Dont-be-a-gun-dork-in-traffic-stops

[M28]

Super Dork reporting in.

Similar to canoeguy, my wallet is in close proximity to my weapon. As well, I have an aversion to being shot. The last thing I want is for the officer to be surprised by the appearance of the weapon. I get pulled over on a regular basis as I have a heavy foot and my dorkiness has yet to cause me any grief.

Brian~

I've always heard that Police Officers appreciated motorists telling them they had their licensed handgun with them.

What if while reaching for your wallet, you expose your handgun and haven't told the Officer you have a handgun on you? I carry my revolver in a holster directly over my back pocket, when I pull out my wallet, my hand is directly over my holstered handgun. I think I'm going to tell a Police Officer I have a handgun first before he see's it and thinks I'm a bad guy...

 

[billdeserthills]

I have tried telling the officer about my CCW permit, and been hassled to no end. I'm with you for now I plan on Not divulging the permit, at least until the cop asks me if I have one First.

 

[Faulkner]

Listen guys, on a traffic stop I don't care one way or the other if you tell me you have a CC permit or not. As soon as I run your driver's license the first thing the dispatcher tells me if you have a CC permit is that you have one. If you are behaving yourself during the traffic stop I'm not overly concerned if you have a permit. It's a nice to know thing, but I figure 90% of the people I pull over are armed anyway. I'm a whole lot more appreciative about folks being calm and keeping their hands in plain sight than digging around for a CC permit, or heaven forbid, whipping out thier gun to show me.

 

[5BeansintheWheel]

I don't care much for the guy that wrote it, I would only disclose LTCF info if asked by the LEO.



Don?t be a gun dork in traffic stops

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me - a gun!

 

[Markcuda]

Wow, that Fred guy must have a problem with cops
In the comment section of the first link.

 

[m657]

re: "I've always heard that Police Officers appreciated motorists telling them they had their licensed handgun with them"

and

re: "As soon as I run your driver's license the first thing the dispatcher tells me if you have a CC permit is that you have one."

That's the exact point I was going to make. In Oregon the nice officer already knows from your vehicle plate linked to the county sheriff CCW issuer data.

 

[srgvaz]

If you get pulled over what are the chances of getting asked for your DL/ID? I've been pulled over three times in the last ten years and I always made sure I stopped somewhere safe for both of us and checked that my seat belt was on. I also had my wallet and insurance card within reach in TX the law changed a few months ago but before that you HAD to hand the LEO your CCL when asked for your DL even when unarmed. Everyone should remember they are just doing their job and if your respectful towards that you should have no problems/infractions.

 

[KyWstJoe]

This topic has been discussed repeatedly in the Forum but always elicits some new viewpoints. That's cool.

Here's a professional opinion from one who retired after 30+ years as a LEO and has carried a gun for more than half my life...now CCW as a citizen. If you elect NOT to advise the LEO with whom you're interacting that you are toting a gun, you better make sure he/she doesn't see it accidentally. No, you're not gonna get locked up if it's legal in the jurisdiction you're in, but you likely will find yourself in a rather uncomfortable circumstance.

Trust me, cops don't like surprises; in particular surprises that have the potential to hurt them.

Be safe.

PS:

There are very effective street "tells" that most LEO's recognize. They also know that many folks who convey a gun in their vehicle keep it within reach.

I totally agree the officer should be told. He just wants to end his shift and go home like all of us. Their job is nerve racking enough. We are on the same side.

 

[Ron H.]

To add a little excitement in your life, the next time you get pulled over you could:

1. Fling open the car door.
2. Rapidly exit your vehicle facing the Officer.
3. Announce in a loud voice "I HAVE A GUN".
4. Reach for your wallet and permit.

 

[neiljrosen]

I'll have my wallet out and hands in full view before the LEO gets next to my window and I'll hand him/her my CCW permit along with my drivers license. No surprises and nothing to hide.

 

[tallpaul]

Gun dork by law here....

And if I don't I face forfeiture,fines etc....

 

[Bailey Boat]

As an ex LEO, the last thing I want to see if you fishing crap out of the glovebox or under the seat before I approach you!!!! How the hell am I supposed to know what you have in your hands if I can't see them???? THAT makes me nervous!!!! Keep your hands in sight until I ask you for something.

As a resident of NC we must inform the officer at the first opportunity during the encounter that we have a concealed weapon. In my mind that opportunity comes when I hand over my license. I keep my laminated permit behind the license and hand both over at the same time all the while keeping BOTH of my hands where he/she can plainly see them. I have NEVER been hassled by a cop using this procedure.

Yelling "I have a gun" to an officer is akin to screaming "FIRE" in a crowded theatre....... You ain't gonna win "person of the year"......

 

[loknload]

This is a funny post,,,, very true!
My carry motto is and always has been, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, No Problem!

Regards and Happy New Year,
LnL

 

[cmort666]

We are on the same side.

Usually, not always.

I believe I've previously posted details of the Fairfax County false arrest. Whose side were those officers on? Given the details, perhaps you should ask what alternate dimension they hailed from.

It's things like that which cause me to stick strictly to the letter of the law. A guy tried to do them the "good turn" others recommend here, and not only did they try to SEVERELY punish him for it, they didn't even stop AFTER being told they were wrong.

Ohio has a revised code for a reason. It's so that everybody knows the established parameters of their behavior in particular circumstances. If the law says I have to notify (WHEN CARRYING), I do. If it doesn't, I don't.

I'm simply not interested in striking off into uncharted legal territory where I have no legal protections.

Obey the law.

 

[David LaPell]

Yeah I remember the last time I got a traffic stop where the state trooper saw my permit. He asked if I had a handgun in the truck and I told him that I did. Next thing I know my truck got searched for 25 minutes and I nearly got arrested because I had a knife that he thought was filed down. (The knife was over 100 years old and the bland was hand made). He ended up letting me go, but from no on, since NY is not a state where you have to tell the officer, I don't.

 

[Capt Steve]

Since I always have a gun in my truck and since the LEO will know the minute he runs me (here in AZ), I will always disclose by handing him my permit along with my license. I keep my registration and proof of insurance folded up under the garage door opener on my visor. Easy to reach, hands always in sight. This beats the hell out of reaching over to the glove box or console (where my gun is kept). I have spoken to a number of LEO's locally and they all agreed this was a good idea.

 

[Damn Yankee]

Here in Mississippi we do not have to inform the officer that a firearm is in the vehicle. We also do not have a have a CCW if the gun stays in the vehicle because it is a extension of our home.

Now going out of state I have my Commission handy just in case I am stopped and asked if I have gun in my possession.

 

[blastfact]

Listen guys, on a traffic stop I don't care one way or the other if you tell me you have a CC permit or not. As soon as I run your driver's license the first thing the dispatcher tells me if you have a CC permit is that you have one. If you are behaving yourself during the traffic stop I'm not overly concerned if you have a permit. It's a nice to know thing, but I figure 90% of the people I pull over are armed anyway. I'm a whole lot more appreciative about folks being calm and keeping their hands in plain sight than digging around for a CC permit, or heaven forbid, whipping out thier gun to show me.

Back in the old days when I lived in Ft. Smith, ran in the River Valley and Western Ozarks almost everybody was armed. Same with the part of Ok. I live in now. If you got stopped, had a wreck or ran up on a road block. You just told the LEO I have a loaded firearm. Most of the times they would thank you for telling them. Some might ask were it was in the car or truck or on your person. Some might ask you to point at it, show them and very rarely ask you to exit the car so they could secure it. Bottom line was unless you were a convicted felon you had nothing to worry about concerning your firearm/firearms loaded or unloaded.

Now that we live in a socialist police state. That has all changed. We feel the pressure coming in from the NE and the useless west coast at a alarming rate here.

 

[9146gt]

Why do they not make the CC permit the same size as your drivers license? Here in NC it is at least a quarter inch bigger all around.

Tom

 

[Faulkner]

Sometimes when we answer a question on the forums we forget about the regional differences in customs and laws. In my neck of the woods we can still spank our kids if need be. I feel for you guys that don't live in the free part of the United States.