There are pro-gun cops and anti-gun cops. And unfortunately, an individual department's hiring criteria can play a big role in that ratio with more and more rookies, it seems, having little prior experience with firearms. I don't always admit on internet gun forums that I'm LEO, because too many of them have members that despise police. Some even have discussions with titles like "good cop, bad cop" where people air their grievances. I read them and cringe at every "bad cop" post. I'm a firearms enthusiast who supports the second ammendment--not the "hunters and sportsmen" interpretation, but the INDIVIDUAL right to keep and bear arms. So it pains me when people who share my enthusiasms and ideals consider me the enemy because of what some other idiot in blue did. And I usually keep my profession to myself on these forums so that my posts may be judged on their merit alone. But someone asked for an LEO member's opinion on the disarming of CCW motorists on traffic stops, and I couldn't resist.
When I stop someone for a traffic violation with the intent to issue a citation, I do appreciate it when they inform me that they are armed and have a CCW right off the bat. It puts me at ease--especially if they've already retrieved their license. I usually say something like, "No problem. Thanks for letting me know. I'm not going to ask you to surrender your firearm. All I need you to do is, without reaching or pointing, tell me where your handgun is. Okay, so there won't be any misunderstandings, please keep your hands where I can see them at all times, preferably on the steering wheel. The reason I stopped you was...." The way I see it, a person who has bothered to obtain a CCW is usually basically law-abiding and is not likely to shoot a cop. But whether I think he would or not, I certainly don't want anyone I've stopped, CCW holder or not, to put his hands on his weapon--even to hand it over. So I'm NOT going to ask him to give me his handgun. There are some exceptions, and I think that some officers may be disarming all motorists they stop with the following in mind:
In my state, a traffic stop is technically a misdemeanor arrest, The officer observes a misdemeanor in the form of a traffic violation and stops the offender. And usually, the officer issues a citation in lieu of continued custody. Sometimes, however, the officer has to take the driver into custody--the decision to do so usually arising out of a discovery that the driver's license is revoked, there is a warrant outstanding, etc. And this discovery isn't usually made until well after the initial face-to-face with the motorist. In my experience, the demeanor of a stopped motorist can change dramatically when informed that he's under arrest, and I would be more at ease if the man I learned I had to arrest had been completely disarmed prior to that discovery.
So I guess some officers prefer to disarm everyone they stop at the beginning of the stop as a routine practice before moods change and the driver has a chance to think too much--just in case they end up having to take the driver into custody. I guess it makes sense to them from an officer safety point of view. But unless I search the driver and the car thoroughly, I can't assume that the driver is disarmed just because he surrendered a handgun to me. And I'm not willing to insult hundreds of CCW holders for an officer safety habit that is, arguably, less safe than just keeping everyone's hands away from all weapons. And in my experience, I'd have to disarm many hundreds of CCW holders unnecessarily before I encountered one that actually had to go to jail. In fact, in over 17 years as a police officer, I have yet to stop a CCW whom I had to take to jail. I guess that says a lot about the character of most CCW's, doesn't it? So I do not routinely disarm CCW motorists. But police officers are subject to a myriad of department rules and regulations that make little sense, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if some departments had an SOP requiring CCW disarmament at all traffic stops. So please don't necessarily hold it against the officer.
Does the posession of a CCW by the driver affect my decision to write a ticket? No, none at all--nor should it. But I have had to set a few drivers straight who loudly complained that the only reason I ticketed them was because they were armed. I dislike writing tickets. I really dislike writing tickets to nice people. But it is part of my job, so I try to be impartial about it. Those of you who just got a warning citation, did it bother you at all that your chances of having to pay a fine seemed to depend heavily on the mood or whim of the police officer who stopped you? I'm sure you were glad he let you go with a warning, but would you have assumed some sort of prejudice on his part if he hadn't?
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