Traffic Stop

Poodle Soup said:
No surprises makes everyone safer.

If you reach for your bill fold and his parter sees a gun on your hip... I would rather not have 40 sw bullet rattling around in my cranium.
Click to expand...

My God, why do we think cops are that trigger happy? So they see a gun. Lots of people have guns. It's a long way from on your hip to pulled and pointed in your direction...

And why would cops think everyone wants to shoot them anyway? Everyone who carries a permit is willing to kill a cop to get out of a speeding ticket?

Are cops that jumpy at a shooting range too? Everyone is carrying a gun.... :confused:
 
When the state of IOWA passed the Shall Issue law in 2008 they specifically included that you DO NOT have to notify the officer(s) if you have a weapon. The CCW database will NOT be linked to the drivers license database.

A permit to carry a weapon has nothing to do with a license to drive a motor vehicle................

Don't complicate things by telling information that is not relevant to the process at hand.
 
I knew that here in WV. that i did not have to inform them that i was armed, i've heared that its the courteus thing to do. It will not happen again. Lesson learned!
 
Some states require you to notify a officer that you are carrying some don't know the laws of the states you are traveling in it could save you a lot of problems. If you don't notify in a must notify state and they decide to do a search legal or illegal you a** could be in for a world of hurt. Sure maybe you could sue but it will cost you and all you would have to have done is keep hands on steering wheel, officer approaches, "officer I have a CCW I'm carrying, it is on my hip or whever you carry, where my license is how would you like me to proceed." (also notice I didn't say any of the bad words, gun, firearm, weapon, explosive, rocket launcher, cannon, etc) or don't tell in states that require notification and take a chance. Some officers on this forum have stated they wanted to know some said they didn't decision is up to you, and the laws of the state your in. Non notify state I wouldn't tell unless they ask me to get out of vehicle.
 
old bear said:
By the time I retired (2001) CCW was not common place as it is now. On the few occasions I stopped a driver who informed me they were CCW, I asked to see their permit, and asked where the weapon was. I then asked/informed them to leave the weapon where it was, and we went about our business and everyone went home happy.

Perhaps I'm being naive but I just don't see any reason to detain and perhaps harass someone who is in compliance with the law.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what happened to me the one time i was
stopped and approached by an officer while carrying.
I handed over registration and when i was getting my DL
out of my wallet he noticed my carry permit. He asked if I
had a weapon in the truck and i said i did, in the console.
He then very politely asked me to not reach into the console
while he was present. No problem.
These guys are just trying to stay alive.
I fully understand that.

Chuck
 
Doug M. said:
*
Master Chief, what leads you to believe that? I know of no such statute.
Click to expand...

I may be wrong on that but it seems safer that taking a chance.
Only 3 times in the last 20+ years & all the time it has worked out OK for me. Then again having a SP card & NRA & Navy retired stickers on the back window may have also helped....:)
 
In SC we are required to present our CWP with our license only if we are carrying on our person. That lets the officer know you are carrying . If it is in the console we do not have to notify the officer. Depending on the situation I might be inclined to inform the officer of the presence of a firearm to avoid a problem. Either way my hands remain on the wheel and if at night the interior light is on. They just want to go home to their family after their shift. Its a tough job and everyone they stop is not a law abiding citizen.
 
Lost Lake said:
My God, why do we think cops are that trigger happy? So they see a gun. Lots of people have guns. It's a long way from on your hip to pulled and pointed in your direction...

And why would cops think everyone wants to shoot them anyway? Everyone who carries a permit is willing to kill a cop to get out of a speeding ticket?

Are cops that jumpy at a shooting range too? Everyone is carrying a gun.... :confused:
Click to expand...

Ive been pulled over once. I have tinted windows in my car. The state trooper had his holster unsnapped and hand on his gun while walking up to the window. What would have happened if I had been carrying and reached towards a gun? Or opened the glove box and had a gun sitting under my registration and insurance info?

I dont blame him at all. I could have had a gun pointed at him through the window waiting for him to get closer or had a passenger in the back seat doing the same thing. What ever makes the police feel safer and get home to their families Im alright helping out a little.
 
Last edited:
Haven't been lit up yet so I do not know what rection I will get, however most LEO'S in my area that I talk to are pretty understanding. It is however the law in N C you must inform. Don't know if it comes up when they run you plate but it certainly does when they run your Lic. since your premit No.and DL No. are the same.
 
FL is not a "must notify" state, and, if I were to be stopped, I would not notify unless asked to exit the vehicle (and I've never been asked to exit a vehicle for any stop).

As for traveling through other states, I don't try to memorize which ones are/aren't must notify. If I were to get stopped, I'd notify. Easier than forgetting which one requires.
 
I would, of course suggest that if your state/local laws require you to make an officer aware you are armed, then you should comply. What concerns me more is the sloppy gun handling described at the conclusion of the traffic stop when the officer returned the pistol by tossing into the front seat. I do not know what various departments are teaching in terms of encountering a CCW holder during a traffic stop, but there are already tools in the LE tool box for dealing with an armed suspect in a car once it is determined that the traffic violator is more than just a guy or gal driving with his/her head up some other place. Asking someone to place a pistol on the passenger seat during a traffic stop must makes the gun that much more accessible in my opinion.

I recall years ago a co-worker with an agency I worked for got stopped in an official vehicle for some traffic infraction. The co-worker identified him/herself as LE, and that the unmarked vehicle was LE. The next question was, "are you armed?" "Yes." "Well place the weapon on the roof of the car and get back in."
 
Lost Lake said:
My God, why do we think cops are that trigger happy? So they see a gun. Lots of people have guns. It's a long way from on your hip to pulled and pointed in your direction...

And why would cops think everyone wants to shoot them anyway? Everyone who carries a permit is willing to kill a cop to get out of a speeding ticket?
Click to expand...
*
Actually, it is not that "long" once one considers that "action beats reaction". Cops are taught that they always have to be ready for a conflict, for a lot of other also valid reasons.

I'd be hesitant to seek to disarm a person on a traffic stop, for a lot of good reasons, not the least of which is it pisses people off for no good reason. While we have solid case law about the lawful ability to disarm a person during a Terry stop for a crime, I would not argue extending that to a traffic stop unless it is criminal traffic (a traffic stop, even for what we call an infraction here, is technically a Terry stop).

The other thing that scares me is that a lot of cops are so ignorant of firearms that they will do stupid stuff. The worst I ever heard of was of an officer from an agency that has delusions of adequacy who for some reason took a 1911 off a driver and then came back and told the driver that the decocker did not work.:eek:

A friend at that agency told me he found that story believable due to their poor training on the law and the fact that they were at the time stuck with an issue sidearm with a slide mounted safety/decocker along with other heinous ergonomic traits.

I think that would have generated an IA complaint if I had been the driver, for a lot of reasons.
 
Doug thats exactly why I prefer everybodys pistols stay in the holster. I used to work with a guy that always wanted to take possession on a traffic stop. He ended up touching off a round trying to clear a citizens pistol. I know many cops who would do the same thing if handed a 1911.
 
Lost Lake said:
If you didn't tell him you had a gun he wouldn't have made you remove it, he wouldn't have asked you to allow his partner to open your vehicle and take it, and he wouldn't have taken it back to his cruiser.

Why tell?
Click to expand...

I got stopped in CO by a Sheriff and I DIDN'T tell (didn't know I had to) and when he came back after running my license, he was hugging the side of my Explorer like he was on Mission Impossible. : ) He barked about me not telling him I was armed. I said I didn't know I was supposed to tell and that was that. They have computers, so if you're supposed to inform, better do it.

In OR I hand the CC with the papers and it's never been an issue. They never want to see it. They just ask where it is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

O
Colt Target Grips: To sell or not to sell?
Replies
4
Views
151
otis24
O
R
629 Returns
Replies
0
Views
133
raljr1
R
olfart
MORE Tales from the East Texas Outback
Replies
12
Views
800
Major 2
Major 2
chief38
Tried a "new to me" Bourbon this evening
2
Replies
21
Views
1K
65Whelen
65Whelen
C
Does your revolver have a story to tell?
Replies
11
Views
618
65-2x2
65-2x2

Latest posts

Back
Top