TexasCHLforum.com

davidtx wrote:How do you sign up for a ride? Should I plan on leaving my gun at home?
Just to avoid any confusion - I'm serious.

The procedures are up to the individual department. Some allow any citizen to ride along, some restrictit to residents of their jurisdiction. Most require a background check (quick run through NCIC for warrants and criminal history) and a liability release. I have seen a few that only allow graduates of their Citizen's Police Academy.

The policy on your carrying is also up tot he individual department, but I have not seen one yet that permits it if known. I have seen a couple who did not think to put it in their policy either way, but it is almost always prohibited.

Enjoy yourself, it can be educational and fun. Oh yeah, and remember that there is no brake pedal on the passenger side of the car. I have seen a couple people who tired to put the brakes on there during chases or code 3 responses.

I have to agree with Flintknapper and ELB. The attitude displayed by this officer is clearly the wrong one. The law does not give him the "right" to disarm anyone. It gives him the authority to disarm some people under specific conditions. The "because I can" is not only an illegal and wrong reason for disarming, but it reflects a very unprofessional attitude towards the citizens he is supposed to be working with.

I would suggest that Flintknapper has it correct. The best result would be an informal meeting with the officer's immediate supervisor. Go by the station and ask to talk with him. Let him know that you are concerned about the officer's attitude. Make sure you let him know that you understand and don't mind officer's disarming people for safety, but the "because I can" answer indicates a power trip much more than a safety question. Explain that the background check and training should help the officer feel more safe already, as should the DPS maintained statistics on crimes committed by CHL's.

Charles,

This might be an appropriate thing for TSRA to look into. A good speaker program with TSRA representatives talking with officers about CHL's and guns in general might go a long way towards the long term solution to problems like this.