ccw during routine traffic stop

[Glenn E. Meyer]

These threads usually have at their core a little bit of male posturing and refusal by some to accept the practical as compared to trying to maintain some dominance couched in a nuance of the law.

How dare the police disrespect me - how dare they take off my roscoe - I am a lesser man (or woman) without my roscoe. The law may say I can hold on to my big roscoe and not have to take out my big roscoe for them to hold.

However, I am schooled in understanding aggression and keys for it. I am cognizant of how police interactions can go awry. You don't know if the officer you are dealing with is under stress or whatever. Being surprised by your roscoe might scare him or her or make him or her angry.

As we see in self-defense classes, where roscoes of lethal force might be exposed, sometimes acting on pride or posturing is not wise. You can give ground if you want to avoid the thunder of the Roscoe.
Thus, it is a little inconvenience to avoid the officer taking a range of unpleasant actions for whatever reason. I tell them of the roscoe. I opine that puffing up about the legal issue just masks the true dominance conflict.

Another version is the one where after you have righteously shot a BG with your tricked out supergun. The law arrives and not being sure that you are the righteous defender of the truth sez: Drop it!

You posture to say - Why, I will tell the officer that I will carefully put down my roscoe. They should realize it is a quality roscoe and I am a good and righteous wielder of the roscoe. But then they might shoot you.

Seriously, if you understand the dynamics of lethal force, you want to minimize risk. If you don't want to, accept the risk. Gun in your ear or worse hollowpoint in your butt.

 

[McM1900]

I couldn't find the "quote"option, but I also have the PA non-res permit.

 

[McM1900]

I don't carry a 'roscoe'; sorry 'gun'/firearm'/'pistol' to feel like more or less of anything. I do not ask for, or expect, any special favors because of it.

I also do not ask to be proned out over the hood of my vehicle three feet away from 55 mph traffic, frisked, my possessions seized and searched merely because I am in possession of and legally carrying a firearm. Or is that SOP for all traffic stops? I wouldn't know, I've only pulled over once in my thirty-some years.

Even better was when he handed my unloaded, disassembled pistol back to me and told be 'reload it later... somewhere else'.

Voluntarily inform unless required by law? Never again.

 

[Wagonman]

It means the Copper has discretion, and you want the discretion to work in your favor.

But, let your conscience be your guide.

I wish that all of the CCW states would just standardize the informing of Police regarding CCWs---I am sure it is on computer when you are ran.

 

[treo]

Not informing does one more thing, it tells the cop you are not being open and upfront with him

I'm not legally required to be "open & upfront" W/him in regards to my CHP status. I carry concealed in such a way that the chance of the officer seeing the weapon is almost nil therefore there is no benefit to me in informing. Now to be perfectly clear if it became obvious that my weapon was going to be found (I.E I'm asked to step out of the vehicle) I would inform. I would also inform if specifically asked. Beyond that I see no benefit in volunteering information during a traffic stop.

My neighbor and I were out for our morning walk. A "black & white" rolled up and asked what we were up to. I stated "I'm carrying, 1 o clock." With my hands half raised. The LEO replied "got a permit?"

Different mind set, in that situation the first words out of my mouth would be "Officer, am I free to go" Followed by "Thank you good day" or "I'm not comfortable answering any questions" depending on the answer.

 

[Wagonman]

That seems a little brusque.

 

[shortwave]

Maybe a 'ride-along' with an LEO would give some a better understanding as to why cops would like to know if someones got a gun during a stop or not. Put yourself in cops place. Wouldn`t you be a bit more tense dealing with a person if you glance in his car and saw firearm that he/she hadn`t told you about. More than likely we`ve done something wrong to get pulled over in the first place. Second and most important cop doesn`t know you from Adam. He`s just like me, doing his job and wants to go home to his family at night.

 

[Al Norris]

Many, if not most States, link your concealed permit with your drivers license and/or your vehicle registration.

So there is a good chance that Officer Friendly knows about you, if he runs your tags before pulling you over. Certainly, he knows when he runs your license.

That said, if your state doesn’t require you to inform why would you? The criminals certainly won’t.

All informing does is give the cop one more task to accomplish before he/she can release you. I t also opens you up to all kinds of hassles if the cop you happen to inform is an anti. My rule is not to inform unless specifically asked.

Among the reasons we good guys get the permit, is because we are the good guys. We obey the law.

I fail to understand why we, the good guys, wouldn't want to make sure that Officer Friendly isn't surprised; why we wouldn't want to put Officer Friendly at ease.

Quite frankly, the quote by treo, above, displays an attitude that is conducive to the Us/Them mentality. You display that attitude to an officer, then you shouldn't be so surprised when the officer gives you an attitude back. Tit for tat type of thing. It's predictable human behavior at work in the real world.

 

[armedtotheteeth]

i dont think its fair that we have to tell the cops that we have a weapon. they have one, they chose their dangerous profession.
I dont give a crap if it makes the cops job any harder, They just pulled you over. You are a portion of their quota. I hate cops. I have been pulled over , and ticketed for speeding , when I know damn good and well i wasnt speeding. I always drive well under the speed limit. I got the "tell it to the judge :" response Yeah like a judge will side against a cop.
To make matters worse, my wife got a ticket for not wearing a seat belt in the vehicle. you all may think she deserved it, but, she was in the truck, in reverse, inside our damned yard at the time. I dont care if i spook cops, they have lost my respect, just because of these few idiots i have encountered.
I say, shut up and drive on.

 

[treo]

That seems a little brusque

Quite frankly, the quote by treo, above, displays an attitude that is conducive to the Us/Them mentality.

I hate to be the one to break it to you but the American Justice system IS us V. them. It is adversarial in nature and the police officer while certainly your ally is just as certainly not your "friend". His job is to make arrests and gather evidence to help the prosecutor secure a conviction.

as to why cops would like to know if someones got a gun during a stop or not.

In keeping with the above, I DON'T CARE if the cop wants to know I have a gun. If he really wants to know he can ask.

As I said earlier the cop's job is to gather evidence and make arrests. My job is to protect my rights. The easist way for me to do that is to answer as few question as possible. In my experience cops don't just stop people on the street just to shoot the breeze, if a cop is talking to you he suspects you of something. There are plenty of people in this country that have gone to jail for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and matching a general description.

Treo's first rule of police interactions: If you talk long enough to a cop you WILL say something that can be used against you.

Rule 2: You have nothing to lose by shutting up

 

[Al Norris]

And with the last two cop-bashing posts, we're done here.