Fun and Games with Law Enforcement
December 20th, 2006 by Syd
One night, two of Louisville’s finest followed Daniel home at 2 AM. They came up and knocked on the door. I answered wearing my Kimber Pro Carry (think CNC-machined Lightweight Commander) in a Miami Classic shoulder holster, completely unconcealed. There had been two burglaries, one hot, on our block in the last two weeks. I stepped out onto the porch with the officers to see what they wanted. It was really kind of comical. One of them (who didn’t seem to be from around here) said, “Don’t reach for that.”
“I had no intention of doing so,” I replied, but I was thinking, “You silly bastard, if I were going to reach for it, you’d be dead by now.”
He said, “Do you have a permit for that?”
“Yes, sir, I do.” Remember also that they’re standing on my front porch at 2 AM without a warrant or any probable cause. Remember also, that Kentucky is an open carry state and I don’t need a freaking permit to wear my gun if I want to, even in the People’s Republik of Louisville. I only need a permit to conceal it. Unconsciously, I slide my hands into my pockets, a motion I often do when speaking to people.
“Take your hands out of your pockets,” said Mr. Not-from-Around-Here Cop. I’m starting to get a little annoyed. The chief of police’s business card is sitting on my desk, and I’m beginning to think in terms of dropping a dime on this prick who seems so egregiously unaware of the Kentucky Revised Statutes. I ease my hands out of my pockets.
“So, what is it that I can help you with, Officer?” I say.
“Well, we just wanted to make sure that the young man who came in here lives here.”
“Yes, Sir, he does. He’s my son, and he lives here.”
“Sorry to waste your time,” Officer Not-from-Around-Here is suddenly apologetic, perhaps realizing that he has made some serious mistakes, and he’s dealing with someone who is strangely calm and better versed in the law than he is.
“Don’t apologize. I’m glad you’re here. We’ve had two burglaries, one hot, on this block in the last couple of weeks. That’s why I’m wearing this gun. I’m glad to see you here. You’re welcome here any time,” said I. So far, they haven’t taken me up on my invitation.
I have had conversations with our finest here in Cobb County. A lot and I mean a lot don’t know the carry laws. They have gone as far as saying that they do not care what the laws are. If is SEEMS illegal they will arrest you and let the DA figure it out. I am very carful around here to say the least and thank goodness my father is a well known lawyer too.
Ho Hum another rookie screwing things up. How do I know he’s a rookie? The manner of speech sounds like some I’ve trained over the years. Real formal etc. I hate it when one idiot makes us look bad like this one did.
Don’t reach for it??? Why would you and why would he even say that. Idiot—————
Sgt. P. White
Retired
I really should add that part of the reason that this was noteworthy is that our police in this area are generally very sane about armed citizens. We have had CCW since 1997 and we have had only one case that I can think of in which a CCW person did the wrong thing, and that was toward another civilian in a road rage situation. We have had zero instances of police overreacting to armed citizens. It didn’t even occur to me to take off the gun or conceal precisely because I don’t have anxiety about our local PD. Further I know and shoot with a lot of police officers, and I have never gotten this “attitude” before. I really do think the guy was a recent hire from up east somewhere.
Another case of a dumbutt Officer overstepping boundaries and making all Cops look terrible. Obviously they had no probable cause to stop your son…if they had they would have stopped him. That was nothing more or less than a “fishing” trip for those 2. And, unfortunately you are probably spot on about the guy being an import from up here. New Hampshire is an open carry state. However an acquaintace was stopped on a surface street and he handed the officer his CC Permit and told him that he was carrying. The “Officer” brought him out of his car at gunpoint and removed his weapon. Once he established that the carry was legal he admonished the man that it was “a bad idea to carry where a Policeman might find it. Long story short…The “Officer” took the pistol as “evidence and it took 6 months and a court order for the man to get back his pistol. In fairness, that was an isolated incident. But it was still wrong.
These people scare me with their attitudes and their lack of knowledge on the laws of concealed carry. We have to carry our weapons on the front seat of our vehicle while traveling in Ohio. The Senate and House just passed a preemption HB 347 maybe this will help and keep us safe.
Unfortunately, although many cops are great people doing a dangerous, often unappreciated job, there are far too many a@#-hole bullies who are also cops.
KS
I had one rural cop I called to my remote cabin in East Texas because I had been broken into. When he got there he went ape and drew down on me and made me remove & unload my Glock 26 I had been wearing. Another time I got stopped on a trafic violation in a suburb of Dallas & when I produced my Drivers License, proof of insurance & CHL (as required by law) the cop dropped his ticket book & backed into traffic hollering at me to drop my gun (which was in the console). He calmed down & did not get run over. I have been stopped in West Texas by locals, Border Patrol & DPS many times. They see a CHL as a “Get out of Jail Free Card” and suddenly start acting like your best bud.
Some guys have all the luck…
I deal with cops in the following manner:
1. I tell them as little as possible. I answer their questions politely, but I do my best to keep my mouth shut. In my state, there is no law requiring that I mention carrying firearms, holding a permit, or concealing guns, so I don’t mention it unless he’s gonna discover it on his own.
2. I try to appear as the most boring person in the world to the cop. I try not to attract attention while going about my daily life. This means no gun-related bumper stickers on the car, no gun clothing on my body, no NRA stickers on the back window, and no shotgun racks in the truck. If I do happen to attract a cop’s attention, I remain polite and respectful, but I try to bore the living heck out of him so that he minimizes the amount of time that we spend together.
3. I treat cops like rattlesnakes. Rattlesnakes are an important part of our ecosystem. They eat vermin, give venom that can be used for medicine, and maintain the biodiversity of the planet. I do my best to let them live out their lives in peace, and would never do anything to harm them. Having said that, I stay far away from them when I find them. I don’t invite them over for supper, don’t hang out with them for a drink after work, and don’t tell them anything about my business. They aren’t my friends, and I don’t trust them with personal confidences. I don’t expect them to have my best interests at heart, and I fully expect them to “bite me” if I mess with them. I don’t call them unless I am in serious trouble, and don’t write letters, send emails or stop by the station house for frivolous reasons.