@ Wozitoya I am not sure why you are citing the wiki entry for "COPS (TV series)". This show was a documentary about the police, that's why it was called "COPS" (cops being the plural of cop). It was made only 20 years ago, whereas the etymology of the word cop is dated back to 1859, predating movies & TV. Cop is not a derogatory slang, but it's still informal. It is not as respectful as "police officer", and in some situations it's not appropriate to use. So they're not always interchangeable. e.g. "Excuse me cop, is there a problem?" vs "Excuse me police officer, is there a problem?". Incidentally, many people take offence at "policeman/policemen" since it's sexually discriminating. The politically correct term is "police officer".

Cop is slang for police officer. It's a shorting of the old word "copper", and "to cop" is to incur some penalty. So being the ones issuing those penalties, they are the "coppers" or "cops". There are a lot of slang words for police, such as the fuzz, pigs etc. You could find many if you did an internet search. Cops is the most generic though.

@StevenSteven I think we are speaking in the same language now.

a cop = a policeman cops = policemen the cops = the police

Some expressions that were created by the movies/TV episodes are not slangs. In my understanding, Cop means the same as police officer this day. COPS is an American documentary television series that follows police officers, constables, and sheriff's deputies during patrols and other police activities. - Wikipedia The older days, hot dog was the most popular name for police officer in the United States.