had an interesting encounter with an LEO...

[friesepferd]

a little background..
This past weekend I drove downstate with 2 guys from my school whom i did not know previously. i found them on our schools ride board which i have used a million times to find rides downstate for the weekend.
This was the first trip I have made with ppl i didnt know since i got my CPL. I was slightly worried that we would get pulled over only because i wasnt 100% sure how to handle it. Technically i dont need to inform the LEO that I am carrying unless he talks to me for some reason (since Im not driving). and also I didnt want the other ppl in the car to know i was carrying since i didnt really know them.
Well as Im sure you have already assumed... we got pulled over.
I was sitting in the back seat. and decided to not lean over to the front seat to interrupt what was going on and tell him that I was carrying. Now it ends up that the driver was not pulled over due to speeding, rather, the lights that light up the license plate were not working.
Now the cop did something that I have not seen before, he took a look at all (3) of us, and asked for all of our IDs.
Well now this made my decision a lot easier.
At this time, the driver went out to look at his lights that were out. I rolled down the window and handed him both my drivers and CPL. I said something along the lines of 'im required to show you this as well but I would rather it remained between just us if that isnt a problem'
He asked if I had it with me and I said yes. He handed it back to me and said ok there ya go and walked away to talk to the driver.
When the driver came back in the car and sat down the officer asked me to step outside for a minute and we had the following conversation:
him: so, you dont what them to know....?
me: no, i dont know them very well so i would rather not.
him: you dont know them??
me: well i just got a ride with them for the weekend. they go to the same school as me.
him: alright. is it in your bag in the car?
me: no.. my right him
him: (surprised look on his face as he looks at my hip trying to see it) do you practice often?
me: 2x / week
him: wow good for you. So, do these guys have anything illegal or that I should know about (when he first walked up he shined the flashlight in the windows as if he were looking for something or was suspicious)
me: nope, they seem to be good guys as far as I can tell
him: alright sounds good. you can go sit down

at this point he was gone for a long time (5-10 mins) he came back and asked to speak with me again

him: im sorry about this, but for some reason when i run your license thru it doesnt show that u have a CPL
me: oh, yea it must be because its fairly new. i got it about 2 months ago.
him: alright. if i can have your CPL then and run that through that would be great. sorry to have to pull you out here again. hope your friends arnt asking too many questions
me: no problem. thanks

he was gone for another 5-10 mins and came back, gave us all our licenses and told the driver to get that fixed when he has a chance.
whole ordeal took a long time, but the officer was VERY nice and professional.
Also, the other ppl in the car never asked what was going on. after the first time he talked to me i had told them something along the lines of, he just wanted to make sure everything was ok and u guys didnt have anything illegal.

so everything turned out fine and i was very impressed.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[deapee]

Cool good stuff, glad it worked out for you. They probably thought you were an undercover cop or something and flashed him a badge haha.

[joleary223]

Sounds textbook to me. You should write up an attaboy for the officer if you can remember his name and agency.

[friesepferd]

yea i wanted to but forgot to ask.

[alyehoud]

I wish my LEO encounters were that positive!

I've had three altogether, 2 bad with bad outcomes, and the third had a bad outcome (ticket) but they 2 officers were very nice (I had just purchased a bow and it was sitting in my front seat - they were hunters, too). They were only nice after a sarcastic comment about my radar.

on the good encounter

[CelticWolf]

I have had a few encounters. All positive.

[Cupcake]

Well done.

[BigEFan]

Well done.

I concur. Sounds like you were one cool customer.

[Creature]

Sounds textbook to me. You should write up an attaboy for the officer if you can remember his name and agency.

yea i wanted to but forgot to ask.

Send an "attaboy" anyway with the date time and the highway number. Explain you didnt get the name of the officer.

Your letter will go a LONG way towards CCW/CPL and LEO relations.

[aus71383]

Good for you, and good for him. Sounds like a bit of a PITA but not a bad experience.

Austin

[retsupt99]

Sounds like the LEO treated you fairly. I'm curious, which city LE, county LE, or was it the state LE? I used to live in MI...

[Black Knight]

I wonder if he had a video recording system in his cruiser. The recording should be used in the academy to show others how things should be done. Send his supervisor a note or give the supervisor a call (better) commending the officer for his professionalism in handling the situation. If you ever see him again offer to buy him a cup of coffee or a soda (something insignificant). He'll probably decline the offer but will acknowledge the sentiment.

[rocky]

Nice job, however depending on the officer they may consider informing " immediately" to be when they first walk up. Just something to consider. I have had this discussion with a few LEO already. None seem to fully agree.

[SixBravo]

I wonder if he had a video recording system in his cruiser. The recording should be used in the academy to show others how things should be done. Send his supervisor a note or give the supervisor a call (better) commending the officer for his professionalism in handling the situation. If you ever see him again offer to buy him a cup of coffee or a soda (something insignificant). He'll probably decline the offer but will acknowledge the sentiment.

Oh that's a good idea all around.

Good stop. I'm impressed with the actions on both ends. Good to hear it all ended well.

[friesepferd]

yea. this happened very late at night. i dont even know what county we were in or where the cop was from. i was half asleep