Cop asks to see your CCW gun......what do you do?

Before I was an LEO I had a CCW...had a vehicle stolen and had to go in and file a complaint/report. Went in to the PD armed..informed the desk officer of the fact...he buzzed me in to see the detective. During the interview he saw the weapon and asked if I had a permit...I replied in the affirmative and asked him if he wanted to see it he simply shrugged and said no!
When working in LE I never asked any citizen to show me their weapon under the circumstances described in the original post. If an officer today asked to see mine (if I had a CCW) during a friendly conversation I wouldn't hesitate ...unless it was in a very inappropriate place such as church or children present...etc.
Trust your gut feeling on the situation...if it feels okay...show it to him...if you feel something is amiss then politely decline...it's that simple!
Try not to be so paranoid!!!!

With the cops in my town, I get along with them just fine to date. I highly doubt they would ever ask this of me. However, if one did, I would politely excuse myself to go clear the weapon, then return and show him. At the nearest range near my home you cannot go in carrying a loaded weapon (it is the only pistol range within an hour of my house and it is 5 mins away). Having to clear my weapon in such a manner is a common thing.

If the officer was asking suspiciously, I would do the same thing. Simple thing is, in this case (suspicious request), you are a guy with a gun, he is a police officer on duty. He has given you a request, choosing to disregard the request of an officer can ruin your day. Suddenly getting snooty with them can cause issues. I have met more than 1 officer that would respond VERY negatively. You may be in the right, you may not be doing anything wrong but there are so many retarded laws, you are very likely violating one. It is wrong, they should NOT be able to do that, but it is what it is and I myself would choose to pick my battles carefully and that is one I would not choose to fight at that time.

It is personal preference here. I know one of my buddies, he would give the officer a hard time about it. Just his personal preference.

Regardless of the surrounding situation, in Texas, if the cop asks for your gun, you give it to him. That's the law. You risk losing your CHL for non-compliance.

martialartsblackbelt said:

un load it and hand it to him...

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+1 (or her)

Quote:
It's a felony to touch your gun while in the presence of a Police Officer. Plain and simple, cut and dried.
I don't believe that.

Well, You are wrong.

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Well it wouldn't be the first time.
Now, you are correct. Mostly. It isn't cut and dried. Or plain and simple. The section you refer to is followed by unless: and outlines how a police officer can order you to hand over your gun.
I could envision a scene where a cop orders you to hand over your gun and you legally couldn't do that.
Or one cop orders you to hand over your gun and another cop shoots you for touching your gun illegally.

I would not be comfortable drawing a gun in front of a police officer - even if asked.

I would not be comfortable handling a gun in public when it's not needed and I would simply tell him so.

Additionally there's the problem of a third party seeing you draw on an officer.

The video of an officer asking Elio Carrion sitting on the ground to get up - and then shooting him when he complied - was enough to convince me to never give any excuse for getting shot.

During an official contact (traffic stop for example) in my vehicle, the LE already knows by running my plate that I have a license to carry or if on foot will have probable cause for the stop. I am required to stop, or stop the vehicle, turn it off and provide the LE with both my driver's and CCW license, advise the LE that I am in fact carrying and then await direction.

I'd clearly ask direction step by step and comply.


In a casual encounter as described, I'd politely suggest that the location wasn't a great idea and expect the LE to agree. If we were best buddies, we would not break the law and brandish a weapon in that location so there is no foundation for it in the first place.


If the LE insisted, it then becomes an official contact with legally proscribed processes to follow (radio in the contact, turn on dash recorders, call for backup, whatever the department policy is) and I would comply the same as above.


I can't see an on duty LE doing such a thing at all...

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Agree 100%

Bluehawk: Trust your gut feeling on the situation...if it feels okay...show it to him...if you feel something is amiss then politely decline...it's that simple!
Try not to be so paranoid!!!!

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+1 on that Bluehawk

if you feel something is amiss then politely decline...it's that simple!

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Fair enough. What then would you feel is "amiss" enough that would lead you to decline his request?

Do you have some set of criteria thought out? If not, try to think of some and lets discuss them.

unless he has reasonable suspicion or probable cause, both of which are extremely unlikely for your average legal gun carrier, then i'd politely say that it's my policy that the gun doesn't leave the holster unless it's going to be used as it was designed to be used, ie: at the range, self defense, cleaning etc.

if he spots you concealing a gun, he has the right to ask for a permit if it's required where you live. he does not have the right to disarm you though, unless the above conditions are met. Show and tell with a gun just isn't a very good idea in my opinion.

Bobby

Fair enough. What then would you feel is "amiss" enough that would lead you to decline his request?

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How about there is no safe direction to keep it pointed? (wasn't the original scenario in the middle of a busy 7-11 parking lot?) I would say "No." and explain why. But then offer to go shooting with him if he wants; my range or his. If he insists, as someone said earlier there's a process for that and I'll cooperate but we gotta do it right.

How about there is no safe direction to keep it pointed? (wasn't the original scenario in the middle of a busy 7-11 parking lot?)

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This was my point exactly when I posted this above:

A holstered gun is a safe gun. The most dangerous moment of your average day is loading/unloading/holsering, etc. your carry weapon. It requires a safe area to work in, and a backstop or safe muzzle zone. Some public parking lot in a neighborhood sure isn't it. In fact, the idea is absurd! I don't let my shooters who come to my matches unload, change guns, holster up, or othewise handle their weapons in the parking lot of our range. And those are guys and gals I KNOW, who prove their safety standards every week/month. Why would it be o.k. for Joe Public Me and some Policeman to do so in a completely uncontrolled public location? Egads!

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If you believe that your safety habits are so good that you can ignore one of the safety rules, then (Catch 22) they AREN'T!

Now, say you're at a 7-11 with a huge berm at one edge of the parking lot (there are some like that around here because of the parking lots being cut into hills) and you DO have a safe place to unload: What's to say the officer's safety protocols are as good as yours? I've met and known plenty of officers with the belief that they are professional enough not to have to worry about gun safety. I don't want to be swept with my gun, even if I've cleared it. I don't want to have to upbraid this officer of the law for safety violations while trying to retrieve my gun.

It is a defensive sidearm, not a toy for show-N-tell! Leave it in the holster where it and you are safe.

If he has reason (and authority) to disarm you, he'll let you know that (and he won't be especially polite about it).

If he doesn't, then a polite "Not right now, but maybe we could hit the range sometime if you'd like to see it," is even more than you're obligated to give.

Like those ACLU "Why You Shouldn't Talk to the Police" videos always tell us, sometimes our desire to be friendly to the nice officer can get us into bad situations. In more ways than one.

I don't think an officer would ask for your gun like that. The last thing an officer that wants to disarm you wants to see is your gun in your hand. He's not going to ask for your weapon unless you need to be detained. In which case it would be prudent to arrest the perp and disarm them himself, until things get sorted out.

When you inform him your carrying, or you hand him your ID, or whatever your local laws are. He'll most likely have you stand up, put hands on car/wall/or lie down if niether are available, ask where, and get it himself.

An officer should know that the safest place for your CCW is in its holster. And if he needs to disarm you then he needs to arrest you, and it should be treated as such. The last place your gun should be is in your hands during routine matters, no matter what the officer says.


Asking for ones weapon is serious, as in, handcuffs serious. They don't want to talk guns like here LOLz.

well there is no obvious consensus
and fair points have been made on both sides

but I think too many on this thread have not really read the other thread which prompted David to start this thread
I have been in 7-11s in the middle of the day that I was a little worried about getting out of fast enough, with a Colt on my hip (and wondering if I really should have brought an AK)
and many others (7-11s) that were no more threatening than church
merely the "7-11" phrase by itself seems to evoke special meaning here

in any case, your choice is going to be heavily influenced, for better or worse, by your own larger view of the world you live in.. and it should be... and you can because you live HERE, where you (mostly) can

but that is the underlying problem with all "scenario" questions
it is not the question being asked, it is the question you hear
it it not the answer stated, it is the answer you hear
connotations count for more than dictionaries do

and that is why the only answer that qualifies as "best" for most of us is, "it depends"
because life is not a rehearsal, nor a scripted movie, it just unfolds
if you base your actions on the the larger core values you live the rest of your life by, you will probably be ok... or you won't be around for very long
(sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you, but fearing the bear is a matter of choice)

David's OP was well done, and evoked multiple responses on both sides worth the read time

shoot what you shoot well, keep your finger off the trigger unless you really, really, really mean it, always mind your backdrop, and may the risks you choose to take put bear on your plate

Always remember the policeman is not your friend. Tell him you'd rather not in a 7 11 parking lot.

Keeping in the same context of the OP's scenario....

Lets say you were sitting in front of a 7-11 in your '69 Ford GT40. A LEO approaches and asks to see your DL, registration, and proof of insurance. You comply and after he hands it back he says something to the effect of ,"Sweet ride, care if I take it for a spin?", to which your response would be? I see no difference here. He is not asking to see it in a professional capacity. There are no foil hats or paranoia here, I just don't think 1) it's professional, nor 2) the right place. I would politely decline.

Lets say you choose to comply and decide to unload, open action, and hand him the gun butt first ( which a busy 7-11 parking is the wrong place to do so ) and he begins to fondle your "nice Python". Somewhere in the return exchange the gun gets dropped on the asphalt. His fault? Your fault?

Now if he asked which range I went to because he would love an opportunity to fire that bad boy, I would be more than happy to comply after I stopped grinning from ear to ear.

I had a LEO stop me because he liked my car. I asked him why he was following me for 4 or 5 miles. So I asked him if he wanted to drive it and he said yes. We went for a ride and he was a great guy. If he likes your gun, I would take it as a compliment.

flor1 said:

Always remember the policeman is not your friend.

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Well, there you go. Just depends where ya start. Me? Sure. I'd probably say "you want me to hand you my gun?" and hand it to him.

In MI---If you have a CPL & you are stopped---you must inform the cop you are carrying & show license. He will tell you what he wants you to do.
My last stop the cop said " where is the gun"---I said" it is at home so I saw you reason to inform you"
She let me off with a warning...........................