Thread: Traffic Stop
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Old 04-24-2013, 05:59 PM
MaximumLawman MaximumLawman is offline
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I do not know, sir. The incident in the OP happened in WV and I can only speak for law and procedure here in WV. I, however, don't think you'll find such a statement in any state statute. The weapon would be secured under the guise of officer safety.
There are state statutes in some states that grant officers the authority to temporarily seize legally-carried guns during routine police encounters with CPL holders, ie. encounters where the police have no reasonable belief that the subject is dangerous. In the absence of such a statute, or case law, I can't see any reason to seize the gun. There is no "officer safety exception" to the search warrant rule or 4th amendment. I see cops do constitutionally questionable things all the time "for officer safety". Unless you have a reason to believe someone is armed AND dangerous, you can't start disarming someone "for officer safety". Nor can you handcuff them "for your safety and mine" without a valid reason. Taking a gun away from someone is a seizure. To seize something you need more than "the guise of officer safety".

Last edited by MaximumLawman; 04-24-2013 at 06:13 PM.
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