traffic stops to tell or not to tell

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Treo

member
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
3,109
Location
Co. Springs
Here in Colorado if I am stopped by the police according to Colorado law I have no " duty to inform" the cop that I'm a permit holder or that I'm armed unless they directly ask me. Given that most of the CSPD are CLULESS about local firearms laws ( as far as they're concerned anything a private citezen happens to be doing W/ a gun is illegal regardless of what the law actually says) I never volunteer the information & nothing I read here's going to change that but I would like to here some othervoices
 
I never volunteer the information & nothing I read here's going to change that
Click to expand...

Then why post ?

Anyway, I tell them at absolutely the first chance I get, even though Tennessee law doesn't obligate me to. Only if I am asked am I required to advise them.

I still let them know right off the bat.

(1) I am a law abiding citizen so I have nothing to hide.
(2) The LEO can have a little more peace of mind that he is dealing with somebody who's probably not going to try to kill them.
(3) It sets the tone for the whole encounter that you're honest, above board, and aren't trying to make his job any harder than it already is.
(4) He'll know I have a permit anyway as soon as he runs my DL.

I notify LEO's right away and encourage my Carry Permit students to do the same.
 
Some states require that you tell them.

While I had my CCW I was stoped once and I told him, right up front. Having my CCW actually helped me with that stop. ( long story short some one stole my rear license plate and he thought the truck was stolen.) It went from "I'm stoping a felony", too I'm stoping a "good guy". before sending me on my way he thanked me for telling him up front, game me his card and shook my hand.

Regaurdless, I'd much rater deal with any BS that the cop puts me thru, then risk getting a LEO that is "jump". Think about itm your sitting down, with your gun on your right hip and your wallet in your rear right pocket... its not easy to reach for your wallet "naturally" with out exposing the fact that your carrying.
 
Well this isn't my story but my wifes. She has been stopped twice for speeding 20 to 25 mph over the speed limit. Both times she produced her CHL and was given a lecture about how valuable she was to the community, and how We wouldn't want to lose her. And then was told to drive safely and have a nice day.
 
in TX are you required to produce the CHL/inform the officer without having to be asked first? TX recognizes my Mississippi permit and I go there from time to time, would like to find out ahead of time :)
Mississippi does not have a duty to inform, but Louisiana (10 miles down the road, go there a lot) does. Almost everyone I know that has been traffic-stopped in Louisiana gets asked if they have a gun in the vehicle.
 
Don't ask don't tell is probably best if your state allows. In Texas you must inform them by handing over your CHL with your DL. I've had more than one ticket turn into a warning afterwards, with nothing more being said.

--wally.
 
I posted here because I've generally gotten good advice here, I also wanted to know if I'm the only one W/ this opinion. let me be perfectly CLEAR in Colorado Springs the CSPD does NOT consider legally armed citizens to be part of the good guy. ( if you don't believe me ask Jean Assam) When I get pulled over I have my wallet in my hand & my hands in plain sight on the stearing wheel before the cop gets to my car. the CSPD has been known to make up nonexistent gun laws on the spot during traffic stops. bottom line I carry just as much because I mistrust my government as because I want the means to protect myself from crooks.
 
The best advice is "Don't get pulled over."

That said, I've been pulled once since I got my permit in 1994.
(driving in the red-x lane... received a written warning)

I don't intend to bring it up if the officer does not bring it up.

I don't carry my drivers license and auto registration in such a manner that it requires me to display the firearm.

There are over 100,000 permit holders in Virginia. This should NOT be a novel event for a police officer.

It probably helps too that I don't drive like a thug, I don't drive a car that looks like it belongs to a thug, I don't dress like a thug, I don't cut my hair like a thug, and I don't speak like a thug.

If I found myself in some sort of weird situation where I thought an officer needed to know that I'm armed, I might bring it up first. But, its more likely that it would be a situation where I was coming to the aid of that officer where the issue of my sidearm would be a relevant topic of conversation.
 
If I am driving I will produce my permit along with my license, even though it is not required in Indiana.
Recently I thought about the scenario of being a passenger in a car that was stopped. I decided I would not say anything unless the cop asked or I had to get out.
 
do unto others works for me
if i was him i'd appreciate someone being honest with me. itsa not an everyday thing for cops. i'd treat him the way i'd want to be treated. i've had more than my share of police interaction and i've had real good results with wildly different police forces. from pg county md and dc through a number of small town cops.
 
Except where state law requires such notification be given to a police officer, the following comes to mind.

Most people sound a while lot more intelligent with their mouths shut than they do with their mouths open. Additionally, tis better to stand mute and have people think you a fool than to speak, thereby removing any possible doubt.
 
One of the problems with Texas I'm afraid.

We're required to inform any time we interact with LE, but I can't really quite figure out WHY.
 
TSRA to the rescue.

In Texas we are required to produce it along with drivers license. It doesn't make sense if they are going to pull it up in a moment on their computer. Maybe this is another sensible adjustment that needs to be made to the Texas system when the legislature goes into session again.
 
I haven't gotten a ticket,or even been pulled over in well over 15 years (granted, living out of the country for 14 years helps). But i've decided if and when i get pulled over, i intend to hand the jack-booted,brown-shirt....JUST KIDDING.......i meant "officer" my drivers licence and carry permit,simultaneously. As has already been pointed out, they'll know the second they run your licence,so coming clean up front,though it rankles me a bit too, really can't hurt,and could easily help.
 
When dealing with LEO the best course is always, always, always to utter the fewest words possible. If they ask you a question, answer it, honestly and as briefly as possible. Never volunteer information. If you are required by law to notify an officer you are carrying do so with as brief an interaction as possible. Be polite but be as silent as possible. The officer is not there to be nice to you or to "protect and serve" you. He is their to decide whether or not he will cite you and to see if he can find a reason to arrest you.

If the officer learns that you are carrying and asks you to relinquish your weapon do so. Ask him to tell you how he wishes you to do this. If he asks you to leave your vehicle do so. Lock your door behind you. Possession of a legally owned and permitted weapon is not PC to search your vehicle no matter what the officer says. Deny him permission if he asks.

If after the stop you feel you were abused or misused by the officer file a complaint with his agency and seek counsel regarding a lawsuit. You might win in court but you will not win standing on the side of the road.

And if you really have reason to doubt the intentions of LEO in your area take a hint from that young man in Missouri and look into electronically documenting any interactions you have with them. Whats good for the goose as they say.
 
Another way of lookig at it.

Hey:
In Michigan (do you have a weapon is a standard question) when you get pulled over. We are required to tell. One way of seeing it is , If you have a CCW in Michigan that cop knows that you are squeaky clean.:)
 
I always tell them. (I've been pulled over a few times. LOL)

I say, when I'm handing them my license, I also have a concealed carry permit, and have a pistol in my glove box.

They've never asked to see my permit or weapon, and from all the cops that I told that, I never got a ticket.

So, I guess that's good.
 
When I still had my CCW in Oklahoma we were required to inform them as per the law. Things may have changed since I let my permit lapse, I dunno.

I am a law abiding citizen so I have nothing to hide.
Click to expand...

I'm a citizen who abides by the law as well, but I never volunteer anything to any .gov LEO/official/employee simply because it's none of their business and usually whatever they're asking about is outside their scope of jurisdiction or authority to question me about... 5th Amendment and all.
 
I want to thank every one who has responded thus far this thread has firmed up some things for me, this is what I've come up with; in Colorado I'm not breaking any law by not volunteering the information , my county doesn't put the information in a data base so they won't find out when they run my license either. my local police dept. DOESN'T consider armed citizens to be "good guys" . I can not imagine a situation in which my telling the cop (W/out being asked ) that I am armed ( BTW in Co. carrying a concealed hand gun in your car is not a crime weather you have a permit or not) would do anything but freak out the cop ,escalate the situation & open me up for all sorts of hassels that I have no interest in getting involved with. So my opinion hasn't changed , I still don't see any reason to give a cop any more information than I absolutely have to, I'm just able to be more articulate in expressing it & that's why I posted
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top