Has anyone been stopped by a leo before

[gathert]

I'll have to drive through a safety checkpoint tonight with guns in the car. Don't anticipate anything bad happening on a routine checkpoint like that, but I'll just have to find out.

 

[KodiakBeer]

I tend to get a lot of speeding tickets, or actually they usually just pull me over and tell me to slow the hell down. The troopers can be pretty lenient if you're outside of town. Anyway, twice I've been carrying when pulled over and under Alaska law you have to inform. Both times (AK Troopers), they just said something like "Oh yeah, Thanks!" and went on with their business with no further comment.

I sure like the troopers! City cops can be a pain in the rear, especially over in Anchorage, but the troopers always seem to be pleasant but businesslike. They're looking for drunks and criminals and if you aren't one, they're not going to spoil your day over something as frivolous as a gun.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Why don't I ever meet these friendly cops? I have nothing but respect for people who risk their lives as LEOs, but all the ones that I meet are either surly or indifferent.

In the past 3 years, I've had interactions with 8 or 9 police officers. I open carry and I used to be a chronic speeder. 2 out of the 8 or 9 were not pleasant or professional. So, around here (Oak Harbor, WA) I would say it runs 20% PITA's and 80% professional, hardworking people.

 

[mdauben]

I would say it runs 20% PITA's and 80% professional, hardworking people.

I guess the 80% is what I was referring to as 'indifferent'. Not indifferent to doing their jobs, just not interested in having a friendly conversation. Professional, but somewhat remote.

I don't have all that much contact with them, I suppose, but I just don't recall ever meeting a really friendly police officer. I hear people talk about them all the time, so I know they are there and I have some aquantences that are LEOs and they are all great people, but I've just never had a chat with one I didn't know.

 

[Odd Job]

I got pulled over by cops in South Africa whilst riding my bicycle one night. There had been a robbery at a fast food store nearby and shots had been fired. The cops had a witness in the back seat who could ID the shooter, and they wanted a good look at me.
They checked me out, asked what I knew, then let me go on my way. I wouldn't say they were friendly, but then again a South African policeman has a certain abrasive demeanor that comes naturally

 

[xfyrfiter]

A LEO is not looking to strike up a conversation, be your friend etc. when he or she stops you. They have a thankless job to do, and if you, by being courteous and complying with their lawful requests, make the encounter go smoothly, they will usually reciprocate. LEO's usually are only " friends" with other LEO it just makes their job easier in many ways.

 

[NavyLCDR]

A LEO is not looking to strike up a conversation, be your friend etc. when he or she stops you. They have a thankless job to do, and if you, by being courteous and complying with their lawful requests, make the encounter go smoothly, they will usually reciprocate. LEO's usually are only " friends" with other LEO it just makes their job easier in many ways.

Probably one of the, let's say more pleasant, encounters I had:

I was on a well traveled county road. The speed limit was 50 and I had cruise control set at 52. Mazda Miata with the top down. There is a curve where the speed limit drops to 40 with a gas station right in the middle of the curve. I drive this road several times a week, so I know the speed limits. I just forgot to reset my cruise control, come around the curve and there is the sheriff at the gas station, obviously running radar.

I didn't even wait for him to pull out, I put on my hazard lights, took the dirt road on the right, opposite side of the road from the gas station, stopped and waited with my driver's license in hand. He pulled in behind me, and when he came up I handed him my driver's license and said, sorry, I forgot to reset my cruise control. He said, "I'll check this out and let you go." Came back, said thanks for stopping, have a nice day!

 

[forgetitohio]

I know leos are individuals . I was just curious of what other peoples experiances were in the bad experiance with a leo

My home alarm malfuntioned and sent in a silent to the LEO.
I came out of the bathroom and had 2 red dots on my chest.
Then I heard the Police IDing themselves.
Reason for painting me? When they know a homeowner has CCW permit they come in drawn.
Never once asked for my ID; I could have been B&E and know the homeowners name.
I guess I can own 100 guns and be OK but having a CC it makes me a threat.
I still wonder what would have happened if I was walking down my hallway with a gun in my hand for any reason.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

ForgetitOhio, my take on your incident is that the police probably figured it was you, and were probably "showing off" a bit with the lasers...they probably had no intention of shooting you, figured it was the homeowner, but wanted to let you know how deadly and efficient they were. When cops ARE trained, and well disciplined with gun handling, I can see this sort of police mentality or intent....kind of like flexing their muscles. They accept that citizens are armed, but always want to keep some kind of upper hand. Wonder how they would have reacted to the same being done to them ? (and yes, that does happen, when cops sometimes run into hightly trained security who protect high risk businesses, etc, and the cops aren't ID'd yet)

 

[sonick808]

I've never been stopped on foot. I used to get stopped weekly for 1mph over when I drove a C5 coupe in 99-05. One local cop specifically hated my guts for no reason. Now that I drive a civic si, i never get pulled over. The times I did get pulled over in Illinois and AZ, I always mention that I have a handgun at the first available moment. I never had problems in Illinois, since it was always empty and in the hatchback compartment. In AZ, they don't even blink. I did have to call the police for an attempted break in of my storage unit, and they were pretty wide-eyed at the collection when they entered my place to reach the balcony. Made no issues about it though

 

[gathert]

Drove through the same checkpoint 4 times tonight with my gun in the car and didnt have a problem from any of the 4 cops I talked to each time. Good cops in my area I guess.

 

[JTHunter]

Three bad apples!

One officer in this particular department tells me to follow him out into the street from private property and to bring my .22 rifle with me. When we get to his cruiser, he informs me that I have broken the law. The lawyer I got failed to inform me that Illinois' draconian gun laws require the defendant first prove they are eligible to use the exemtions to certain "unlawful use of a weapon" charges before they can use those exemptions! :banghead:
Another officer pulled a similar tactic a couple of years later, but I had read up on the law by then. I quoted him "chapter & verse" that this would be a "false arrest" if he persisted. His reply was "I don't care about the law! I'm gonna book you anyway!" A complaint filed with the captain (second in cmd) resulted in them dropping the charges three days later.
Both of these LEO's are now off the force. The first was "retired" on a "medical problem" while the second had a nervous breakdown a few months after our interaction and lost his entire career, due to the "mental" designation.
The third officer in this department committed perjury in court and I won the case. Tha galling thing is that neither the SA, the Sheriff's Dept., nor his own department would charge/investigate/discipline this PoS in any way for the perjury, filing a false police report, etc. To this day, he is still on that department's payroll and has even been promoted!
Either this department needs to find better people or they need some serious retraining!

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Regarding an officer who perjures himself on the stand. In any subsequent arrest that he makes, this can be brought up by the defendent to question/discredit the officer's truth on the stand IF THE DEFENSE KNOWS ABOUT IT. If he truly purjured himself under oath, you could easily post this in the newpaper for the benefit of any future defendent that that officer arrests. It would at least get the attention of his department, and they might fire or otherwise discipline him, even if it is too late to charge him criminally. I believe it is a felony in most states. In Ohio, just about any officer that goes on record with perjury on the stand is probably finished as a cop.

 

[TheGewehrGuy]

Both of my grandpa's and my dad were law enforcement officers. One grandpa would strike up a pleasant gun conversation with someone carrying ("Nice pistol"), my dad doesn't really care, and my other grandpa's actually had a loaded gun pointed at him by a burglar, the trigger was pulled but apparently the ammo was bad or something (An act of god).


I too live in Washington, and typically its hit and miss with cops. Either you get some control-freak, cop with an agenda (about 20%), or you get a guy who just wants to get his check at the end of the month and is more on the libertarian side.

 

[kk0g]

As an LEO, I am all for legal carry of firearms by responsible citizens. I cannot speak for all officers, but what do you think runs through my mind when I receive a call about a person with a gun? Granted, a person going about everyday business in a public place is a drastic difference from an active shooter, but we try the best we can. Typically, the only info we would get from dispatch is "We have a report of a man/woman with at gun at....."

There in lies the problem - you shouldn't be receiving a "report of a man/woman with a gun" in the first place because there is nothing illegal about it.

 

[armoredman]

Never had a bad interaction with AZ law enforcement, the few times I have had to professionally interact with them, it was by the numbers perfect and polite. I also have a fool proof method of not getting stopped while driving, and I'll even forgo the $19.95 fee I would normally charge for this secret - I obey the traffic laws. Sorry, couldn't help it.

 

[wrs840]

I have only been hassled by a cop over a gun one time, and it was a fat chick at a midnight license-check roadblock on July 4th. They probably had a long night with a lot of drunks to deal with, but I wasn't one of them. 30 minutes later, and one fresh scratch on the hood of my truck from Fatty-Patty slamming my Beretta down on it, I was on my way. It happens.

 

[Steve Raacke]

Some of Ohio law enforcement is poorly trained in the laws regarding open carry, inducing panic, etc. There is currently a project underway to send a packet to every police department in the state with proper citations.

A similar effort is already underway in Louisiana. The Louisiana Open Carry Awareness League (aka LOCAL) has already sent out informational letters/packets to more than a dozen television station news editors, every Sheriff in the 64 Parishes (counties) in La and more than 3 dozen municipal Police Chiefs. We are working on another mailings to a list of over 30 daily and weekly newspapers and more than 200 Police Chiefs, Constables, City Marshals and other law enforcement officials.

 

[NavyLCDR]

A similar effort is already underway in Louisiana. The Louisiana Open Carry Awareness League (aka LOCAL) has already sent out informational letters/packets to more than a dozen television station news editors, every Sheriff in the 64 Parishes (counties) in La and more than 3 dozen municipal Police Chiefs. We are working on another mailings to a list of over 30 daily and weekly newspapers and more than 200 Police Chiefs, Constables, City Marshals and other law enforcement officials.

Don't forget to send one to Steven Seagal!

 

[gathert]

If you are not speeding, you are basically under the radar (no pun intended ) to cops. I've been told that by several and they even said unless you are going 10 or more over you just arent worth their time to pull you over. Handy advice for never having to have cops bother you.

 

[Far East Sig]

I have had a few occasions to occasions to discuss things with LEO while CCW only one worth mentioning for the good. I had run out of gas on the highway (gas guage broken), he pulled up asked about my situation and if I was armed. I told him I was and would be happy to show him my ID and CCW. After asking me to put my hands on my head he removed my Sig from the SOB holster I was wearing, and we talked about how I was going to get some gas. He never even asked to see my CCW permit. He ended up putting my weapon in his trunk and took me to get gas. While I was putting gas in the car he said goodbye, I said thanks and I when I got back in the car, my sig was on the floormat.

Alls well that ends well.

LEO's are human beings just like the rest of us, some good, some bad.

 

[rooter]

One officer in this particular department tells me to follow him out into the street from private property and to bring my .22 rifle with me. When we get to his cruiser, he informs me that I have broken the law. The lawyer I got failed to inform me that Illinois' draconian gun laws require the defendant first prove they are eligible to use the exemtions to certain "unlawful use of a weapon" charges before they can use those exemptions!
Another officer pulled a similar tactic a couple of years later, but I had read up on the law by then. I quoted him "chapter & verse" that this would be a "false arrest" if he persisted. His reply was "I don't care about the law! I'm gonna book you anyway!" A complaint filed with the captain (second in cmd) resulted in them dropping the charges three days later.
Both of these LEO's are now off the force. The first was "retired" on a "medical problem" while the second had a nervous breakdown a few months after our interaction and lost his entire career, due to the "mental" designation.
The third officer in this department committed perjury in court and I won the case. Tha galling thing is that neither the SA, the Sheriff's Dept., nor his own department would charge/investigate/discipline this PoS in any way for the perjury, filing a false police report, etc. To this day, he is still on that department's payroll and has even been promoted!
Either this department needs to find better people or they need some serious retraining!

I find it interesting that this department is so corrupt and has targeted you illegally so many times. Please post or PM me the department info, court of jurisdiction, and case numbers for each instance so I can research this injustice.

It amuses me the number of people who think a contact with a leo should be pleasant, friendly, warm, and inviting. A traffic stop or field contact is not an attempt to make friends, it is business.......and the goal is not to create more business or to make you feel warm and fuzzy.

Many here have such a double standard when it pertains to leo's. When you call for service, they don't do enough and you gripe that they are incompetent and lazy. When they investigate an incident involving you, they do too much and you gripe that they are incompetent and overbearing.

 

[Deanimator]

In response to Navt Lt I was informed I can be charged for creating a public panic for my oc

You were LIED to, full stop.

Read the "inducing panic" statute. Lawful open carry (or in my case inadvertent exposure) doesn't come within a million miles.

In my case I didn't back down an inch. The cop didn't like it but he doesn't need to like the law, merely know and obey it. I wrote the Chief a letter informing him of his officer's ignorance and warning him that if he ever acted on his threats, bad things lay ahead.

You'd better know the law, because you CANNOT expect LEOs to. FAR too many either don't think they need to know it, or simply don't care if they do.

"Inducing panic" is a bunch of hooey which an astonishing number of Ohio LEOs try to foist on the ignorant. Any arrest for it, absent a real criminal act, is a FALSE arrest and actionable.

Oh, and if you're an LEO, bellowing "I know, I'm a cop!" doesn't make bad information good. It just makes you look and sound like a petulant child. That particular LEO lowered my opinion of the Rocky River PD several notches.

 

[Deanimator]

All this talk about inciting a panic by the merely OC'ing in a way that doesn't break any laws seems strange to me. How can a law's application be based on someone else's perception of your actions, rather than your actual actions? Seems like that could not routinely hold up in court.

In Ohio, it CAN'T. "Inducing panic" requires some ACTUAL criminal act.

Anyone who tells you that lawful open carry is a crime in Ohio is ignorant or a liar.

 

[Deanimator]

Well, when your are out and about, you are in a LEO's backyard. When he checks you out to see what you are doing, he has every right to do whatever he has to do to insure his safety, no matter how bad it hurts your feelings or how unfair you think it is.

You're mistaken.

Law, both black letter and precedent, determines what he can and cannot do.

If he has no reasonable, articulable suspicion of a crime which either has been committed, is being committed or is about to be committed, he has no authority to involuntarily "check you out" AT ALL. He can ASK to talk to you, and you have NO duty to engage him. In Ohio, if you're not driving or carrying concealed and he forcibly detains you, other than VERBALLY identifying yourself, you have no duty to speak to him AT ALL, NOR do you have to even HAVE ID.

Police CANNOT just do whatever makes them "feel safe". In fact, sometimes it can be a crime.