[stephen p]

so, i was driving through crossgates in brandon, got popped for 37 in a 25, well he walks up, i have one hand on the wheel, the other is holding my license and firearms permit, he asks where my firearm is, i tell him it's in the passenger seat under the jacket.. well, he asks if the passenger door is unlocked, goes around the side, reaches for my glock, and i inform him it's chambered, takes it unloads it and sits it on the roof. well he runs my license, and i'm thinking he's for sure going to write me a ticket. so i asked very nicely if we could do this without a ticket, and that i had just gotten my cdl.. any way, he runs the numbers on my gun, hands me my license, gun, and mag.. tells me he's letting me off with a warning, but to pay more attention to the speed limit, and says "i appreciate you exercising your second amendment right, and i wish more people would do the same" holy crap, that was by far the coolest encounter i've ever had with the police. (i'm pretty big into hot rodding, and fast cars, so this is not my first traffic stop)

any way, i realize that story sounds totally contrived but every word is true.

i told him where i worked, and needless to say if he comes in, he will be getting some firearms VERY cheap.

 

[NRA_guy]

Nice cop. We need more like him.

Um, can we get a discount, too? :128:

 

[pinetor]

Always pleasant to hear real account with a good ending.

Thanks for sharing

 

[teirst]

While it does turn out to be a happy ending that police officer still had no right to

1. search your vehicle for a weapon (until you gave it to him)
2. seize your weapon
3. unload your weapon
4. run the serial on your weapon

While everything did end up going well, I can't tell you how many stories I have heard about things going the other direction.

 

[stephen p]

the cop had no back up, it was just him, i don't blame him one bit for taking the gun and getting it away from me, while he did his business. and i've never been pulled over, and had them not run the numbers on my pistol. the cop was doing his job, and i expected nothing less from him.

 

[stephen p]

Nice cop. We need more like him.

Um, can we get a discount, too? :128:

i'm sure you could get a pretty good deal on some stuff. but we take care of our leo's any way.

 

[jakeg823]

the cop had no back up, it was just him, i don't blame him one bit for taking the gun and getting it away from me, while he did his business. and i've never been pulled over, and had them not run the numbers on my pistol. the cop was doing his job, and i expected nothing less from him.

Thats what I was thinking. Had it been in your glove box, out of easy reach then I wouldn't have expected him to do that. Especially in your circumstances with the CDL there was no reason for you to challenge him and potentially piss him off. Especially since you had been speeding, it was in your best interest to humor him

 

[Doug Bowser]

I was stopped by a cop recently and I do not have a permit to carry. The pistol was on the seat. I told him it was there and loaded. He told me that I should carry it loaded because I might have to shoot someone off him some day as well as protect myself.

It was different before the carry in vehicles was legal. I was going to the range and had an unloaded 1911, ammo and empty magazines, targets, staple gun and telescope in the back seat. He wanted to confiscate the pistol. Another officer was there with him and he told him to leave me alone. After this incident, the pistol permit law came up in the legislature. The Southwest Gun Club invited all the State Senators and Representatives to a meeting and we discussed the pistol permit law. Most of them did not realize the carry in the vehicle was going to be tied to the permit. The Law was changed due to the information given to them by our gun club. If it were not for our efforts, legal carry in vehicles by non-permit holders would be illegal in Mississippi.

Doug

 

[mgeoffriau]

I was pulled over by a Ridgeland City LEO a few weeks ago for an expired tag (partly a clerical error, partly my own fault), and when he ran my DL he came back to the car and said, "I see you've got a weapons permit. Is there a weapon in the car?"

I responded, "Yes sir, there's a loaded pistol in a holster inside the bag sitting on the passenger seat."

His response?

"Good."

He arranged to meet me the next week and remanded the ticket when I demonstrated I had a valid tag. Nice guy.

 

[PCPD8]

Believe it or not, the vast majority of the cops I know wish MORE people carried.

If more citizens exercised their right to own and carried legally it would make for a much more polite society.

I have, on a few occasions, had stops where the driver advised they legally had a weapon in the vehicle........and a few at the opposite end of the spectrum as well, lol.

One that comes to mind involved a young woman. Her father had bought her a handgun and wanted her to keep it with her in the vehicle.

She said she had taken lessons etc. She told me it was in the glovebox and then told me "Don't worry it's unloaded."

I asked "why?"

She said that she had been told it was illegal to carry a loaded firearm in her vehicle.

I told her whoever had told her that was mistaken. I told her that an unloaded gun was about as usefull as a paperweight.

I asked her if she would prefer that it be loaded and when she replied she would, I told her to load it, keep it secure, and to have a good day. I handed her license back to her and walked away.

 

[Leopardcurdog]

Just throwing this out there for conversation, but why would you not be wearing the gun rather then having it on the seat?

 

[mgeoffriau]

Uncomfortable, for one thing.

Additionally, for me, I don't actively carry while I'm at work. It stays in my bag in a secure spot. I leave the house in the morning carrying the bag, drive with the bag next to me, carry the bag into work, carry the bag out of work, drive home with it next to me, and walk into the house carrying it.

 

[Joe S.]

thats a good story. i always give my permit when i get stopped except in road blocks. and i believe the officer has a rigth to sieze the weapon during the stop if he wants to, doesnt he?

i would if i were a LEO

 

[jakeg823]

thats a good story. i always give my permit when i get stopped except in road blocks. and i believe the officer has a rigth to sieze the weapon during the stop if he wants to, doesnt he?

i would if i were a LEO

The right? No. But you're right. I would. Granted the vast majority of firearms permit holders ARE law-abiding....but you really do just never know.

 

[DBChaffin]

Glad it worked out well, but I don't like that he handled and unloaded the gun. It was a Glock and he carries one I am sure, but what if it had been something he wasn't familiar with? Even if familiar with it, my point is this - what if he had an accidental discharge and hit you, someone else, or on a lesser scale even damaged your car or the gun itself? Big unnecessary mess. This was a routine traffic stop for a speeding infraction.

I definitely respect LEO's and what they have to deal with daily, but there are limits on what they can and should do. As I was told by a friend that is an LEO, once they see the permit (and in this case ask), they know you have one (and in this case even where it is), you aren't the person they have to worry about. It is the one they don't know about that is the problem, because the person considering using one against a LEO most likely isn't going to tell them about it (and honestly, probably doesn't have a permit). In this case, even if he was concerned with you, the easy thing to do would have been to ask you to step to the rear of the car. He has separated you from the gun and reduced the unnecessary risks. My $.02. Incidentally, I have been stopped a few times (all for speeding) and on all but one have never had an officer do anything more than ask where the gun is upon seeing the permit. On the other, I had just left a match and when asked where the gun was by a JPD officer, I informed him that is was unloaded in a range bag on the passenger floorboard. He asked me to step to the rear of the car, which I of course did.

As a hypothetical for discussion, if the gun had been in a holster, would it be ok for the officer to have the driver step out and put up his or her hands while he removed the gun from the holster and unloaded it?

 

[Doug Bowser]

Just throwing this out there for conversation, but why would you not be wearing the gun rather then having it on the seat?

The person in the car, without a permit, can wear the gun but if they step out of the car it is illegal unless going into property you own, lease or rent. It would not be a good thing to try to draw a pistol from it's holster while exiting a car with an officer next to the car.

Doug

 

[BearsBoy]

You were doing 37mph in Crossgates? You were probably impeding traffic driving so slow. LoL

Kudos to the officer on his attitude but I'm with those that says he had no need to go into your vehicle or lay hands on your property.

 

[robertm]

DB Chaffin read my mind. He typed exactly what I was thinking.
Many officers aren't familiar with a firearm except the one they are carrying.
A 1911 or similar is more complex to unload, and if someone isn't familiar with it, could be a dangerous situation.

Aside from the fact, I dont like anyone uninvited touching my weapons. I would have also been peeved if he laid it on the paint on my vehicle.

He had no reason to mess with it. If he had seen it himself, or you didn't offer the permit to begin with until he ran your dl and found it, then he might have had reason because you hid the fact you had permit and were carrying.

Sounds like to me he was pro gun, which is good, but overstepped by getting touchy feely with someone's weapon for no GOOD reason.

What did he do with the round from the chamber? Put it in the magazine? When he handed it back to you was the action open?

 

[teirst]

thats a good story. i always give my permit when i get stopped except in road blocks. and i believe the officer has a rigth to sieze the weapon during the stop if he wants to, doesnt he?

i would if i were a LEO

You don't even have to tell an LEO if there is a weapon inside the car. He can ask, however you may legally not answer the question

 

[stephen p]

i did not mind. by humoring him, and not going "JR LAWYER" on him, and being polite, i drove away without a ticket. if it made him feel safer by taking my gun and unloading it, so be it.

and to whom ever asked, he handed me my pistol back, with the slide locked back, and the magizine out. ans the chambered round by itself, because i keep a full mag, +one in the chamber.