use of the term pig.

As for the cops, it is most likely the cop used as a noun was derived from the copper. The first use for the name copper as a slang for policemen was in 1846. One most likely explanation is, it was derived from the verb to cop, which means to seize, snatch or capture which was first used in 1704. Like most other words, there are several false theories surrounding its origin. Pay no attention to the claim that the word cop for the police means Constables On Patrol. It is also false that the use of the word began with the copper buttons and badges on New York Police uniforms. People have called the police several names like coppers, fuzz, pigs, etc. 

Answer 2

Why are cops called pigs? I was told that it is abbreviation for Pride, Integrity, and Guts.

Answer 3

To begin with, no movies, newspapers or literatures has ever shown the British Police being referred to as pigs in the early decades of the twentieth century. So I doubt if the protesters of the 1960s ever came across the word in any 1811 British journal, which claimed the British Police chief was breeding pigs. It is documented that the word, 'pig' gained popularity during the Vietnam protest/ Civil rights era. The use of this word was linked to the gas masks the police wore during World War II or as a reference to the pigs that enforced laws in Animal Farm by George Orwell. The story which claims the man who formed the British Police was a pig farmer was both strange and absurd. There is no record of this in any TV, movies, newspapers, or even literature in the UK before the 60s in reference to the use of the word, 'pig' by anyone to represent the British Police.