TexasCHLforum.com

thatguy wrote:Why would a LEO want a loaded gun handled in the first place,

Beats me, I had not really thought about it until I read some of the posts in LEO Contacts & Bloopers section of the forum an ran across this:

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=59655

Along with a number of posts where people describe being pulled over and the officer taking the gun to "check the serial #" etc. So was just curious about this procedure/safety issues involved with such an event. Obviously if you are committing some type of crime that warrants disarm, then you roll the dice (don't do stupid things, or be prepared for the consequences), but most of these stories seem to be fishing expeditions during traffic stops.

I personally haven't had an encounter with a LEO in an official capacity (traffic stop) in over 15 years (*knock on wood*)... but being prepared for such an occasion doesn't hurt... and I would prefer to keep the number of holes in my body restricted to what I was born with

Teamless wrote:especially by an experienced gun owner (officer)

Well they are human like the rest of us, and as a friend in that field pointed out, not all LEO's are "gun guys/gals"... some of them turn white as a sheet as soon as qualification time comes around/have the same bullet chambered their entire career. The problem here I think (purely my take) is these are more likely to be the individuals that will want to disarm you.

longtooth wrote:In class I teach students that have been informed they will be disarmed for safety purposes, to simply say, Yes sir, officer, how do you want to proceed?

Complying is definitely the best course of action... so looking at the various responses, maybe I should modify the question:

Based on your carry style (hip/back/appendix/etc.) and your particular weapon, do you feel confident in your safety if a LEO was to disarm you? In the best case of a ND, I can see maybe ending up with some extra ventilation in your rear....in the worst case you are carrying appendix and either end up losing your "wedding tackle" or end up having a bullet in your femoral artery (and very likely bleed out).

I've done a fair bit of research on general practices when encountering LEOs (what to say/what not to say/etc.), and I've done a number of searches on this topic, but most of the information I can find seems to be off/side-topic chit-chat in other threads:

If for some reason during a LEO encounter they request/demand to disarm you while carrying (understanding that they have this right), what if anything should you say to them? Do you provide any further information... i.e. "firearm is live" / "cocked/locked", "safety is off/no safety" etc.? Would politely requesting them to leave the firearm holstered (or asking them if you/they can remove the gun, holster and all) for safety purposes be considered out of line?

I ask this mainly because it seems like the worst possible thing to do for everyone involved (unless they somehow are in fear of you using it against them) would be to take a firearm from a safe/inert position (holstered/trigger guard covered), to a relatively unsafe position (trigger now exposed, possibly sweeping muzzle across body/body parts as they remove it). For certain carry styles (AIWB/Appendix Carry) the danger seems heightened even more since the muzzle is already pointed at fairly vital parts of your body from the get-go anyway. I also have to wonder, given all the various design differences in handguns, about having someone possibly unfamiliar with that particular model (or any custom work/trigger weight/etc.) trying to handle that weapon.

Is there any general consensus on how to handle this situation?