Quote:
Originally Posted by rosewood
Are there any laws that says if a police officer wants to talk to you and ask questions you have to comply?
I know in GA, the law on carrying a firearm, a cop cannot ask to see your carry permit unless he has probable cause that you have done something wrong. Just seeing you carrying is no justification to require you to prove you have a permit.
Rosewood
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Nope. There must be 'reasonable suspicion' before the police may require you to stop and identify yourself. Laws requiring a walking person not committing some other infraction to stop and respond to police intrusion are not Constitutional. However, you don't know what the officer is investigating; I've stopped dozens of people on foot or in cars who matched a BOLO (be on the lookout) but brief conversation proved they weren't the right folks. On some occasions there was time to explain what was going on, sometimes not. A reasonable response usually resolves matters quickly.
What you describe in GA is called 'secondary enforcement;' if the police have some independent reason to believe you've committed some infraction, then they can talk to you about both the infraction or crime and also the permit.