TV Cops and Guns

I have been wondering about something recently. And this is because I seriously don't know the answer. About twenty years ago it was a big deal for a cop to give up his gun on TV or in the movies. This was like a sacred oath they took or a line they could not cross. It was a career ender for the cop and the audience was fully aware of and endorsed this principle. If a cop gave up his gun in a movie, you could hear the audience gasp.

Now, apparently, I haven't been paying attention for a while because something has changed. But I don't know what or when it happened. It seems like every time I watch a cop show or movie there is an almost mandatory scene where the bad guy has unexpectedly gotten the upper hand and the cop is forced to "throw down your gun and kick it over here".

It used to be that the cop(s) would rather die first or let the hostage die before giving up their weapon(s). This way it was at least a fair fight for the cop (because who is going to take the bad guy's word for anything) and the bad guy knew he "wasn't getting out of this alive" if he didn't surrender.

So what has changed?

• Was there never a never give up your gun rule with the real police and TV used to be unrealistic?
• Has there always been a never give up your gun rule with the real police and TV is now unrealistic?
• Did the never give up your gun rule use to exist with the real police and TV accurately reflected it and then the rule was changed and TV now realistically reflects the change?

I honestly don't know. But, the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised to see this scenario in the future:

The police are huddled behind their squad cars in front of a bank on a downtown street. The bad guys are inside the bank with hostages. The hero of the story, the main cop, stands up from behind his car door and walks forward. He steps into the center of the street, both hands in the air. There is a gun in his right hand. He steps forward cautiously and tosses his gun aside. He begins to move again, toward the bank, when a voice behind him says, "Shouldn't we see what they want before we surrender?"