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Officer Contact - "To Advise Up Front of CCW or Wait Until Asked?"

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#1 ·
Over the Labor Day weekend holiday, I was introduced to a guy who is a police officer here in Kansas for many years. We spoke of my CCW, training and all. He asked to see my permit (not official reason just curious) as he says many claim to have one but then can't show it during their "bull-****ting sessions"... and it proves to him that I am "a law abiding citizen" and can talk guns, laws and other such "manly stuff"... as we were enjoying a beer and a brat together at my friends lake house (I had my my Springfield XDM and he has his Glock)... he was a cool guy actually and we were both at ease with our beers and brats.

When it comes to traffic stops, I asked him for his personal and professional opinion about a driver showing their CCW permit along with their license upon being stopped, even though Kansas state law states one does NOT need to show it unless asked.

Now listen carefully guys... here was his answer (as it relates to Kansas state law):

There is no downside to showing the courtesy and respect to the officer who stopped you by showing them your CCW permit (or anytime contact with an officer is made - when a license or ID is asked for). They will see that you have one when they run your license, but then they will go on "high alert" and feel like you did not fully advise them of your firearm when they first stopped you... even though you did not have too.. they will still feel like you withheld this fact from them!!

An officer has two options... give a warning or write a ticket... and you want them to be relaxed and think of you in the best possible light they can (depending on why they stopped you of course). Being right up front will show them you have nothing to hide, your honest and immediately tells them you not wanted, do not have warrents out for your arrest and are generally a "good guy"... all before he runs your license through the computer!!!!

Again... there is NO downside to given the officer your license and CCW permit up front (regardless of what state or city you may be in), but there is a potential negative downside if he/she finds out that there may be a gun on you or in your car when they run your license... and cops don't like surprises!!!

If your not carrying your firearm when pulled over, then state this fact right up front when pulled over.... "Officer, here is my license. When you run it in your system, you will see that I am a CCW permit holder, but I am NOT carrying my firearm on me or in my car today." Again, you have diffused any negative belief or situation that may or may not have been present.

The guy I met basically stated....

Tell me up front = "Verbal warning" only for basic traffic offense
(You had a choice and so did I and I will give you the benefit of the doubt for being honest and reducing any surprises)

Don't tell me up front = "You Got A Ticket"
(You had a choice as I did in writing you a ticket or not... so I gave you the ticket)

Here endith the lesson..... and I believe this is very good advise... one I will follow 100%.
 
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#2 ·
I have no problem with his advice...and thanks for sharing it with us...

One way to avoid this issue it....wait for it....avoid doing something to get stopped...

I've carried most of a decade...and have never been stopped (carrying or not carrying for that matter)...

In fact, I'll be the first to admit that when I am carrying, I'm more careful...drive a little bit slower...and, as most people, have a much higher SA level...
 
#14 ·
One way to avoid this issue it....wait for it....avoid doing something to get stopped...

I've carried most of a decade...and have never been stopped (carrying or not carrying for that matter)...

In fact, I'll be the first to admit that when I am carrying, I'm more careful...drive a little bit slower...and, as most people, have a much higher SA level...
Good advice for most of the time, but you don't have to be breaking the law to be stopped.
If you're hit by another driver, or go through a "DUI" checkpoint (don't get me started) you can still end up in a position where you have the obligation to notify - depending on the law where you are of course.
 
#3 ·
It's good advice, even though for some of us it doesn't matter. Here in Oklahoma we're required to notify, but I think I would anyway if we weren't.
 
#4 ·
I can't argue with that info. No need to notify here in FL, and it may (or may not) get you out of a ticket. I can't say; haven't been stopped. It does NOT come up on a traffic check.

My feeling is that any officer who would make an issue of your voluntarily notifying would make an issue of something else if you didn't.
 
#8 ·
Oldvet is correct does'nt show, Now I'm got a family member that's been on the SO for 26yrs & Never disarmed anyone for a rutine traffic stop, Unless they are a felon or no CCWP & have it on them or next to them, That said He told me Attitude will get you a ticket or two in a heartbeat ; )
H/D
 
#6 ·
If you have your gun here, you need to notify. I have had to show 3 times and all 3 were good.

One was a fender bender, the officer said "Thank you and good for you". We ended up talking guns and he said, and I was shocked, " he only shoots when he has to re-qualify"!!!

The others were traffic stops, 1 mine and 1my business partner's and they asked for my ID. Both were warnings and the one, he asked what I carried and we talked guns. Pretty cool.

I will show it no matter what. I think it is less hassle in the long run.
 
#7 ·
In Iowa, it's a courtesy.. there is no requirement. There is no attachment of the CCW to your DL... Most likely, they will run your plates before getting out of the cruiser here... in all the times I've been stopped. I haven't been stopped since my CCW was issued... but I would hand over both my DL and PWC as a courtesy. If it gets me out of a ticket, great... If not, I probably did the crime, I'll pay the fine, my bad.
 
#9 ·
Just to clarify...

In Kansas, our CCW permit is tied to our driver's license and NOT our license plates.. so if stopped for any reason, the officer does not know anything of your CCW permit (whether you have one or not) until either you tell him voluntarily or he runs your DL through his computer.

Now, if I was traveling through another state... and rules are different, I would just error on the consevative side and give it to the officer and just be up front (only if I was carrying)... since my Kansas permit will not be in an out of state database.

Personally, I drive the speed limit and I try to obey all laws... especially when carrying... but things happen and you never know, if and when, one may have a LEO encounter... and better that it goes as smoothly as it possibly can.
 
#11 ·
In Texas we are required to present our CHL along with our DL when carrying.

If I am traveling outside of the state and in a place where I am not required, I still plan on handing both the DL and CHL.
 
#50 ·
^^^^^^^^^^^^^DITTO^^^^^^^^^^^^^


For Michigan.
I will hand it over when carrying, which is 99.9% of the time when I'm not actually working(driving , making a delivery).
 
#12 ·
I would notify whether required or not for two reasons.
One, courtesy and respect. Having done the job, I know the value placed on these qualities by most cops.
Two, I don't wish to have some young meat eater's hand cannon stuck in my ear should he detect my weapon by some other means.

ETA: I also keep my reg & ins clipped to the back side of my sun visor so I don't have to go rooting in the glove box.
 
#27 ·
After reading the link/post you posted... could you imagine what would have happened if the officer found or noticed the guns WITHOUT the driver telling him up front!!! The officer would have been on even higher alert. Maybe the stop could have gone better, but in the end, the driver drove away with no ticket. Just sounds like an officer playing it safe and having fun showing off his badge, gun and authority in a situation he knew he could get away with.
 
#17 ·
This is good advice. Other things to consider:
- If appropriate, turn on interior lights
- Keep your hands on the wheel
- If you are going diving for anything (license, registration), let the officer know what you are doing
- Know the laws for your location
- Don't be a butt-head. It's not worth it. When carrying we operate differently. This is part of that.
 
#18 ·
I'll be the voice of dissent. I'm not required to inform , it doesn't come up on my license and I believe it adds more hassle to the stop. I also believe that if you inform enough times you will find that one anti cop who decides to make your day suck.

I haven't been pulled over in several years but when I am I get my wallet out of my pocket as soon as the cop lights me up so there's no reaching and my hands stay in full view through out the stop.

If I am asked if there are any weapons in the vehicle I hand the cop my CHP and keep my mouth shut.

That's just how I do it YMMV.
 
#22 ·
I stopped reading at

Beer and bullets don't mix

O rly? So, only the ATF can have all the fun? :bier: :smoke23: :fal:

I enjoy the occasional beer while armed, and it's not a problem unless I plan to get trashed. :blink:

I will also join the dissent. I don't inform. It's not necessary, and could dig up a douche bag cop. If the stop was lawful, I probably deserve the ticket and shouldn't need "courtesy" to get me out of it.
 
#21 ·
I am also the voice of dissent, TREO! I don't feel the need to tell the LEO if I have a cell phone or not, clean underwear on or not, or a gun on or not. In Washington, not only is the CPL tied to the driver's license/name but also all the handguns that have been purchased by that person from WA FFL's as well.

I am a chronic speeder. In the last two years I have been stopped 4 times. I have never informed the LEO up front and never been asked. Twice I've been given warnings and twice been given tickets.

My most memorable occassion was when I was stopped, gave the officer all my required documents, and I was open carrying. He came back and asked me to exit the vehicle. (I had my wife and two kids with me). As soon as he asked me to exit the vehicle he moved to the rear of my car. So... I simply got out of the car and went with him, gun on my belt in full view. He said he didn't feel it was appropriate to lecture me in front of my family, but just wanted to tell me to slow down and gave me my documents back and that was it! Not a word about the gun.

I have read many more stories on the gun forums about people being hassled by LEO after they notified than I have about people who have been hassled by police because they did not notify and the police found out anyway. From that it seems like in states where notification is not required, the odds are more likely that notifying will cause an issue more than not notifying will.

DISCLAIMER: Now I do maintain a Wyoming driver's license because I am in the military. So I doubt my Washington CPL comes up automatically with my driver's license. I imagine they would have to ask for a special check to be run using my name, vice DL number for the CPL to automatically be disclosed to them.
 
#23 ·
I will always inform.

At my CCW course I was told that when you get your CCW permit and they run your plate it will show that you have the permit. I wouldn't want a cop to think I was "hiding" it from him.

This was in AZ btw.
 
#24 ·
Wonder if that's still the case considering that AZ no longer requires a permit
 
#25 ·
I've got a friend who's a deputy here in Florida, this is the second county he's served in, and he offered basically the same advice. When you produce your license they're going to find out you have the CCW anyway, so by being up front and honest with him you help reduce any potential tension in the situation.
 
#30 ·
Just remember guys... use your own best judgment... but all LEO's are human as well... and there are good ones and bad ones just like the rest of us in society.

Some LEO's have an attitude and some do not... and when you encounter one or one pulls you over, you will never know which one you have until he speaks first or directs you to do something. Now... you can either reduce as much tention as you can and make the stop as easy for the both of you with as few "surprises" as you can or by not disclosing (in states that do not mandate) you can wait until they see it on you, search you car or run your license (depending on your state).

When a LEO pulls anyone over they are always on "alert"... but when they suspect a gun or their computer tells them you have a CCW and you did not give them the courtesy... now they are forced to be on "high alert" when they walk back up to your car after running your license.... see the stress level just went up for the LEO and it did not have too... it could have gone down not up (that is the point my new LEO friend was trying to make to me this past weekend).

Cops only like surprises on their birthdays and Christmas... not during traffic stops.
 
#38 ·
When a LEO pulls anyone over they are always on "alert"... but when they suspect a gun or their computer tells them you have a CCW and you did not give them the courtesy... now they are forced to be on "high alert" when they walk back up to your car after running your license.... see the stress level just went up for the LEO and it did not have too
I would have to completely disagree with you on this. Let me explain why. Cop pulls Joe Schmoe over for running a stop sign. He has no idea who Joe Schmoe is. He might be a serial cop killer. He might be the President of the US. He doesn't know. So he calls in his DL and it comes back Joe Schmoe has a Concealed Pistol License. Why in hell would that cause the cop to go on "high alert?" Now the officer has information that he did not have before. He has information the Joe Schmoe has VOLUNTEERED to have his fingerprints taken, Joe Schmoe has VOLUNTEERED to have and additional background check done on him. In some states Joe Schmoe has had to submit letters of reference, medical documents, mental health documents! At least the state police have checked out Joe Schmoe and verified his clean record. And this additional information the cop has just received that he did not know previously causes him to go on high alert?!? That seems completely backwards thinking and backwards logic to me.

What this tells me is that we are continuing to buy into the propaganda that the Brady Bunch and others cram at us - that guns, in and of themselves are bad. Here we have a person who has been checked out already much more than the average Joe, and yet the mere possibility that the person may LEGALLY be in possession of a gun puts the cop on high alert? To me, the cop should be a bit more at ease. Just because I don't volunteer information needlessly to LEO does not mean that I have something to hide. The right to personal privacy has nothing to do with guilt.
 
#32 ·
A couple of months ago I started an informal survey of states in which a CCW is tied electronically to a driver's license or vehicle resgistration. In other words, if you are stopped by law enforcement in your home state, will a routine check by the officer reveal that you have a CCW?

The response was underwhelming, only 22 states represented. I tried to verify responses (there were several "my buddy's brother is a cop, and he said..." but I can only give about 85% confidence in my data.

So far, 17 states have linkage between a DL or a vehicle registration, and 5 do not. We leave out the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Vermont as they do not issue CCWs in any shape or form.

States that link DL or reg to CCW are: AR, CO, KS, KY, MI, MN, MS, MO, NV (at least Clark Co), NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA

States without such linkage: AL, AZ, FL, IO, ME
 
#37 ·
States that link DL or reg to CCW are: AR, CO, KS, KY, MI, MN, MS, MO, NV (at least Clark Co), NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA
Um, no. Certain counties (about 5) in Colorado input CHP holders into the state CICS database but it is not statewide and it is not mandatory.
 
#33 ·
It's best to just tell him about it up front. Tell him before you reach for your ID or other documents. If it's night time turn on the dome light before he gets there and keep your hands on the wheel. Your CCW will show up when your name and DL are run through NCIC so there's no point in hiding it. If you are carrying tell him where your sidearm is located.
 
#34 ·
gasmitty Idaho will show if you have a permit. however your name is also ran through NCIC at a stop and it will usually be located in there. Dispatch will advise of a permit along with any other alert codes.
 
#35 ·
I have yet to be pulled over while carrying but here in AZ you do not have to inform. I haven't really decided if/when I get pulled over if I will inform the officer out of courtesy or just ignore it unless he asks if I have any weapons in my truck. What do my fellow Arizonans do, inform or not?
 
#47 ·
I don't know. I used to assume it would be a good idea, but the instructor (ex-cop) in the CCW class said he volunteered the info until one day the cop who stopped him for speeding stuck a .40 in his face, finger on the trigger, while shouting, "Hand it over! Don't move!" In the end, the cop didn't shoot him but did confiscate the weapon for the remainder of the stop. After that, he figured he would wait until asked.

Personally, handing the CCW license over with my ID seems like a good compromise, particularly now that a license isn't required. It kind of says that you are someone who goes above and beyond the requirements, and it may be that particular cop would have been on a panic that day regardless.
 
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