[RSSZ]

Had a good long talk(the time was just right) with my county(in Fla.) LEO. While standing there by his patrol vech. I got him to run my drivers license #. I was interested to see if any info ref. my CCW license came up on his screen. It did not. (I have had the license for 2 years.)He also ran my CCW serial # for reported stolen. Nothing also. We had a discussion ref. if you are stopped tell or not to tell you have a weapon on your person. He requested that you tell. He said that he personally would not make(ask) you disarm,but he felt that some county LEO's would. He was a very helpful/informative LEO, and I appreciate him spending his time/resourses to answer my questions.--------

 

[P95Carry]

Pleasing response - typical I hope of the majority. I have wondered how all my local LE folks feel, tho know one or two are pretty good.

Main feedback I have had was from my son's BIL, who has been a cop some time and he is not only an excellent cop in attitude and balance but feels very happy with CCW holders. He too, while PA does not mandate disclosure of carry to an LE, reckons also it is the way to go - better for all concerned.

 

[joe/OH]

A friend had an LEO run her driver's license in Ohio, and it did flash a symbol (esclamation point I believe) indicating that she was a CCW permit holder. She has had the permit less than a year.

Here the State Troopers are fairly vocal against the (relatively new) CCW laws. When they were passing the bill, they tried to make it so that you had to hand over your weapon whenever pulled over by a police officer. Luckily they were able to get that caluse removed from the bill. I'm not sure what they are able to get away with, but I would do my best not to get pulled over for this very reason. Local police I'm not too worried about as everyone that I have talked to are in full support of it.

 

[CombatEffective]

DOH!! Hand over the weapon. That would have been a recipe for disaster. A citizen gets pulled over for speeding and said nervous citizen is trying to hand their weapon to the officer as he/she walks up to the car only to see said weapon in hand of said citizen. Y'all can fill in the blanks as to what would come next.

Most officer's I know will take the time to talk to citizens that have sincere questions about legal issues and procedures as educating the public does make our job easier. What gets under officer's skin is the absolute dumb "he did it" and "shoot him" stuff that people think are so funny and the crazy just rediculous questions that sometimes get thrown at us, and of course please come ask me how you can beat the ticket that my best friend in the world just gave you.

In reference to above, a fellow officer that just happens to be my bestfriend and is a honorary uncle to my child wrote a ticket to a girl that just pulled up onto a sidewalk and parked her car. I was at the location issuing a ticket for a vehicle parked in a handicapped space. The girl got very vocal with my buddy, and he was professional but firm with her, and he walked away. I witnessed the entire event. She came over to me complaining about my buddy and making false accusations about him. I said, "Ma'am. You know you hear people say they would trust somebody with their life?" She responded affirmatively leading me to say, "Well I have literally trusted him with my life many times, and he has trusted me with his. Not only have we trusted our lives to each other, but he will be taking care of my daughter if something ever happens to me." She said, "I guess I'm talking to the wrong person then."

"Yes ma'am."

Glad you had a good conversation with one of your locals. It really helps us all out for that to happen as it helps brake down the "us vs. them" thing that can so easily develop.

 

[standles]

RSSZ:
I am betting it was somewhere in NW florida by the actions of the officer?

Also while asking you local LEO about what is right/wrong, I would point out that this will be their interpretation of the issue. Usually it will be right simply from their experiences. The ultimate final say will be the court system if you have to go that far. Don't bet your criminal record on advice that is non-binding.

With that being said I choose to inform them I am carrying leaglly when/if I am ever stopped. Never had to put it into practice yet.


Steven

 

[joe/OH]

Somewhere I read Massad Ayoob making a point on this. He said that when notifying the officer that you are carrying a weapon, to word this very carefully. Obviously the statement 'I have a gun' isn't a good one as this can be misconstrued. But also be sensitive to the fact that the officer may not hear every word. So 'I have a CCW and I do have my gun on me' can gets turned into 'I have [semi passing by] gun on me'. Or perhaps he only hears 'gun'. I thought this was a very good point.

 

[F350]

I had a permit in Indiana for 25 years, AND I have a bit of a heavy foot (8-12 over posted limit) spent much of that time as a delivery driver at first and later installing and servicing telephone systems all over the state, some years putting 50-80,000 miles on a service vehicle; so I have had multiple opportunities to have interactions with LEOs, mostly state. I roll down the window, put hands at 10 & 2 on the wheel and wait to be asked for DL, registration etc then say “No problem officer but before I make a move I want to inform you I have a concealed carry permit and I do have one (on my belt, under my left arm, in the glove box what ever)” The long preliminary is to get him listening, and I do NOT say gun.

Actually I have gotten out of a couple deserved tickets after sitting in the cruiser talking guns while we waited for the paper work checks to come back (most Indiana State Troopers were country boys back in the olden days). One asked “Whatcha carrying?” I responded “Wanna see it?” he said “Sure” so I pulled out a custom built full size1911; satin finish SS frame, royal blue slide that had the last 11/4 inch of the slide and barrel cut off and made into a compensator, commander hammer, beaver tail grip safety, ambidextrous safety and slide release, mag funnel, Packmyer grips and tritium sights; dropped the mag and locked the slide back and handed it to him. He practically yelled “HOLLY ****!!!! I feel sorry for the dumb son of a bitch that crosses you!”. He played with it till the checks came back, handed it back to me and said “Would you slow it down please”. And that was the end.

Over the years I had other incidences (non speeding stops) where I have had cops discover I was carrying (Indian’s CCW law dates back to 1934 so all cops spent their entire career with it) and all were pleasant. It is a risky job, and getting more so all the time and like most people they don’t like to be surprised, I consider it common courtesy to inform up front. If the cop wants to be an asshole after that, then I will hire an attorney and show him what an asshole really is.

 

[HotGuns]

Here in Arkansas it is not required to inform.

With that being said, I tell people that its not a bad thing to do and that any officer will appreciate it as hes gonna find out when he runs your DL anyway.

Knowing that some folks get very nervous when being pulled over, I simply encourage them to hand over the CCW permit along with the DL.

Seems to work pretty well...