TexasCHLforum.com

There is some interesting debate on this issue, even in the law enforcement community. Clearly the law says the officer can carry when on or off duty. Departments may make up their own regulations, though few require it anymore. San Antonio PD used to require their officers to carry when off duty in their city, based on another law. This went away when CHL's came into effect. The problem was the law banning people from carrying with their CHL also applied to off duty officers for the first two years. Six Flags Corporation tried to ban cops from carrying in their parks. San Antonio reacted by making the carry optional with a recommendation to carry. Houston PD reacted by saying their off duty cops would obey Six Flag's wishes, and since they were not armed, the off duty officers could no longer work security jobs there. Can you guess which one changed the minds of the Six Flags managers?

The other law in question is whether or not an officer is ever off duty. There is a law in the Code of Criminal Procedure that requires an officer to take action to stop or prevent a crime that is occurring in his presence or view in his jurisdiction. If you are in the city that employs you, are you ever off duty then? But I do know some cities actually ban officers from carrying off duty. So how are they supposed to take action?

You can see where the debates go from here. Add in the officers who think their department rules apply to everyone from any department and it can be as bad a mess as trying to understand any other set of laws.