Date:  Tue, 28 Aug 1956 02:14:24 +0000
From:  Tom Dalzell <slangman[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PACBELL.NET>
Subject: Re: For the Love of Mike; Let's Go!; Cop; The Jinx

I've done a fair amount of research on the word "cop" for a book on
slang to be published by Merriam-Webster in 1998. "Cop" is a great
example of a slang word with multiple folk etymologies, many of which
are clearly apocryphal. If you are truly interested, I'll summarize
what I came up with; to make a long story short, the origin suggested by
the poem you cite is probably correct.

Tom Dalzell