Crossword Genius

Police officer expressly aiming to avoid responsibility (3,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cop out

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'avoid responsibility' is the definition.
(to cop out is to avoid something)

'police officer expressly aiming' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'officer' could be 'cop' (cop is a kind of officer) and 'cop' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'out' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cop out that I've seen before include "Evasion or failure to deliver on promise" , "avoid unwanted commitment" , "cowardly stance" , "failure to take responsibility" , "An evasion of responsibility - policeman not at home" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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