Finally asked for my CHP

I was finally asked for my CHP yesterday by the local county mounties.

We had gone to a friend's funeral and my wife and I were going to have lunch before she had to head to work. I was wearing my Taurus 856 in a Don Hume J.I.T. strongside about 4 oclock. I had my shirt tucked into khakis with a sport coat (I usually wear tshirt/sweatshirt and jeans, so I thought I looked pretty good), but can't wear the coat while I"m driving so I had it draped across the passenger seat.

I pulled up at the Wendy's, noticing the deputy standing by his cruiser finishing what appeared to be a milkshake. I, without thinking of my change in attire for the day, hopped out of the car and turned to lean across the seat and grab my jacket. I stood up again and donned my jacket, going from open to concealed carry. During this short process, I became aware that I was being watched by the officer, but couldn't really figure out why until I got my jacket on and realized what I had just done (nothing illegal, just really obvious to the deputy).

He waits for his partner to come out of the restaurant and starts across the parking lot.

"Good afternoon young man. You got a permit for that weapon you got stuck in your belt?" He is standing in a defensive posture and his partner is to my right at enough of an angle that he'd be able to shoot me before I could make the turn from his partner to him if I happened to be a BG, I suppose. Kinda funny actually, you could see the 3 of us analyzing the situation as it progressed.

I'm thinking to myself that it's not stuck in my belt, it's properly holstered on my person. I said "Yes sir, sure do. I'm going to reach for my wallet in my back left pocket to get it."

He agrees and I EVER SO SLOWLY pull out my wallet. "Here's my DL and here's my CHP."

He stands for a second scrutinizing my permit so I tell him "it expires 10/28 of this year". He looks at it for a moment longer, hands it back with a gruff "Thanks" and walked away abruptly.

For some reason I can't help but think that this is one of the anti-gun LEOs that are brought up here now and then. I think he thought that he was going to catch me on a technicality as far as going from open to concealed. Maybe he thought I didn't have a permit and didn't know that I needed one (which I'm sure he would have been happy to inform me of after relieving me of my property) or something along those lines.

Please bear in mind that I'm not bashing LEOs and know they have a job to do and have to maintain their safety first. Like I said, I just got the feeling that this guy was fishing for something to hassle me about. Slow day on the highway maybe?

Edit:
I'm sure someone will chime in and ask the necessity of carrying at a funeral. It's not the funeral I'm worried about, it's all the time between here and there that concerns me.

Just to clarify, in Virginia a CHP holder is not required to present "paperwork" at a traffic stop or any other time voluntarily, but must be able to present it on demand at any time a firearm is concealed.

I decided to take the High Road when he asked if I had one and volunteered to show it; rather than waste more of my time and tax money by being a jerk and saying something like "yes I do, would you like to see it?" or something smart alecky like that.

As for him being irritated about having to do his job; too bad, that's why my tax dollars just bought his biggie sized #3.

I think that if I hadn't put on my jacket and gone with open carry, this exchange wouldn't have occurred. It's when I put my jacket on and went to concealed carry that I really got his attention. Like I said, maybe he was trying to catch me on a technicality, maybe he was just going to politely inform me that I needed a permit if I didn't have one. The body language of these two officers insinuates that if I hadn't of been able to produce my permit, I'd have been cuffed and stuffed; maybe with a bit of prejudice.

Bottom line, I appreciate them doing their job (especially with the influx of wannabe gangbangers around here), but professional courtesy goes a long way. If I was really up to no good, would I really be dumb enough to open carry a shiny revolver in a shiny leather holster in broad daylight right in front of 2 LEOs? In my opinion, there was no need to speak to me in a condescending fashion, nor to approach me in such an aggressive fashion. The officer I spoke to directly was ready for a gunfight. See OP for details.

As an aside, I'm one of the few people with the intergrity to tell the truth when I get pulled over (not very often).

Cop: "Why were you speeding?"

Me: "Honestly, I didn't see you sitting there running radar sir."

He didn't remind me, I reminded him. My permit is from a neighboring county so I think he had trouble finding the exp. date. Fortunately for him, I have all the information on my permit memorized.

Another note:

In my area, the LEOs seem to lean to one extreme or the other. I've dealt with some that have seen my "man purse" on the seat next to me and never said a word. I've had my CC gun on the seat next to me, half covered by a hat, again nothing. Got stopped for a tail light out and the officer gave me the third degree about where I got my gun, how long have I had it, would I be opposed to him running the serial #, etc.

Guess it just depends on the officer's knowledge of the law and personal discretion.

Open carry is legal here, and depending on the area it's fairly common. No permit is required. As far as I know, transitioning from open to concealed isn't illegal either.

Try to keep it concealed next time, eh?

Click to expand...

1. Why? I didn't do anything wrong.
2. This wasn't an attempt to display my status of being armed. I can't drive with the sport coat on. I parked between 2 other cars in an attempt not to draw attention to myself. It was either do it my way, leave the gun home or in the car (not an option), or rip the coat trying to drive in it. How would you have done it? Leave the jacket in the car and cause a stir in the Wendys? Consider the ripped jacket a fashion statement?

Not trying to jump on you but consider the circumstances before you make condescending remarks, eh?