thewillweeks
Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2014
- Messages
- 285
Hello gents and ladies,
Tonight I had my first ever traffic stop. I had one minor collision (reported as a following to close) a few years back, but this was the first time ever I saw the flashing lights in the rearview mirror. I'd like to tell you guys about the experiance, and ask for advice/feedback on the situation/my responses.
Situation occured as follows. I'm driving down the main street in town, Vine St is the name. I merge left in to the left most lane for me turn on the other side of town, going to WalMart for groceries. I'm being careful to control my desire punch it and speed a little like everyone does it seems on that street and in a flash I'm very glad, as I see the car behind me. We stop at a redlight, the officer right behind me. I'm mentally thanking my foresight to driving aggresively as I sometimes do when the roads are empty. I rarely speed for any distance, but I frequently punch it and sometimes spike up over the speed limit, but never more than about a 1/4 block. Anyway, I know aggressive accelration is frowned on so I'm silently rejoicing. Until I pull through the green light and I glance back one more time to see how quickly the officer is coming up behind me, I'm driving 5 under now to see if he'll pass me and go on his way. Not 200yds past the light I see the lights come on and I'm like "crap, I didn't do anything!" but I immediately pull over and he's right behind me so I realize it is me he's after. I stop the car, and turn on the interior light (Thank goodness the light worked, it's picky sometimes.) I've already realized he didn't have the siren on, just lights, so I'm wondering whats up. The car is still in drive, interior light on, and I flip on the blinkers. I put the car in park and lower the driver side window all the way. I place my hands on the steering well, one on top of the other, open handed and wait. He flashes a spot light on my tag to identify the car before approaching it.
The officer identifies himself, standing behind the arc of my door, and states the reason for the stop. "Sir, are you aware you have a head light out?" Of course I wasn't and responded "No sir." With that response, he steps in the arc of the door looking in at me and the car. He immediately spots my openly carried Glock 23, I don't even have a chance to state that have a firearm after responding to his first question before he asks,
"Is there a particular reason you're carrying a firearm?"
I respond,
"For personal protection, sir."
I'm being very careful to tack sir on to everything, and I'm darn near freaking out and screaming.
"Is it load?"
"Yes sir it is."
And here's where I made a mistake, I then offered
"Would you like me to turn it over to you for the remainder of the stop?"
"No, that isn't needed, just move slowly and don't reach towards it. Are there any other weapons in the car or with you sir?"
"No sir"
"Alright then. Can I have your DL and insurance information sir?"
He's using sir again, and I guess that's a good thing, I'm starting to calm down a little. I've rehearsed mentally what I need to do before, but I'm still nervous as I've never done it before.
I state that my DL is in my rear left pocket, and being given permission to get I remove the wallet and hand him the DL, and drop the wallet in my lap. I then state that the insurance information is in the dash. He gives me permission to reach over for it. I purposefully move my insurance information back and forth between the dash and the console depending on where I have a firearm. The pistol had front of the slide firmly tucked between the passenger seat and the console, allowing the entire grip and half the slide to be visible to the officer. Sometimes I store a pistol in the dash, and then insurance information is in the console. I get the envelop that has my registration, insurance, expired insurance, and ironically a copy of the last fine I got for following too close after I bumped someone's bumper. I inwardly cursed myself for having it in the evelope as he likely realizes what it is and is forming a judgement based on that about me. I find the insurance card and hand it to him. He study's the two, and then calls for back up. He asks for my current residence and is now starting to write on a ticket form. After recieving a response from backup he tells me
"Alright, what I'm gonna have you do is step out of the car while we wait for backup since you have a loaded firearm."
I step out of the car and shut the door so that he can't reach inside car more than legally needed, or see it as permission to search the vehicle. He asks me to come to the back of the vehicle and wait. He gets in his car, grabs a few things and hops back out. He calls a few more things in from the front of his car, his things setting on the hood of the car. I can't tell much, he's referring to various codes, including a code 28 but I don't know what that is. The one thing I do hear is him running my name and DL for a CCHL permit (which I don't have, yet). He then walks over to me and continues filling out his paperwork. He explains why he asked me to leave the car, since his backup is accross town and policy is to not leave an unguarded person with a gun, either guard them till backup arrives or seperate them. He apologizes for the cold weather and comments he came back from his car because
"If you have to stand out here, so do I."
I like this cop, even though I'm going to get a ticket from him(at least in my head I'm sure I'm going to get a ticket...) I assure him it's fine and that I understand. My brother is an officer I say, he asks where and I respond. He says backup will now shortly be here. I ask,
"Out of curosity, who is your backup? If that's all right to ask..."
He hesistates so I quickly follow up,
"I only ask because I attend church with a few of your fellow officers."
I'm already seeing getting to explain this to them. He assures me the officer will be there promptly, and then asks where I attend church. He's know's where it's. I ask if I can walk to the front of the car to check to see which light exactly is out. He says that's fine, but asks me to walk on the passenger side (out of traffic) and when I return to stand where I was he asks if I saw which I confirm. He finishs paperwork just as the other officer arrives on scene. The other officer comes up with a mag light, pauses near us, and then moves to inspect the car through the windows. He doesn't confirm the headlight being out. Back up officer asks if I have a holster for my pistol, I only have the one on my hip. He informs me that the firearm is being carried in an insecure manner, and that 1) I should check to make sure that pushing the pistol in between seat and console won't cause a discharge (already checked and assured myself of that) and 2) that if I was in a wreck the gun would go "flying" so I should secure it better. I don't know if that's true, it's pretty tightly fit in there, as tight as or tighter than the holster on my hip is, but I respond that I will resinspect the position of the firearm and safety thereof, and try to get a holster to use when it's position there.
The orginal officer now hands me a warning and says he's written me just a warning this time. He asks that in the future I immediately identify that I have a firearm in the vehicle if stopped in Hays.
So here's my response to what happened.
1) I screwed up offering to let him have the gun during the stop. Kansas officers have the right to request a weapon be handed over for the duration of a stop if they feel their safety demands it. Offering it was a mistake though, I should have waited to see if he asked for it. I figured offering to hand it over was a way to assure him I had no malplaced intentions, hence why I blurted it out.
2) I might have been able to identify that I had a firearm better. I honestly didn't have a chance to say I had it (which I intended to) before he asked why I had it. I'd barely got the words "No sir" in reference to the head light out of my mouth before he asked about the firearm.
3) A holster for the car may be needed. The gun feels safe to me, and takes effort to draw/move from the position it's in but if it'd make the officers more comfortable I don't mind to much.
Our PD takes a lot of crap, like most do but these guys were respectful, maybe even straight up nice. I'm happy with our Hays PD. You hear the stories about "If they call for backup, you're getting a ticket no matter what." which really did worry me, but apparently not all cops are that rough. I'm honestly thankful that the officer who stopped me did stop me, not the other on. He seemed to be in a much better mood, and view my carrying of the gun in a more positive light than the back up officer. But then again, the backup officer didn't interact with me much and I suppose there is some natural...I don't know what you call it, extra caution and questioning when you first identify that a firearm is present, and the other officer had a chance to work through that before I ever exited the vehicle and see that I was being respectful and prompt to obey his every request, something the other officer wasn't privy to.
Thinks I'm going to remember.
1) Sir at the end of every sentance went a heck of a long way.
2) Knowing and using a appropriate response, "personal protection" etc, was better than "uh, cuz I can?" Yes you can, but you might want to know ahead of time what a better response is.
3) Rehearsing helped me a lot. I knew what I needed to do, even though I'd never done it before. He really appericated me identifying the location of items before I reached for them, moving very slowly, and waiting for his goahead before moving again.
4) Know your laws. I knew he had the right to have the gun for the duration of the stop so I offered to let him do just that (bad idea, but best of intentions) and that knowledge of the law and willingness to comply eased his mind greatly I think. When I left the vehicle I clearly latched the door so that it wasn't "open" to his further inspection. He was great and nice, but I don't consent to searches.
Anyone care to share thoughts? Point out other mistakes made?
Tonight I had my first ever traffic stop. I had one minor collision (reported as a following to close) a few years back, but this was the first time ever I saw the flashing lights in the rearview mirror. I'd like to tell you guys about the experiance, and ask for advice/feedback on the situation/my responses.
Situation occured as follows. I'm driving down the main street in town, Vine St is the name. I merge left in to the left most lane for me turn on the other side of town, going to WalMart for groceries. I'm being careful to control my desire punch it and speed a little like everyone does it seems on that street and in a flash I'm very glad, as I see the car behind me. We stop at a redlight, the officer right behind me. I'm mentally thanking my foresight to driving aggresively as I sometimes do when the roads are empty. I rarely speed for any distance, but I frequently punch it and sometimes spike up over the speed limit, but never more than about a 1/4 block. Anyway, I know aggressive accelration is frowned on so I'm silently rejoicing. Until I pull through the green light and I glance back one more time to see how quickly the officer is coming up behind me, I'm driving 5 under now to see if he'll pass me and go on his way. Not 200yds past the light I see the lights come on and I'm like "crap, I didn't do anything!" but I immediately pull over and he's right behind me so I realize it is me he's after. I stop the car, and turn on the interior light (Thank goodness the light worked, it's picky sometimes.) I've already realized he didn't have the siren on, just lights, so I'm wondering whats up. The car is still in drive, interior light on, and I flip on the blinkers. I put the car in park and lower the driver side window all the way. I place my hands on the steering well, one on top of the other, open handed and wait. He flashes a spot light on my tag to identify the car before approaching it.
The officer identifies himself, standing behind the arc of my door, and states the reason for the stop. "Sir, are you aware you have a head light out?" Of course I wasn't and responded "No sir." With that response, he steps in the arc of the door looking in at me and the car. He immediately spots my openly carried Glock 23, I don't even have a chance to state that have a firearm after responding to his first question before he asks,
"Is there a particular reason you're carrying a firearm?"
I respond,
"For personal protection, sir."
I'm being very careful to tack sir on to everything, and I'm darn near freaking out and screaming.
"Is it load?"
"Yes sir it is."
And here's where I made a mistake, I then offered
"Would you like me to turn it over to you for the remainder of the stop?"
"No, that isn't needed, just move slowly and don't reach towards it. Are there any other weapons in the car or with you sir?"
"No sir"
"Alright then. Can I have your DL and insurance information sir?"
He's using sir again, and I guess that's a good thing, I'm starting to calm down a little. I've rehearsed mentally what I need to do before, but I'm still nervous as I've never done it before.
I state that my DL is in my rear left pocket, and being given permission to get I remove the wallet and hand him the DL, and drop the wallet in my lap. I then state that the insurance information is in the dash. He gives me permission to reach over for it. I purposefully move my insurance information back and forth between the dash and the console depending on where I have a firearm. The pistol had front of the slide firmly tucked between the passenger seat and the console, allowing the entire grip and half the slide to be visible to the officer. Sometimes I store a pistol in the dash, and then insurance information is in the console. I get the envelop that has my registration, insurance, expired insurance, and ironically a copy of the last fine I got for following too close after I bumped someone's bumper. I inwardly cursed myself for having it in the evelope as he likely realizes what it is and is forming a judgement based on that about me. I find the insurance card and hand it to him. He study's the two, and then calls for back up. He asks for my current residence and is now starting to write on a ticket form. After recieving a response from backup he tells me
"Alright, what I'm gonna have you do is step out of the car while we wait for backup since you have a loaded firearm."
I step out of the car and shut the door so that he can't reach inside car more than legally needed, or see it as permission to search the vehicle. He asks me to come to the back of the vehicle and wait. He gets in his car, grabs a few things and hops back out. He calls a few more things in from the front of his car, his things setting on the hood of the car. I can't tell much, he's referring to various codes, including a code 28 but I don't know what that is. The one thing I do hear is him running my name and DL for a CCHL permit (which I don't have, yet). He then walks over to me and continues filling out his paperwork. He explains why he asked me to leave the car, since his backup is accross town and policy is to not leave an unguarded person with a gun, either guard them till backup arrives or seperate them. He apologizes for the cold weather and comments he came back from his car because
"If you have to stand out here, so do I."
I like this cop, even though I'm going to get a ticket from him(at least in my head I'm sure I'm going to get a ticket...) I assure him it's fine and that I understand. My brother is an officer I say, he asks where and I respond. He says backup will now shortly be here. I ask,
"Out of curosity, who is your backup? If that's all right to ask..."
He hesistates so I quickly follow up,
"I only ask because I attend church with a few of your fellow officers."
I'm already seeing getting to explain this to them. He assures me the officer will be there promptly, and then asks where I attend church. He's know's where it's. I ask if I can walk to the front of the car to check to see which light exactly is out. He says that's fine, but asks me to walk on the passenger side (out of traffic) and when I return to stand where I was he asks if I saw which I confirm. He finishs paperwork just as the other officer arrives on scene. The other officer comes up with a mag light, pauses near us, and then moves to inspect the car through the windows. He doesn't confirm the headlight being out. Back up officer asks if I have a holster for my pistol, I only have the one on my hip. He informs me that the firearm is being carried in an insecure manner, and that 1) I should check to make sure that pushing the pistol in between seat and console won't cause a discharge (already checked and assured myself of that) and 2) that if I was in a wreck the gun would go "flying" so I should secure it better. I don't know if that's true, it's pretty tightly fit in there, as tight as or tighter than the holster on my hip is, but I respond that I will resinspect the position of the firearm and safety thereof, and try to get a holster to use when it's position there.
The orginal officer now hands me a warning and says he's written me just a warning this time. He asks that in the future I immediately identify that I have a firearm in the vehicle if stopped in Hays.
So here's my response to what happened.
1) I screwed up offering to let him have the gun during the stop. Kansas officers have the right to request a weapon be handed over for the duration of a stop if they feel their safety demands it. Offering it was a mistake though, I should have waited to see if he asked for it. I figured offering to hand it over was a way to assure him I had no malplaced intentions, hence why I blurted it out.
2) I might have been able to identify that I had a firearm better. I honestly didn't have a chance to say I had it (which I intended to) before he asked why I had it. I'd barely got the words "No sir" in reference to the head light out of my mouth before he asked about the firearm.
3) A holster for the car may be needed. The gun feels safe to me, and takes effort to draw/move from the position it's in but if it'd make the officers more comfortable I don't mind to much.
Our PD takes a lot of crap, like most do but these guys were respectful, maybe even straight up nice. I'm happy with our Hays PD. You hear the stories about "If they call for backup, you're getting a ticket no matter what." which really did worry me, but apparently not all cops are that rough. I'm honestly thankful that the officer who stopped me did stop me, not the other on. He seemed to be in a much better mood, and view my carrying of the gun in a more positive light than the back up officer. But then again, the backup officer didn't interact with me much and I suppose there is some natural...I don't know what you call it, extra caution and questioning when you first identify that a firearm is present, and the other officer had a chance to work through that before I ever exited the vehicle and see that I was being respectful and prompt to obey his every request, something the other officer wasn't privy to.
Thinks I'm going to remember.
1) Sir at the end of every sentance went a heck of a long way.
2) Knowing and using a appropriate response, "personal protection" etc, was better than "uh, cuz I can?" Yes you can, but you might want to know ahead of time what a better response is.
3) Rehearsing helped me a lot. I knew what I needed to do, even though I'd never done it before. He really appericated me identifying the location of items before I reached for them, moving very slowly, and waiting for his goahead before moving again.
4) Know your laws. I knew he had the right to have the gun for the duration of the stop so I offered to let him do just that (bad idea, but best of intentions) and that knowledge of the law and willingness to comply eased his mind greatly I think. When I left the vehicle I clearly latched the door so that it wasn't "open" to his further inspection. He was great and nice, but I don't consent to searches.
Anyone care to share thoughts? Point out other mistakes made?