Have asked these questions to many LEOs over the years so I thought I would throw it out here....

For present or past LEOs:

Do you carry:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever


Your Department:
What percentage of the officers carried OD:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever


Retired officers you know:
What percentage carry:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever



For non-LEOs:

The people you know in LE active or retired, do they carry:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever



Answers for me:
Have carried every day I legally could since 1970 when I got my first CC license. That was in Connecticut when most of the rest of the country never heard of CC.... Have my LEOA certification and still carry everywhere I go.

Was with three departments in my career:
Larger city, 2500 officers, mandatory carry while OD if in the city
Small City, 40 officers, myself and one other officer carried OD
State Agency, 70 officers, myself, the other officer from the previous department who also changed jobs and the chief firearms instructor

Retired officers I know who carry:
The guy I worked with retired and I know he has a gun on or about him always. Another guy I worked with in the large city department who was my shooting partner I know always carries....but the rest of the retirees I know rarely if ever carry.


Any time a I meet a new person who I find out is an officer I ask these same questions....and at least here in New England it seems to be between 5-10%. I've asked at least three different LEO firearms instructors over the last couple of years and the absolute most and very "optimistic" estimate for their department was 50%...and I think this was "some of the time" vs. "all of the time".


Anyway your answers would be appreciated...

Bob

I would advance the theory that, unless required by the agency or there is a significant culture of off-duty carry, the percentage of officers who carry off-duty is about the same as the general population. Likewise for the percentage of retired officers who carry . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Working I carried 100% of the time. So did all the guys in the squad.

Now, retired from Investigations, but working part time at the LGS and as a Magistrate at night (where I have "bodyguards" ) I carry 100% of the time.

You never know who or what you will run in to. So, always be prepared. For anything. Regards 18DAI

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7 +1 Rounds of hope & change

Retired
Carry 100%
Retired Guys I know pretty much 100% then I mostly am friends with folks who know and enjoy firearms.

When working carried 100%
Other LEOs maybe 25% of the department carried most of the time.

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LEX ET ORDO

I’ve posted this a couple times before in different threads, so apologies for the repeat. For quite a few years I was in a social group that was mostly non-LEO’s, but also had quite a few active LEO’s. Mostly from a 900 officer city department.

Other than pheasant and deer hunting they weren’t any more gun guys than they were baton guys or handcuff guys. Pretty sure the ones I knew well weren’t carrying off duty. They were deep into kids sports, adult fast pitch softball, and riding motorcycles. Everyday guys with a job that required them to carry a weapon at work. Just another work tool. Off duty they were no more likely carrying than a lumberjack would be toting his chainsaws.

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Vegan by proxy.

Currently retired from LE. Carry virtually 100% of time I'm out of the house. Often in the house if I'm in and out.

Formerly, on the job, 100%. Most other agents the same, both on and off duty.

Can't speak for too many other retired LEO's, I know my former partner carries routinely.

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642-1, M&P15 TS

My brother was an LEO for a large (1500 sworn personnel), progressive department in the South for 30 years. Off duty he always carried when out and about with his family. When alone, frequently but not so much. This may have been because he was very good at unarmed combat, and in fact was an instuctor at the academy in that subject.

For myself (retired military, almost half of my career in specops and now a health care professional) I have carried daily since 9/11, even at work. To do less is dereliction of duty IMO, because you just never know.

Thank you for all the answers...

Muss...I think you hit it on the nose... The local officers are nothing more than a reflection of the general populous because they come from the general populous....

I'm a retired LEO (ten years now), and carry 100% of the time. Before retiring, I also carried 100% off duty.

I've always lived by the motto, "You can't choose when you may be a crime victim, but you can choose to always be prepared."

Not trying to drive this in a political direction, but as a non-LEO, one thing I've noticed is the impact the mayor has on the police department. At least here, when we've had Democrat mayors, they've tended to bring in a police chief from outside the department that used to be a cop, but now has some sort of academic background in policing. When we've had Republican mayors, they've tended to pick police chiefs that are current cops in the dept and came up through the ranks in the department.

Not sure if that's common or not, but from the outside (at least to me) it seems to make a difference in how the department runs.

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Vegan by proxy.

Carried off duty the vast majority (99.9%) of the time when a LEO. Had to carry when in primary jurisdiction.

Did not carry for a month or so after retirement until being LEOSA qualified. In retirement I carry just about every single day when I leave the house. Let’s say 98% carry.

I don’t carry sometimes when traveling...but those times are rare even though I travel regularly. e.g. Will be in Las Vegas for five days next week. Never carry there but I did when working.

Have carried in all 50 states.

Be safe.

As a none LEO but a long time CCWP holder let me say. I still know a bunch of active LEOs and most of them carry very regularly off duty!

I have breakfast one morning a week with a bunch of older retired guys, three of the regulars are retired LEOs. (we used to have 5 retired LEOs at the table but 2 have passed on) Two of our present officers served out of state but now live here and the other retired fron NYCPD.

All carry very constantly that I know about. We do talk guns on occasion but rarely mention our carry guns or carrying unless talking about a new holster or weapon carried.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

I worked for a department in Colorado where off-duty carry was encouraged, so I'd say most of them did/still do. Maybe 90+%.
Among retirees, it seems to be generational. The older ones, aged 70+, maybe half still go down to the range annually to qualify back there, but among the ones I know who've also moved to Phoenix, I don't think any of them do, which is odd considering AZ is a constitutional carry state. As for the ones under 70 back in CO, most still do. I'm one of only two that I know of down here under 70, and we both do.

Suburban Chicago Department - maybe 50% carried off duty.
Medium size County Sheriff's department - closer to 75% carried off duty.
Retired - I carry 100%; some of the guys I associate with I think it's closer to 75%.

Started my LEO career in 1968 when we were required to carry off duty, retired 30 years later and still carry every day. Most of my retired buddies carry too but not sure what others do. My agency dropped the requirement to always be armed in the early ‘90s.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Retired 01/01/2019

100% before and after.

.

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

...and what about those you worked with or other retirees you know...

Bob

Congratulations on your retirement

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Retired Career Security Guard

I retired after 30 yrs. with a large city PD. and always carried off duty, it was required in the city. When I retired I do not carry but keep a weapon in my truck. As I get older I have mellowed a lot and find there are less reasons to shoot someone.

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Dogs are better than people.

I would almost always carry whenever I went into the city (SF), and would pack a gun when I took a road trip. But carrying off-duty routinely, was not part of my routine. I did carry a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 in my glove box off and on. Most the guys I hung out with off duty, did not routinely carry. I would guess that about 15-20% of the officers in my first department carried off duty, and about 80-85% carried at my 2nd department. My 2nd agency was in the greater Los Angeles/Orange County Metroplex.

Retired almost three years ago after 25 years as a Feebie and 8 years as an Air Force cop.

I always carried off duty, though it wasn’t required. Had to carry one of my approved work guns. I’d say less than half of my fellow feebs carried off duty, mostly because they didn’t want to carry their issued big gun and were too cheap or lazy to buy a smaller gun, get it approved, and qualify with it.

I knew a lot of sad old agents who would come by the office after they retired and it was usually pretty awkward and didn’t last long. I decided to be gone and not come back once I was shown the door. I worked until the last day I could, five years after being eligible, but once it was over it was time to move on. Because of that I can’t say how many of my fellow Bureau retirees carry, but I suspect it ain’t many. Haven’t seen one at my LEOSA quals yet.

Now I almost always carry something. I bought a lot of guns on the premise of “I can carry this when I retire”, so I do. But if I forget I don’t turn around and go back. There’s one in the truck somewhere.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

I have no idea how many of my retired co-workers carry now or earlier while OD. OD carry was, at least at one time technically required, but I never heard of it actually being mentioned. Not all did. It's my opinion that most of those for which LE work was just another job and usually did the minimum when on the job, well those probably didn't carry OD and likely don't now. When around fellow retires, with a few exceptions, the topic doesn't come up so I wouldn't know. At the fairly well attended retiree luncheons I rarely go to, I don't think the attendees would appreciate being polled on the matter. I'm guessing maybe 40% carry but that is just a wild guess. I do carry pretty near all of the time.

Not an LEO, but after decades of packing I feel undressed if I start the day without it.

I always carried off duty. I am retired now and always carry wherever and whenever I am legally allowed.
Years ago I was a firearms instructor for our large department. I qualified officers on their departmentally authorized, personally owned weapons. At the time, there were only approximately 170 out of 1900 officers that requested permission to carry personally owned off duty weapons. That doesn't mean that many people carried off duty. Many carried unauthorized weapons and some only carried issued weapons. A few years later a range officer conducted an informal poll of officers during their annual requalification. He asked how many officers routinely carried while off duty and I believe it was something like 30% give or take. Granted, it was informal.
When I qualify for LEOSA annually through my department in May there are usually 15 to 20 guys there. That's not a lot of people considering the qualifications are not held every month.

I think the consensus is going to be skewed big time by asking on a gun forum. Retired LEOs and the like who either don't EDC and aren't big firearms people aren't likely to camp out on gun forums...

Interesting observation. All else (suitability of "on hand" candidates
vs "out of towners", etc) aside, appointing from
the department would likely give a candidate with some
degree of loyalty to his/her department.

Picking someone from out of town, would likely result in
a candidate with less loyalty to the department, and more
loyalty to the mayor.

Regarding carry; retired, carry when out of house, pretty
much everywhere (except VA med facilities--boy are they
touchy!). Changed coasts awhile back, and haven't discussed
carry with (now) retired colleagues, but would guess the
more active hard chargers will be carrying, and the "ROAD"
officers, probably not.

I suspect the majority of non-carrying retired LEOs won't
be active in a gun forum.

I carried off-duty 100% of the time while I was on the job.

Now retired I still carry 100% of the time.

I've no idea what the off-duty carry percentage was of the officers I worked with. Of the few retirees that I associate with about half will have a gun in their vehicle. So far as I know I'm the only one who carries on the body.

I retired 1 January, 2019 after 34 years of service. I always carried off duty and still always carry now.

When I was with my small city department a new chief came in... He eliminated our privately owned backup guns and said if we were carrying a badge OD then the only gun we could carry was the city issue which we qualified with.

I had only carried my 1911 Commander OD and had done so for 11 years at that point and was not going to carry a 5906 OD IWB... The solution was simple. I applied for a NH CC License, left my badge, ID and gun in my locker and only carried my own gun OD...

I worked for a Department with 225 (+/-) officers. While I was working I carried a Glock 22 on duty and a Glock 23 (with reload) when I was off duty. My department didn't require its officers to carry off duty and only a small portion of them did. Those that chose to carry off-duty were usually "gun people" and shot on a regular basis.

Now that I'm retired, I still carry daily, but I opted to carry a smaller firearm (S&W 640 with one reload). Being five years into retirement I'm finding it easier to remember that I am no longer and LEO... and concentrate more on becoming a good witness (and hope that I never find the need for greater firepower).

In regard to officers that I know who carry in retirement... I would have to say the percentages are small, with the most of the "gun people" being the ones who still carry in retirement.

At my small PD (6 full time including the Chief and 10 part time), I am the only one that carries off duty all the time. If I am awake, I have a gun on me, period, unless I'm going somewhere with metal detectors. I started in LE in 1991 and have carried 24/7 since right after I started (when I got my first death threat), even when former Chiefs forbade us from carrying off duty.

For the rest, a couple carry most of the time. The rest only carry occasionally or never. I harp and harp and harp but they just won't do it. Keep in mind, most cops aren't gun guys. They carry a gun on duty because they have to, not because they want to. They can't be bothered to be burdened when off duty. When you see the condition of some of their duty guns, you'd think that they weren't carrying a functional gun on duty, anyway.

None of the retirees I talk to on a regular basis carry, either, They weren't gun guys, either, and were perfectly happy to hang up their gun belt when they retired and not carry at all anymore.

As I said in my opening post, when I worked for Probation/Parole only myself, one other PPO and the PPO who was the chief firearms instructor carried. I was in a unit at the time that was state wide and delt with nothing but the worst of the worst...no office time just all home visits and field supervision...

One of the guys in the unit was having lunch one day at a McDonald's not far from where he lives. While in the Mens Room he is accosted and assaulted by an ex-parolee he had who was part of the Irish Mafia. The ex-parolee manages to escape and after a car chase with local police he is arrested...with a gun in the car.

My co-worker, who had never carried OD before, tells me, "You know I eat in there quite often with my family and I could have had a major problem if he had pulled a gun when I didn't have one". He then started carrying OD. Didn't see him for a while but at qualification the next year I asked if he was still carrying OD...he broke eye contact, looked down and sheepishly said..."No..."

Nice guy, wonderful friend...but you can't cure complacency...

If you guys haven't seen this before...the OD LEO who captures the shooter is a California HP officer...who is unarmed...

Shots Fired: Palm Desert, California 03•30•1996 - Patrol - POLICE Magazine


Learn from the mistakes of others...it is cheaper in the long run....

Bob

I always carry a CS 45 when off of my property, I have carried it over 20 years. On the farm I carry a .380 Ruger pocket pistol. After seeing the worst side of humanity on the job, I cannot imagine going unarmed.

Being retired I carry 100%. My other LE friends both retired and off duty about the same.

Before I retired from law enforcement last year, I carried nearly all the time off-duty. I carry about the same now, >95%. Exceptions are doctor appointments, going into the post office (PO Box), and other places where it isn't legal. With all the use of force training and shooting practice I have had over a 27 year career, it would be hard to live with being an unarmed witness to a violent crime such as an active shooter incident.

I live in a pretty safe community. I see former colleagues regularly in town. I believe that much less than half of them are carrying when I see them. I don't get it.

Prior to retirement, most all I know of carried at least 80% of the time. Of the retirees I'm still in contact with, all carry "off duty" 100% of the time. A couple took unarmed security jobs at a local hosptial, and can't carry on duty.

Three are now employed as armed security at a petrochemical plant refinery, and another two are employed as armed US Marshal contract security officers at the local federal courthouse. One started a firearms training business, CHL and advanced firearms, and another runs a hunting guide service in west Texas. Off duty, they are always armed as far as I know.

Began LE career in 1968 with local department; transitioned to Federal Agency in 1970, retired in 1998. Since 1968 I normally carried a Model 60 all of the time- on and off duty. When on the streets of NYC my primary weapon was a Model 59 or a SigSauer P226, with the Model 60 as a backup. If traveling to Canada I don’t carry. Under LEOSA authority I should be able to carry firearms/ ammo that were authorized by agency in all 50 states; however some states prohibit hollow point ammo and limit magazine capacity contrary to federal law and policies. Thus, despite meeting LEOSA requirements, I am subject to arrest in several states for violating local laws. Regrettably our politicians will not address this problem of individual states undermining the LEOSA and exposing retired LE officers to arrest. Very sad.

We had a saying when I worked on a task force in NYC- there are 2 types of people in NYC, predator and prey. As a senior citizen, I am now prey, but I’ll be damned if I don’t go down fighting or stop to assist a citizen or cop who needs help, and in order to do that, a handgun is man’s best friend.

Active; 15 years on so far. I always carry off duty since day 1 on the job. My agency relaxed its off duty weapon policy about 2 years ago, so now we can carry anything we want above a .380 caliber/no Q course needed. Which shocked a lot of us considering the over abundance of caution being exercised by departments these days. I carry a Model 36 square butt which I bought from a NYC Det. Even when I do yard work in the heat of the summer I carry a Beretta 950 .25 auto.

Exceptions: Traveling to DC off duty and armed is not advisable. I couldn't even enter a parking garage at the Reagan building- and entering any museum required me to sign into a log book. Not worth it. Beyond this, I always carry.

Thanks all for the replies....

...really sad that more don't carry...

On another forum one retired officer said he has never carried a gun since the day he retired nor had any of his many retired friends...they kinda looked at it as a joke....

I would wager that he wouldn't think it too funny if he runs into a violent felon he had previous dealings with on the job.

That happens. More than you think. Especially if you live inside the jurisdiction you police.

They can be amused. I will be well armed. Regards 18DAI

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7 +1 Rounds of hope & change

Peace of Mind.... Like an experienced, capable car salesman who can quickly and fairly accurately size up a customer, those of us in law enforcement who have spent time on the streets of a high crime area generally develop street sense, much like a criminal has street sense. While on vacation in NM, my wife went into a Mexican restaurant on the outskirts of Alamogordo. I parked my NH registered vehicle about 30 yards off the street in a supermarket parking lot, where I had a view of the restaurant. It was about 100 degrees so one of us had to stay in the car with our 2 dogs. I saw a hitch hiker walking down the main drag, about 30 yards away. I removed my Model 60 from my ankle holster and had it in my lap, with my left hand covering it. I sized the guy up as a potential problem and felt I could be an easy target- an old fart in an out of state vehicle. Well, my suspicions started to pan out as the knucklehead looked at my car and approached. I figured “here we go” and figured I would have the element of surprise in my favor- if the guy pulled a knife or pistol I was predisposed to put 2 rounds in his chest at point blank range. Well, due to the temperature all my windows were down and he walked to the drivers side and demanded a ride, saying he would give me $10. He began to reach in his back pocket and before he could remove anything my normally docile Weimaraner, asleep in the rear of my 4Runner, growled and lept over the seat to tear him apart. I blocked the Weim with my elbow so that he couldn’t leap out and attack the guy, and the guy took off, rather quickly. I thanked my dog, telling him he may have saved me a lot of paperwork. While I don’t know if the guy was reaching for a weapon or his wallet, that Model 60 provided PEACE OF MIND. Noteworthy is that my Weim, a docile dog, came to the same conclusion as I did regarding this character.

I started carrying when I became a reserve deputy, doing my college internship. A few months later, I was a fulltime deputy. I have carried off duty every day since.

When ever someone asks me WHY I carry, I relate this little story:

I was visiting my grandmother one summer. Her home was 800 miles away from the city where I worked. I was driving to the store and had my wife and youngest child with me. As I approached an intersection, I noticed that the car in the next lane also had an Alabama license plate. I eased up and the driver of the other car was being driven by a subject that I had arrested.

Now, the likelihood that the other driver would not have recognized me is pretty good, BUT why take the chance and be unarmed???

I assume that the majority of our Forum members have car insurance and spare tires in their vehicles. Do they wish to use them? Of course not; however, when you need a spare or coverage or a firearm, ain't nothing else will take their place!!

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Through two departments and 37 years, I always carried off-duty. Now retired for nearly 5 years, I always carry (concealed, even though I live in a Constitutional carry state). In my first 16 years working for the first department, we were initially required to carry off duty for the first few years, although that was not rigidly enforced. In the last 21 years in my home town department we were not required by policy to carry off-duty, but it was strongly recommended. Now in retirement, I keep up my LEOSA qualifications and carry at all times. Of those other retirees I know, most carry most or all of the time; I'd say 80% or better.

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Dave Frost

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Right there ya go !!!

Those that we have dealt with professional, only have to remember one face.

.

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

I'm not and never have been a police officer, but I have to say I'm surprised at some of the low percentages of off-duty and retirement carry on this thread.

I did have jobs for a number of years that required me to send some people to jail or prison, or help them send themselves there by poor decision-making. Some assured me they would remember me unkindly when they got out, and that was one of the initial reasons I started carrying concealed when it became legal in Kentucky.

That was over twenty years ago, so now my reasons to carry are diminished by one and some new ones have been added, but it made sense then.

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Oh well, what the hell.

The first agency I worked for required all officers to carry their badge and gun off duty. I put in 35 years, worked for four different agencies, a large metro agency, a state highway patrol agency, a small county SD, then a large federal agency.
I carried OD 100%. I have been retired now for 10 years, carry 100%. When I put my pants on, there is a holster for a J frame, if I go “ out amongst them” I carry my Glock 20 w/ two extra mags.
When I go to the LEOSA qualification hosted by a local SD, I see quite a few retired LEO’s that carry regularly.

I carried daily, on- and off-duty, while working. Since retirement, I often have a revolver in my car or when horseback or hiking, but certainly not all of the time, or even most of the time. I've been contracting the past few years and you do NOT carry unless specifically authorized; if you do, you can have loaded mags but not a loaded sidearm or M4. That's true for IQ or AF either one. Embassy and base security contractors have different rules.

From a few thousand miles away through the lens of what's on the news, that seems a bit risky, no?

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Vegan by proxy.

Nope, not at all unless you're just unlucky. I have no death wish, I just like making good money.

If I am armed and things get bad enough that I need a weapon, inserting a mag and charging will be no biggie. Indirect fire (IDF) is the biggest risk, and millennial jihadis consider 107mm rockets to be a form of political free speech.

The only use (discharge) of off-duty firearms I was aware of in my first agency, both involved alcohol consumption. One off-duty deputy got into a personal beef with another bar patron and it went outside and escalated. Both parties were legally intoxicated. The deputy ended the confrontation by shooting the other guy. In spite of claiming self defense, the deputy was charged with voluntary manslaughter and was convicted. He went to prison. The other occurrence involved 3 off duty narcs who were walking down the sidewalk and 2 local tough guys picked a fight - which quickly turned into an exchange of gunfire. All parties were intoxicated. No one died in this incident, but one of the off-duty deputies was grazed by a bullet.