Got pulled over by the cops today

I went into the desert to plink with me .22 this afternoon. had some fun, but was followed by a cop once i got on the road. He pulled me over a few blocks from my house. "ooh boy" i said... i havent been pulled over in years, and esp. since i am carrying i was nervous..

He approached my filthy SUV with the McCain stick, NRA sticker and the twin towers on the back window. He asked for my ID, etc, etc... i immediately let him know i have a concealed firearm permit and i am armed. I put my hands on the wheel. he asked where it was...i said my left side. He then reached into my vehicle, pulled it out of my holster, removed the magazine and asked me if i had anymore weapons in the car.

I said yes, my .22 in the back. Ok, please step out and come back to my car, you're not in any trouble. i pulled you over because you have a broken brake light...I had no idea...but he was cool with it. He asked me if i had anymore weapons on me..i said no. He then asked if he could pat me down. i was cool with it... he didn't cuff me or anything.

Right after this, another car pulls up - his superior i take it. They asked where my .22 was...in the back i said. is it stolen they asked? i said...uuuh, no, it's been in my family for 70 something years.

They said that they separate people from weapons so thats why i had to leave my car. His superior checked out the rifle, put it back in and they started to ask me how my shooting was. I said, it was cool. 22's are cheap and fun to shoot...they comments on my rifle and even my handgun as being nice. They let me off with a warning...gave me my paperwork and my gun back.

I was calm, courteous, cooperative, and the cop was cool. I thought i was in big trouble when another car pulled up...3 in total..5 cops. i got nervous because ive been told stories of what cops do to ccw holders if they do not tell the cop right away. He made mention of that and said i did well.

If anything, these event helped me to trust cops a bit more. He treated me like a human, an adult even. So i said i would fix the bulb and thank you...i left and went home.

This is the kind of crap that make me...:grrr:!

This guy empties your sidearm for a broken tail light"?...how petty! I respect LEO's, but this is the exact stuff that points out how the inexperienced new cops need to be 'educated'.
I'm sure that SIXTO will chime in, and I'm sure that if stopped BY SIXTO...you would not have been disarmed.

Pretty petty...but I guess it gives him something to brag about back in the lockerroom.

OMO, but FL LEO's have been very professional and understanding about who to hassle...certainly not a CCW holder with a bad tail light.

OK, I'm done!

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I was calm, courteous, cooperative, and the cop was cool. I thought i was in big trouble when another car pulled up...3 in total..5 cops

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Are you serious?! Las Vegas must be too close to California!

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They said that they separate people from weapons so that's why i had to leave my car.

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Were any of these officers transfers from New Orleans perhaps? ("separate people from weapons")
Oh---you did well for sure. You'll have to forgive me...I know not of this part of the world. #1. I would say your 4th amendment rights were trampled on here by law enforcement. (illegal search and seizure). #2, I think you were unlawfully detained. #3, you got a warning for what?
Maybe there was a manhunt going on in the area, or a description of your vehicle or something similar to warrant this sort of ordeal. Around these parts, things are different.
This post is fifty minutes into the making....it's had several views...13 to be exact, and you've got two replies as of now. Others obviously have inhibitions about what they really feel and know is right. Yet they will stifle their opinions and hope it never happens to them. Good post, but I think you were violated in this case. That's my honest opinion.

The only time I have ever been pulled over while carring was a while back, but I stepped out of the car with my hands away from my body with my DL and CCW already out of my wallet. The cop looked at both my DL and CCW, he asked if I was armed. I told him that I was. He did not ask any more questions on this subject, just wanted to know why I was over the speed limit. I told him that we were lost and that I had been looking for a turnoff and did not see that the posted speed limit had dropped. He told me to turn around and take the first right. He even stopped traffic for me. No ticket!

Y'all be safe now, ya hear!

Sounds as if you were fine. I agree with Retsupt99 on the disarming. But you were stopped for a traffic violation. The officers have the right to detain and disarm you. If you feel your rights were violated, get a lawyer, but from my understanding of the law you would probably lose in court.

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Originally Posted by carver

The only time I have ever been pulled over while carring was a while back, but I stepped out of the car with my hands away from my body with my DL and CCW already out of my wallet. The cop looked at both my DL and CCW, he asked if I was armed. I told him that I was. He did not ask any more questions on this subject, just wanted to know why I was over the speed limit. I told him that we were lost and that I had been looking for a turnoff and did not see that the posted speed limit had dropped. He told me to turn around and take the first right. He even stopped traffic for me. No ticket!

Y'all be safe now, ya hear!

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Were you requested to get out of your vehicle? Or did you just do so on your own? You're looking at the first step as to why things might go wrong in this situation. I'd remain in my vehicle until requested to exit. That should be SOP for any ordinary citizen in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by 762

He then reached into my vehicle, pulled it out of my holster, removed the magazine and asked me if i had anymore weapons in the car.

His superior checked out the rifle,.

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One word: IDIOT :hand1:

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Originally Posted by retsupt99

This is the kind of crap that make me...:grrr:!

This guy empties your sidearm for a broken tail light"?...how petty! I respect LEO's, but this is the exact stuff that points out how the inexperienced new cops need to be 'educated'.
I'm sure that SIXTO will chime in, and I'm sure that if stopped BY SIXTO...you would not have been disarmed.

Pretty petty...but I guess it give him something to brag about back in the lockerroom.

OMO, but FL LEO's have been very professional and understanding about who to hassle...certainly not a CCW holder with a bad tail light.

OK, I'm done!

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Originally Posted by rocky

Sounds as if you were fine. I agree with Retsupt99 on the disarming. But you were stopped for a traffic violation. The officers have the right to detain and disarm you. If you feel your rights were violated, get a lawyer, but from my understanding of the law you would probably lose in court.

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I seem to be lacking the ability to make the correlation here. I'm obviously not seeing what you're seeing. Please forgive me.

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Originally Posted by retsupt99

This is the kind of crap that make me...:grrr:!

This guy empties your sidearm for a broken tail light"?...how petty! I respect LEO's, but this is the exact stuff that points out how the inexperienced new cops need to be 'educated'.
I'm sure that SIXTO will chime in, and I'm sure that if stopped BY SIXTO...you would not have been disarmed.

Pretty petty...but I guess it give him something to brag about back in the lockerroom.

OMO, but FL LEO's have been very professional and understanding about who to hassle...certainly not a CCW holder with a bad tail light.

OK, I'm done!

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Many a bad guy(s) have been stopped and arrested that originally started from a busted tail light...

Both players handled it well in my opinion...and see no issue with being disarmed until they ran the numbers...better to be on the safe side then the dead side.

Rick

Drop the magazine but leave the chamber charged...idiot.

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Originally Posted by 762

I was calm, courteous, cooperative, and the cop was cool. I thought i was in big trouble when another car pulled up...3 in total..5 cops.

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Naa, they all probably just wanted to see your guns. I bet they never saw a 70 year old .22. Must be a classic.

Being a retired LEO, I may not agree with the way they handled the situation, but I also don't see where they violated any of his rights. He was stopped for a broken tail light, once he informed them he was carrying, the LEO chose to disarm him. He was polite and professional according to the OP. The OP stated there was a .22 in the back. They asked him to get out of the vehicle, then proceeded to inspect the .22. The LEO was within his rights to pat him down while interviewing him and asked him before he did, which he wasn't required to do. They did not seize any of his property, or illegally search him. They also didn't give him a ticket for the broken tail light.

Again, I would not have handled the situation that way, unless it was department policy to do so. As long as the officer was courteous and professional, I don't really, see a problem with the whole thing.

The stop went fine, honestly, there isn't much to talk about here. Maybe it wasn't the way I would handle it, but it was handled just fine. A lot goes into the decision making for each individual situation that cannot be possibly conveyed on a internet forum. It is very naive of us to try and discuss why or if 762 should have been disarmed or not. Only one of us was there, and he shared his version of the story; as I read it, all parties handled the situation nicely.

On a side note, to call somebody an idiot based half the Cliff's notes version of a story posted on the internet is kind of like the pot and kettle.

I've been stopped by Metro 4 times since I started carrying. Each time, I handed the officer my operator's license and CHL, and informed them that I was carrying. I have yet to be disarmed.

It is the Pot and Kettle Sixto. I spent twenty years with the Sheriff's Department, and until they forced Glocks onto the force, virtually every stop I ever witnessed with a semi-auto resulted in the same scenario...the ignorant Deputy would drop the mag and assume the gun safe.