Strange traffic stop

[tx-skydiver]

I was speeding, I admit. I saw him turn around so I pulled over way before he caught up to me. I pulled way over, lowered my window, had both hands oon wheel, etc...

He came up and told me why he pulled me over. Asked for license, etc... I told him I had a chl and the firearm was on the floorboard under my feet.

His reply: "well as long as you don't reach for it, we won't have a problem, will we."

I just don't understand that mentality. I continued to be respectful and cooperated. He came back with my ticket and sent me on my way.

I don't mind getting the ticket...I earned that, but the attitude, I did not earn. I guess he was having a bad day.

[SCone]

Seems like a good answer to me? He didn't take the weapon or have you step out or nothing... just said "Don't go for it"

Of course, in print, there is no voice to go along with the words.

[tx-skydiver]

No. He didn't hassle me or anything about it...just the words. I am just not used to that kind of reaction, I guess. They generally say "ok, whatever" or "thanks for telling me" and shrug it off.

[Keith B]

It may have been his attempt at humor, but it wasn't interpreted as such since you were getting a ticket.

[flintknapper]

It may have been his attempt at humor, but it wasn't interpreted as such since you were getting a ticket.

I consider his statement quite benign.

Another common statement is: "Well.....just don't show me yours, and I won't you have to show you mine". Generally this is accompanied by a smile and joking tone of voice.

I am comfortable this officer meant no ill will.

[tx-skydiver]

Hmmm. Maybe I got a ticket because I didn't laugh at his joke then. And I thought that I had a dry sense of humor.

All is well though. He was respectful to me so I have no beef with how he conducted himself.

[flintknapper]

Hmmm. Maybe I got a ticket because I didn't laugh at his joke then. And I thought that I had a dry sense of humor.

All is well though. He was respectful to me so I have no beef with how he conducted himself.

I've been very lucky, in the 12 years I've had my CHL I have been stopped three times. I was issued warnings all three times...and no officer did anything more than give a cursory look at my CHL and hand it right back.

Conversely, some people have been disarmed, experienced a noticeable change in the officers attitude, and even been chastised. But this seems to be a rarer occurrence than in the past.

Of course, at NO time is a CHL to be considered a "get out of jail free card"....and I know you share the same belief. Most LEO will have nothing to say about the CHL, others will be very supportive, some will not like it much, others will have some snappy saying they like to use. I think you got the latter.

We appreciate you sharing the experience with us (good or bad) because it serves as a barometer of sorts to those of us keeping track. Officer response will vary person to person, dept to dept, and region to region, but most are supportive.

Thanks again,

Flint.

[tboesche]

[quote="tx-skydiver"]Hmmm. Maybe I got a ticket because I didn't laugh at his joke then. And I thought that I had a dry sense of humor.
quote]

No, You got the ticket because you were speeding. To expect to get out of it simply because you have a CHL is wrong. Don't get me wrong, I speed all the time, I fully expect to get a ticket if I get pulled over. If I get only a warning...BONUS!

[tx-skydiver]

No no. Please don't misunderstand me. I TOTALLY expected a ticket. I have no dilusions of a CHL getting me out of it. I earned the ticket - fair and square.

I was just making a joke.

[45ACP]

"well as long as you don't reach for it, we won't have a problem, will we." - sounds pretty sardonic, but it's a perfectly factual statement, isn't it?

After reading some of the strange things some LEOs have done with citizen's guns, I figure that any traffic stop where they know you have a gun, and are willing to leave it be, is a really good one.

Any cop that is willing to leave your weapon alone is a decent one. I don't want anyone handling any of my stuff, especially my guns, without my permission.

"How a politician stands on the second amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual; as a trustworthy, productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded, controlled, supervised and taken care of." – Suzanna Gratia-Hupp - this applies to LEOs, also.

[ladromar]

"well as long as you don't reach for it, we won't have a problem, will we." - sounds pretty sardonic, but it's a perfectly factual statement, isn't it?

After reading some of the strange things some LEOs have done with citizen's guns, I figure that any traffic stop where they know you have a gun, and are willing to leave it be, is a really good one.

Any cop that is willing to leave your weapon alone is a decent one. I don't want anyone handling any of my stuff, especially my guns, without my permission.

"How a politician stands on the second amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual; as a trustworthy, productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded, controlled, supervised and taken care of." – Suzanna Gratia-Hupp - this applies to LEOs, also.

+100

I agree

[bdickens]

I know this is off-topic, but does anyone have a reference to the source of the quote from Dr. Hupp?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

[familyman]

Reminds me of a traffic stop many years ago long before CHL was even an option.

Pulled over by HPD. Officer approached the car. Hands on the wheel, light on, the whole drivers education deal working.

I asked if I could turn my car off.

His reply, I will never forget, "Will it start?"

I still laugh about that conversation.

[Velocity]

It may have been his attempt at humor, but it wasn't interpreted as such since you were getting a ticket.

I actually got the exact same line from an officer that responded to my home alarm when a door came open while we were on a quick errand. We beat the officer to the scene by a couple of minutes, so I'm sure it looked strange as I was poking around my house (after entering and realizing the alarm had tripped) when he pulled up on an alarm call.

As I went for my wallet I mentioned I had a CHL and was delivered the same line, but it was done with a bit of a smile, so I took it for the joke it probably was.

Turned out to be a fine encounter for me....

[nitrogen]

I got a similar quip from one of Wylie's finest when I got stopped. Something along the lines of "As long as I don't see it we're fine, right?"