for you retired LEOs

Status
Not open for further replies.
NorthBorder

NorthBorder

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
Messages
1,207
Location
2 miles past the end of the earth
I have been trying to understand this HR 218 " Retired LEO Safety Act", I am closing in on my 2nd retirement in law enforcement. So I ask these questions. Aside from proper credentials showing you are retired in good standing, do you carry documentation that you current in your qualifications? If so, is there a specific document for that? And, if your agency doesn't provide you access to a range and RO who can sign off on your qualification, what do you do to keep current? My current agency is federal and it is not big on helping out under this ACT.
Thanks
 
I have now retired from two agencies. The Dept. I most recently retired from would likely qualify me for LEOSA but it would have to be on their schedule,etc. I therefore use the only guy certified to do LEOSA qualification in my area. It costs me $30.00. After qualification and sign off by the qualified instructor, I send the completed renewal application and fee into my state's Department of Public Safety who administers LEOSA. The state then sends me a plastic " Certificate of Firearms Proficiency" card valid for one year from the date of qualification. I carry that and a retired photo ID in order to comply with LEOSA.

PS, I have heard that some agencies will not assist their own retirees with annual qualification, won't issue retired credentials, etc. Trusted their people all those years,but the day you retire, apparently you're no longer trustworthy.......
 
I'll be following this thread with interest. I'm in my 21st year of retirement from police work and have always simply held a state (florida) permit since LEOSA was never even thought of when I retired out... The state permit, though has a five year renewal span so it's fairly easy to maintain...
 
I retired in 1990, from Mass and moved to VA I just use my new state ccw and my retired badge / ID.
The few other states I go to have reciprocity.
 
I'm not retired, but I am certified to qualify retired officer under LEOSA.

As per LEOSA, a retired officer MUST carry the retired photographic ID AND documentation that says they have qualified within the last 12 months.

For my area, the retired officers obtain a photographic ID from their former department. They then contact an instructor (like me) certified by the state (PA) to qualify retired officers. They shoot a course, then I sign a card stating the date they qualified and the expiration (12 months from date of qualification). They take this card to a local sheriff's office that does a background check, writes a number on the card and they retired officer is now good to go.
 
My agency was minimally helpful. They perforated "retired" on my ID and handed it back to me, and that's where their help ended.
A local county sheriff's dept. just outside NYC offered a program to requalify retired officers. We had to go through the same course of fire as their officers go through to meet state standards.
They then issued a card stating we had done so.

That card and your retired ID are all you need to carry concealed anywhere in the 50 states, or in any US possession, i.e., PR, VI, Guam, etc.

The deal is you must be qualified to the standards of the state you currently reside in. I moved from NY and just went to a course given by a retired police instructor. He is certified to privately requalify retired officers to this state's police standards. He issues his own cards that state so. Again, that card and your retired ID must be carried, and you're good to go.

Keep in mind you must requalify every year before the card expires in order to continue to carry.

I worry about losing my wallet because I know there is no way my former agency would ever issue me another ID if I lost it.
 
know there is no way my former agency would ever issue me another ID if I lost it.
Click to expand...

Went to the PD up north last year and asked to have the picture updated. Got a curt no.
Found the son of a former partner, now on the job, still got a no.
 
Law enforcement shouldn't need LEOSA. Anyone's carry permit should be valid throughout the US.
 
I did appreciate the remarks about a former agency being minimally helpful... All sarcasm aside, when I retired out - I never went back - not even once.... The good news is that six months into retirement I felt five years younger. I know there are still a lot of good folks at my former agency - and those I did miss....

ps: When I left I was in mid-management with a 100 man department down here in paradise (south Florida).
 
shafter said:
Law enforcement shouldn't need LEOSA. Anyone's carry permit should be valid throughout the US.
Click to expand...
If only it were so simple. Unfortunately, the PIA states like CA, HI, CT, IL, MA, NJ, and NY would probably never agree to it.

All it takes to get a LEOSA pass is to have lived your entire life with no mistakes before employment, 20 plus years with a perfect record, lots of training, and a dangerous employment lifestyle. Easy Peasy.

Now add the $30 to $50 each year for requalification and it seems a state carry permit would be the easy, inexpensive way to go. I'd go for a cheap, multi-year, no requalification all state permit in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I think my heart will stop beating before that ever happens. :rolleyes:
 
NYS

The state of ny is liberal when it comes to qual's of LEOSA.

My agency quals us yearly and then gives us a card that is dated and states we shot a HR218 qual.

Any questions can be handled by calling the agency.

I keep my qual's up as I travel out of state often.

Keep praying that I don't find out how well my HR218 is received by others.

It is called CONCEALED CARRY.
 
Here in Illinois the LE Standards and Training Boards Mobile Training Units offers an annual qualification for those retired officers who's former agencies don't Offer them the opportunity to qualify.
 
QUOTE: "Law enforcement shouldn't need LEOSA. Anyone's carry permit should be valid throughout the US."

I agree. I'd also add that I think it's a bad idea to give retired leos special ccw privileges, unavailable to "regular" citizens. And I am a retired leo after thirty years on the job.
 
Choctaw said:
I have 29 in and will probably go another 12. I'm very jealous of you guys.
Click to expand...
It's easy, I did 40. As the inmates say, you can do another 12 standing on your head. lol

Former colleague just sent me an article about one of the officers in our agency shot and killed a guy while off duty. He was moon lighting in a security guard uniform, outside carrying, at a Dunkin' Donut. Guy pulls a gun on him and demands his money and the gun.

Somehow he wrestled and shot the guy. Lesson: don't ever interrupt an officer in his lawful pursuit of a donut, or something like that.
 
If only it were so simple. Unfortunately, the PIA states like CA, HI, CT, IL, MA, NJ, and NY would probably never agree to it.

All it takes to get a LEOSA pass is to have lived your entire life with no mistakes before employment, 20 plus years with a perfect record, lots of training, and a dangerous employment lifestyle. Easy Peasy.
Click to expand...

Oh I'm well aware. I have nationwide carry but I think that others should too. It's not like they won't bring it with them anyway if they intend to commit a crime.

Keep praying that I don't find out how well my HR218 is received by others.
Click to expand...

As long as you weren't doing anything criminal I can guarantee you it would be well received by me. As would any law abiding citizen with a firearm.
 
Good information coming. Is the HR 218 qual card a standard document or is it just whatever the agency that qualifies you uses? More specifically to my needs, anyone from Montana carrying as per the ACT? My first LEO retirement was in Colorado and I have no plans to return there. And, as I said, this agency I am with now will probably be of no help.
 
NorthBorder said:
Good information coming. Is the HR 218 qual card a standard document or is it just whatever the agency that qualifies you uses? More specifically to my needs, anyone from Montana carrying as per the ACT? My first LEO retirement was in Colorado and I have no plans to return there. And, as I said, this agency I am with now will probably be of no help.
Click to expand...
I believe every State has their own version of the LEOSA form.In Mass. the top or the card has The Commonwealth of Mass. on it.The State Police furnishes the proper form templates to the Instructors to make out and give to the retired Officers.
 
Well I just found this on the Mt DOJ website:
"However, because the federal legislation contained no funding to create state or local programs to qualify retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed weapon under this provision, there are few agencies that offer such programs. While some smaller local agencies may qualify their retirees, such programs are not generally available in Montana and few retired officers here are therefore able to carry concealed weapons under this federal legislation."
Essentially, the federal government passed the legislation, they just didn't fund it. So, it is up to the individual states to make the program work. And that's understandable. I just may have to do some politicking and see if there is any interest in our State lawmakers to find a way to provide a means to get us retired guys qualified.
 
When I moved, I just Googled "HR218 instructor" along with the new state and a couple of private qualified instructors popped up.

You may have to travel a little and pay for it, but hopefully you'll be able to find someone to requalify you.

A CO instructor can't help you if you currently live in MT.
 
I did 40, 25 of those as a firearms instructor. When I retired the state let me keep my instructor credentials. There are 2 retired officers from another state that live here. Their former agency sends them a form every year with the course of fire and a form for me to sign attesting that they passed. They mail it back and the agency sends them their cards. Cost? They take me to lunch.

In the meantime my state STILL hasn't figured out how to become compliant with HR218 and my agency suggested I get a concealled carry permit just to be on the safe side!
 
Geez, the state I'm in must be a lot easier for retired LEOs than most others. Most of our agencies actually acknowledge LEOSA, and even if not, the state's law enforcement academy's website has pretty good directions ...

"Law enforcement shouldn't need LEOSA. Anyone's carry permit should be valid throughout the US."

I agree. I'd also add that I think it's a bad idea to give retired leos special ccw privileges, unavailable to "regular" citizens.
Click to expand...
Well, clearly nationwide reciprocity should be the rule, but please explain this:
I think it's a bad idea to give retired leos special ccw privileges, unavailable to "regular" citizens.
Click to expand...
After all, most of us have gone through far more training and experiences than the average citizen.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
National Concealed Carry Qualification ?????????
Replies
0
Views
421
David
D
C
  • Locked
Any Info on HR 218 LEO Retiree Qual-Certifications?
Replies
8
Views
563
Pilgrim
P
O
  • Locked
Retired LEOs qualify in FL
Replies
1
Views
626
Aguila Blanca
A
C
  • Locked
HR 218 Phrase "firearm of the same type"???
Replies
4
Views
486
Marnoot
M
K
  • Locked
CCW & Retired LEO's?
Replies
14
Views
931
mike45
M
Back
Top