Police compromising your concealment

[YabuUS]

I live in a senior complex and every year HPD comes in and hold a crime watch session with the residents in our club room. I attended last year's meeting (this was before I had my CHL). Right off the bat the police officer conducting the meeting asked if anyone had a license to carry a concealed weapon. Then he said if you do and are carrying a weapon now please hand it to the officer at the door! I was shocked that he would ask someone with a CHL to pull his weapon out in front a room full of senior citizens and hand it to the officer at the door. First I would not have appreciated being "outed" before all my neighbors. Also, I wonder if complying with the officer's request might somehow jeopardize my license (if I had one at the time). Not sure about the legal part of all this is; and I know that it is generally advisable to comply with a police officer's request no matter what. But it seems awfully poor judgement on the part of the police to expect people to compromise their concealment in front of their neighbors like that. What do you guys think? Because of this, I probably won't attend this year's meeting at all. Interested in your comments.

[Dan20703]

I would treat it the same as any other public place. Carry concealed, tell nobody, and smile.

[garcia946]

I agree and then I don`t , they do have the right to disarm , but not like that I would say. But if it`s in you complex and if you close enough to the metting place from your home , and you want to attend , just leave it at home. As soon as it`s over put it back on.

[Dudley]

I thought in America you have the right to remain silent. If that's still true, it must be legal to to keep quiet when he asks if anyone has a CHL.

[longtooth]

I know this is splitting hairs but he did not ask for any ID do you do not have to produce the plastic & declare.

[C-dub]

Do you remember why the CHL's were being disarmed?

[YabuUS]

Do you remember why the CHL's were being disarmed?

The officer in charge of the meeting didn't give a reason why he wanted anybody carrying a weapon to hand it over. I can only assume the police, as a matter of policy, don't like anyone in the room having a weapon except them. I guess they would consider it a safety issue as far as they were concerned. Still, it would have been a very uncomfortable situation for me if I had been carrying. Like I said I had not received my CHL when the meeting was held last year so I didn't have the problem then. It is only because of what happened last year that I have an idea of what will happen again this year. Sure, I could attend the meeting and leave the gun at home thus avoiding that part of it. But I don't like having to reveal to the whole crowd there that I even have a CHL. If I attended and said nothing when they ask about anybody having a CHL, I could have a problem if they ever found out that I actually did have one and just refused to tell them about it. That could happen since there are a few people in the complex who know I have a CHL and they might tattle on me. Bottom line is whether I have just the license on me or a weapon on me I still don't like having to stand up in front of the crowd and reveal that fact. My feeling right now is I will probably just skip the meeting and thus avoid the problem altogether.

[mr surveyor]

if I were you, I would call the local chief of police and question him on the policy. If the "meeting" is to be off limits to chl's, then the administrator of the facility, with the request from the PD, should post the entrance with the appropriate 30.06 sign to give you notice BEFORE entry to the "meeting".

just my layman's opinion


surv

[YabuUS]

Sorry, didn't mean that last to post twice. Don't know how that happened. The meeting is not off-limits to CHL holders, it's just that the police want to know who has a license and who is carrying. If you are carrying, they want the weapon while the meeting is going on. The new law that just went into effect says I don't have to volunteer the fact that I have a CHL; but when an officer asks you point blank "Do you have a CHL?", I don't think playing dumb or (even worse) lying to the police is a good think to do. I know the police have the authority to disarm me, but doing it in front of the crowd would be terribly uncomfortable for me. If I did as they ask then everybody would know I carry a gun and I'm not comfortable with that. Leaving the weapon at home won't get me out of revealing the fact that I have a CHL if I'm asked by the police. I would love to hear Charles Cotton's opinion on this.

[gemini]

I take it HPD is Houston. I know a lot of LEO's in my area. PD, SO, a DA investigator etc. Alot of them
are guys I went to school with or are family friends. To the man, they are all pro CHL. Most of them have
their own wives take the class. They understand what is required, and it's just not a big issue (you having
a CHL). So, when I read posts about Houston, cops & DA, it makes me glad I live further up I-45.
Wonder what it will take to reverse the LEO mind set in Houston?

[Beiruty]

At our citizen Academy, the city Police Department is not legal 30.06 posted. But there is non-30.06 sign baring the carrying at the premises under the threat of arrest. So, we could not carry. The HOA's yearly meeting had Citizen Neightborhood Watch meeting with the PD Community Relationship Officer. Meeting was done in a school building, off-limits for CHLers.

I would say, if there is no 30.06 be silent and you would be Okay. If you would like to comply with the officer request that is your choice.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

YabuUS:

If the Houston cop is asking a question to the group, I would
think you would be OK just staying quiet.

It would seem to me that asking a question to a group differs
somewhat from a 1 on 1 LEO-to-citizen inquiry for ID.

IANAL and I didn't even sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

SIA

[YabuUS]

If I'm sitting in the room with everyone else and the Police Community Relations Officer asks if anyone is carry a weapon, I assume that question applies to me. Keeping silent at that point, it seems to me, puts me crossways with the cops and I don't want that. On the other hand, asking me to "out" myself in front of my neighbors is not only unfair, but it could affect my relations with the people in the complex. I might as well hang a sign on my back saying "I carry a gun!" I think everyone here would agree that that is not a desirable situation. Handing over my weapon to the officer in front of the crowd makes me guilty of "failure to conceal" and that's a Class A Misdemeanor. I guess I wouldn't be arrested - but that's not really the point. It's the public exposure aspect of it that upsets me so much. I think the only way to avoid the problem is to just stay away from this meeting. I think the police are creating problems here instead of solving them.

[FlynJay]

I think the best way to solve this is to contact the sheriff's office and explain the situation and your concerns. There are a lot more discrete ways for the officers to disarm.
If they ask at the meeting again just get up and leave.

[Abraham]

You state your case articulately.

I would politely ask him for his supervisor's name, contact him and state your case to him.

Your concerns are valid and inappropriate for the officer to "out" CHLers.