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  #1  
Old 11-08-2011, 04:53 PM
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If you were the cop manning the metal detector at the courthouse, and someone tried to go through with some metal that was not allowed in the courthouse (not illegal to have, just can't bring it in) would you arrest them for "attempting to smuggle in contraband", or tell them, "That's not allowed. You need to go put that back in your car"?

Yesterday I went to the courthouse. Removed all my metal, and I beeped. Finally took my coat off (A2 flight jacket) and then I didn't beep, so decided it must be the zipper on the jacket.

I commented to the cop, as I was putting my keys and cell phone and stuff away, that "y'all musta tweaked it some. Last month I wore it through with no problems, and found, afterward, that I had an ammo wallet in the inside pocket with 18 .38 specials in it" (it was the first time I'd worn the coat since the previous winter, and did not check the inside pocket when I "de-metaled" before getting out of the truck).

He responded with, "You should have been arrested".

That attitude seemed kinda harsh, to me.
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Old 11-08-2011, 05:11 PM
feralmerril feralmerril is offline
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I would give the person the option of leaveing it with me at the desk untill they leave, If it was something illegal like a knife but not illegal to own. I done similar work for 35 years. Like all other occupations you are going to have different personalitys amoung the guards manning a enterance. Some get their jolleys being a pain in the butt and makeing you take a trip back to the parking lot. Sadly these guys are usualy technoly right and are a pain in the butt to work with. I had a reputation for straighing the type up on my job. The book and rules cant cover every situation and many dont have common sense. I did it my way, never was challanged by supervision. The nit pickers were habitualy in hot water and usualy technoly right.
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Old 11-08-2011, 05:11 PM
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He is right, you could have been arrested, if found after the fact, for bringing ammo into a courthouse. If it was a small pocket knife or such, before the entry, the proper thing to do would be to instruct you to return it to your car. That's happened to me a few times at our local courthouse and I was not offended by the inconvenience.
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Old 11-08-2011, 05:14 PM
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Why would/should he be arrested for just having ammunition?

With no gun to fire it out of, how dangerous can they be? And why would/is ammunition a prohibited item??
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Old 11-08-2011, 05:30 PM
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Simply because a sign cant be a book. Again, with common sense guards it`s a non event, with nit pickers it will be a big deal. After all, they have to feel important. Belive me, if I could remember just one event like this years ago I bet I am forgetting a 1,000!
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Old 11-08-2011, 05:46 PM
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I was present almost everyday at this one particular trial...Security was extra tight.

I made it a habit to wall thru the 'force field' just so the officer operating it had a good sample to gage by.

One day there was a new guy manning the security port, I cruised on thru and he's having one fit right after the other.

I got tickled, if you can imagine that.
Finial got my credentials out of my inside suitcoat pocket.

Now, I felt bad about causing the young feller all that excitement.
You'd thought he'd jest caught himself a mafia hit-man er sumthing.


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Old 11-08-2011, 06:01 PM
Mphstiger1981 Mphstiger1981 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpo View Post
He responded with, "You should have been arrested".
That attitude seemed kinda harsh, to me.
Harsh? Probably. True? Absolutely.

The cop probably felt you were being a smart aleck by telling him that you been admitted with contraband in your possession in the past. Remember where you were and most folks who are there are not there because they want to be. These guys deal with a lot of nonsense from the people they come in contact with, day in and day out.

Just my $.02. YMMV.
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Old 11-08-2011, 06:14 PM
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Don't want to starrt a big brou-ha-ha, but I'll play Devil's Advocate for a moment.

I'm not going to go into the personality of the screener, or maybe he's having a bad day, or anything like that. Play the "what if?" game. What if he (or she) doesn't go exactly by the book and something ends up going sideways? Then they are the one with their hind end hanging out in the breeze.

I absolutely agree that they don't have to be (deleted)-heads about it, but they do have to go by the book these days, if only for their own self-preservation.

As to the ammo in the jacket pocket? A friend of mine flew down from SeaTac to SFO on short notice, and just threw things into his bag and went. On the way BACK, the security screener pulled him out of the line for the 100 rounds of 9MM that were in the bottom of the bag that he had forgotten about and that the TSA had MISSED on his way down. He didn't end up in jail or arrested, but he sure didn't make the flight he was originally going to be on! When he got back and was relating the story, I reminded him that's why I have range bags for shooting, luggage for traveling, and never the twain shall meet.
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Old 11-08-2011, 06:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpo View Post
I commented to the cop, as I was putting my keys and cell phone and stuff away, that "y'all musta tweaked it some. Last month I wore it through with no problems, and found, afterward, that I had an ammo wallet in the inside pocket with 18 .38 specials in it."
Well... I don't want to stir up the Mods, so I'll just say that was probably not the smartest thing to say at that particular time...

I woulda probably gotten the guy with the size XXXL blue latex gloves to see if he could find out just where those .38s went to...

I had a guy at work freak out a little over an empty .45 case that was in my pocket..
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Old 11-08-2011, 06:47 PM
feralmerril feralmerril is offline
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I just remembered a incident. I was manning a gate and my captain was standing with me visiting. Some smart butt employee thought he would get me in trouble. He showed me his badge and walked in about 40 yards, turned around, came back holding his badge up and said, officer, I forgot to show you my badge when I came through the gate. I just gave him a horse laugh and said something like nice try buster, you showed your badge or wouldnt have got in! Even my captain laughed and I dont think we were particulary fond of each other.
I remember another time on one post I would open about 6 side by side doors that was the enterance to the plant and there was a wide stairs that went down to a tunnel that went under the plant to various areas. Honestly people were about 8 to 12 abrest walking in and I probley was checking in maybe a 1,000 badges in the first 10 minuets after opening the chute!
One guy didnt show me his badge and got about 15 yards before I could get him stopped. He claimed he had showed it to me. Of course while we are argueing maybe I didnt get a good look at the next 40 of the pressed herd going through.
Okay he tried it again the next time I had the post, maybe even twice more in a few days. I now knew what he was up to, just one of those type that cant stand authority. I watched him close ignoreing many the next time I opened the post. He tried it again. He again said he had showed me his badge. This time I said you aint getting in to work. We got nose to nose. I called my chief. He said well let him in! I said I will not! You come down here and let him in if you want to, but I am not going to let him in! (I was pretty gutsey years ago when I didnt have a family to support). The chief did come down and let him in! He didnt bawl me out either.
The funny part is that later the man and I became friends! That guy looked like a double to Anthony Quinn.
I was a lockheed guard for over 35 years, given the company wide #1 badge about the last 8 years and given it when I retired. That is a huge place with probley 250 or more guards any given time. For the most part I was totaly left alone from supervision scrutany all that time while possibly hundred`s must have disiplined or fired while I was there. My biggest asset was common sense.
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Old 11-08-2011, 07:25 PM
feralmerril feralmerril is offline
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Another guard story. I used to work with a child actor that played on one of those kid programs in the 1940s. This guy was very huge, tall and obese. He also knew guns better than me and was a bigger collector than me. He was one of those nit pickers that I think got his jolleys useing the book and his authority. I liked the guy off the job but didnt like to work with him because of that part of his personality on the job. But we did have the same love of guns and western history. He has been dead for a long time now, but I wont tell his name.
We were issued colt offical polices. I owned a colt trooper. I was breaking company rules by doing it, but I put the service grips on it and packed it for years. A gun person could see the differance as the trooper has target sights and the OP doesnt. It was one of those deals where some captains knew I did it but left me alone. I must have packed that colt for 15 to 20 years and got away with it.
One day I was talking to the then chief that also was a gun nut and condoned my breaking the rule. (I was senior officer and seldom challanged on anything). The child actor guard come waddeling up to the gate and like he seen it for the first time says, hey werch, has the company issued us new guns? I says thanks a lot ----- ya ***! With that the chief threw up his hands and said "I didnt see or hear nothing" and skiddadeled. ------ got in his patrol car and took off leaveing me steaming. He had to come back to relieve me at the post about a half hour later so I could go home. He parked the car about a hundred yards from the gate, (farther than he could walk on the average day) and loudly kept apologiseing as he walked towards me. I am sorry! I dont know why I did that! I wasnt thinking etc.
That was the last time I wore my own gun. Not because I was told to, I wasnt, but to keep my chief out of trouble.
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Old 11-08-2011, 08:17 PM
BLACKHAWKNJ BLACKHAWKNJ is offline
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A Great Rule of Life I have learned is to avoid Familiarity. I've found you often can't joke around with people you know well, let alone strangers, and Polite Formality usually works better. In the case of the individual mentioned by the OP, he might have an attitude, or maybe he was just having a bad day. Those I have talked to who have had to perform this "anti-terrorism/police state" security duty have said it is tedious in the extreme, too much standing around, dealing the occasional nut/crank case, being told you can't drink or eat on the job and then trying to track down a supervisor so you can take a break, etc.
Also many so-called "public servants" see themselves as anything but. On another board a shooter mentioned that during a visit to Chicago he asked a member of the Chicago PD about his sidearm, the guy gave him an attitude.
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Old 11-08-2011, 08:28 PM
ImprovedModel56Fan ImprovedModel56Fan is offline
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Agree with all of the above. When it comes to the state and authority, it doesn't hurt to remember that a closed mouth gathers no foot.
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