Back when I was a law enforcement officer, I appreciated when people made my job easier.
That included little things, like keeping their hands in sight, having the license, registration and insurance card already out, and being respectful.
When a person with a concealed carry permit advised me they had a permit and were carrying, and asked me how I want them to handle it, I usually just told them that if they left their firearm in their holster, I'd leave my firearm in mine. It got the message across and was a tension breaker that usually got a laugh.
----
I've seen other officers who are overly focused on controlling the situation. Those officers (in jurisdictions that allow it) will ask the person to surrender the firearm for the duration of the stop.
I think that's incredibly stupid as you have a person you've pulled over who is always nervous, and sometimes agitated, and you're now asking them to handle a loaded handgun and hand it to you. The risk of an AD, being swept by the muzzle, etc, are very high, plus, I'd rather not have the person I've just stopped have gun in hand and have a good second or so advantage on me if he or she decides a gunfight is a good option.
Some officers disagree…
----
About a year ago I was stopped by an NC Highway Patrolman the first time I've been stopped in probably 25 years.
I pulled over, shut off the vehicle, and while he ran the plates I took out my license, registration, insurance card and concealed carry permit, then put my hands on the steering wheel where he could see them.
He approached, using the door post appropriately for cover, I advised him of my permit and carry status, and he took the permit and asked me to leave the weapon holstered, and also since I was armed to keep my hands in sight if I could.
He came back to my car a couple minutes later, we had a discussion about our differing interpretations of where the 45mph zone started, and he noted I had an excellent driving record and just gave me a warning.
I was respectful and worked to keep his stress level low, he was professional and equally respectful, giving a very positive image to the NCHP and I got a pass on what he regarded as slowing down too late in a 45 mph zone.
A win for all involved.
In most cases, I suspect that a concealed carry permit at a minimum tells the officer you've been vetted as a non scumbag in the recent past. That vetting process in combination with being respectful, and acknowledging through your actions and conduct that LEOs have a very difficult job that should not be made worse by people with an attitude, will go a long way toward getting you a healthy dose of officer discretion to either write a warning, or to reduce the offense you're cited for.
---
I'll add here that I keep my registration and insurance card clipped to the visor in my car. It's a little thing, but when the officer observes me moving around in the vehicle it's obvious what is going on. My wallet is usually tucked in a recess for the FWD lever boot already, so there are no large body shifting movements and no digging in consoles or glove boxes. Those kinds of movements cause the officer to have to wonder what you're digging for, and it's not safe for the officer to assume it's just the VDL, registration and insurance card, so you're inviting a much higher level of scrutiny that can be avoided if you keep your documents somewhere where they are readily accessible with your hands in sight of the officer.
In the event you have your wallet in ship pocket, either gt it out very slowly and obviously before he arrives and finish by laying in on the dash where he can see what you just got, or wait until he's at the window and advise him where it is at and how you'd like to proceed in retrieving it. Then do exactly that very slowly.
-------
There was a trooper in SC about 6 months ago who stopped a driver pulling into a gas station. By the time he made the stop the driver was already out of the vehicle. The suspect was obviously nervous and eager to please, but the stop was conducted very badly.
The officer asked him if he had a license, and he responded that he did and it was in the car. The officer then asked him to get it, and he did - he dove head first into the car and then came back out almost as fast, at which point the officer fired three times, hitting him once - all for doing exactly what the officer told him to do.
The officer asked very badly. He should have asked a probing question about where the license was located in the vehicle, then once he understood where it was at, he should have instructed the driver on how exactly to go about retrieving it - slowly, keeping one hand in sight, etc - what ever it woful have taken to keep the officer happy.
In a perfect world the teen aged driver would have known enough to move slowly, but any thoughts he had regarding that were overshadowed by an eagerness to comply in a hurry, with the result that he got shot. That however is something the officer should have anticipated, and took into account with better procedures and better communication of the expectations and methods of complying during the stop.
The moral here is that not all officers have the same level of skill, insight or soft skills, and some are just very poorly trained and/or lack the proper temperament for the job. if you get a bad one, you still want to be sure that you don't do anything to escalate the situation. Comply, but telegraph and communicate your actions clearly and always err on the side of appearing to be as non threatening as possible.
