First Time Disarmed

[Dragonfighter]

I am typically very careful about my driving but have gotten stopped for some mistake or another, perceived or real. Until now I have not gotten any tickets and when the LEO's have found out about the CHL, none even batted an eye. Well that all changed last month. I was picking up a neighbor from his day surgery and was using his truck. I was distracted I guess and got going a little faster and got pulled over. When I informed the officer about the weapon he asked me where it was. He asked me to step out and told me he was going to remove the firearm for his safety. He did, he dropped the mag and cleared it and said he was going to place them on the seat when we were finished. What is interesting is, that he didn't even look back when he was walking back to the cruiser though I was already reloading.

He was very professional, didn't act nervous or indignant about the CHL or me being armed. But I am so used to the other attitude it took me by surprise. He was rather young and I wonder if lack of experience was the key. It was Irving P.D. on the newly expanded 114 construction area.

[Target1911]

It has happened to me several time dealing with Arl pd but never on a traffic stop. I think its wrong and their reason is invalid.

[57Coastie]

It has happened to me several time dealing with Arl pd but never on a traffic stop. I think its wrong and their reason is invalid.

Assuming for the moment that your opinion is correct, but not necessarily agreeing with you, so what?

To rephrase what I intend as a serious question, and not a wisecrack, would you have responded differently to the LEO when he told you his intentions? If you mean to imply that the OP should have refused to permit the LEO to carry out his intentions, I would suggest that you might cause someone else to regret having fallen into a trap you, a senior member, set for him.

Jim

[old farmer]

Is there a limit on the number of concealed weapons in a RV/CAR/TRUCK ?
If I am in the RV and on a long trip then the stop could take couple hours to unload clear the weapons.

[jsenner]

Is there a limit on the number of concealed weapons in a RV/CAR/TRUCK ?
If I am in the RV and on a long trip then the stop could take couple hours to unload clear the weapons.

heh :-) last year my brother-in-law and I drove to our yearly wyoming hunting trip in his pickup. there were 7 of us going in all, he and I drove the gear, the rest of them flew. We had everyone's rifle and everyone but 2 had 2 pistols. We also had an assortment of other firearms including shotguns for "clay day" along with a significant amount of ammo. the gun cases were literally piled up to the ceiling in the back of the crew cab and there were pistols in holsters just about anywhere you could cram one. must have been over 35 guns in the trunk and quite a few of the pistols were loaded.

Sure enough, we got pulled over for pushing the straight-segment highway speed just a little. The officer took our chl's, looked at the giant stack, didn't say a word :-)

[Dragonfighter]

It has happened to me several time dealing with Arl pd but never on a traffic stop. I think its wrong and their reason is invalid.

Assuming for the moment that your opinion is correct, but not necessarily agreeing with you, so what?

To rephrase what I intend as a serious question, and not a wisecrack, would you have responded differently to the LEO when he told you his intentions? If you mean to imply that the OP should have refused to permit the LEO to carry out his intentions, I would suggest that you might cause someone else to regret having fallen into a trap you, a senior member, set for him.

Jim

The roadside is NOT the place to fight such battles or to contest the officer's behavior. He articulated it was for his safety though I would rather think that as a norm, there would be some behavioral catalyst (actual reason) for such action. He was very young (possibly mid twenties) and clearly a new officer. So I am giving the benefit of the doubt here as he may:

1) Still have every encounter reviewed at the end of shift (probation).
2) Not had sufficient encounters yet with CHL holders to have reached a comfort level. God only knows what terrible scenarios he was taught that only experience will mitigate his apprehension.

Interestingly, I have had really snarky LEO encounters before but they didn't disarm me. Had he been the least bit condescending, discourteous or unprofessional there would have been a complaint filed but he was none of those.

[Liberty]

Although I think disarming a CHL holder should be a very rare thing, I question need to unload the weapon. Its one thing to have him hold our toys but is it necessary for him to be playing with it? We all understand that many (most?) accidental discharges happen during unnecessary handling of the firearms. I wouldn't be happy with anyone emptying my guns unless I was sure that he/she was familiar with it. While I'm not a LEO and don't understand all the procedures I wonder why the officer wouldn't ask for both the holster and the handgun and just leave the handgun holstered.

[Beiruty]

If an LEO, or patrol officer can't clear a simple loaded pistol or revolver, then said officer has no business to be an LEO.

[57Coastie]

Although I think disarming a CHL holder should be a very rare thing, I question need to unload the weapon. Its one thing to have him hold our toys but is it necessary for him to be playing with it? We all understand that many (most?) accidental discharges happen during unnecessary handling of the firearms. I wouldn't be happy with anyone emptying my guns unless I was sure that he/she was familiar with it. While I'm not a LEO and don't understand all the procedures I wonder why the officer wouldn't ask for both the holster and the handgun and just leave the handgun holstered.

It disturbs me greatly to see a very senior member describe a deadly weapon as a "toy," and I hasten to add that here we see only one of many examples of this.

I cannot help but have imaginary, I am sure, horribles come to mind when I think of young and new members of the forum seeing things like this.

Jim

[Jumping Frog]

If an LEO, or patrol officer can't clear a simple loaded pistol or revolver, then said officer has no business to be an LEO.

It is not uncommon for different firearms to have a different manual of arms. I've read of LEO unloading stories where the LEO apparently only has experience with Glocks and had no idea how to get the safety off on a 1911.

The nightmare scenario for any CHL would be if the LEO took the gun, negligently shot himself trying to unload it, and then you are sitting in your car hearing the gunshot go off in the patrol car behind you. How do you explain to responding officers how that LEO is dead from your gun? Obviously an highly unlikely scenario, but I did call it the "nightmare scenario".

[texanjoker]

I am typically very careful about my driving but have gotten stopped for some mistake or another, perceived or real. Until now I have not gotten any tickets and when the LEO's have found out about the CHL, none even batted an eye. Well that all changed last month. I was picking up a neighbor from his day surgery and was using his truck. I was distracted I guess and got going a little faster and got pulled over. When I informed the officer about the weapon he asked me where it was. He asked me to step out and told me he was going to remove the firearm for his safety. He did, he dropped the mag and cleared it and said he was going to place them on the seat when we were finished. What is interesting is, that he didn't even look back when he was walking back to the cruiser though I was already reloading.

He was very professional, didn't act nervous or indignant about the CHL or me being armed. But I am so used to the other attitude it took me by surprise. He was rather young and I wonder if lack of experience was the key. It was Irving P.D. on the newly expanded 114 construction area.

I personally find this disturbing. **What is interesting is, that he didn't even look back when he was walking back to the cruiser though I was already reloading.**

Was this AFTER he was done with your ticket, or when he was walking back to write you the ticket? If it was after the stop then there is no issue.

[texanjoker]

If an LEO, or patrol officer can't clear a simple loaded pistol or revolver, then said officer has no business to be an LEO.

Disagree. Most officers are only familiar with the guns they carry daily. There are many different guns out there that handle differently. To say they have no business is absurd. If you want to have officers trained on every gun, make, model, then please find funding for the training.

[Liberty]

Beiruty,
Its been my understanding that many officers don't have much of an understanding of weapons or handguns other their their service pieces. Recent headlines seem to indicate that there a a few that might not be capable of handling even their own safely. In this particular case this was a young officer who may not have had a lot of experience.

Jim,

I appreciate your concern and understand that what you are saying. Words mean something. I do take gun handling seriously, hence my post. However, like my other deadly weapons such as my cars, I have more than I actually need. I have the extras because I enjoy them. When I talk to my wife about buying a new gun, computer or other such thing we often refer to them as a new toy. Your post does serve to remind us that we need to be very serious on how we handle handle these things and not to take it lightly.

[57Coastie]

Liberty,

I am again embarrassed because my fingertips got ahead of my brain. Please accept my apologies and my assurance that I had seriously intended to say that I had read your intelligent posts for a long time, and I was confident that you did not mean what the literal words of your post said -- that, like I do too often, in haste you used loose words not intending how they might be read. (Just for the record, I think that those who drafted our Constitution and its amendments sometimes did the same.)

My excuse this time is that my dear wife of 54 years was calling me to breakfast for the third time as I penned my response to you. I lost control of the situation.

With true respect,

Jim

[tbrown]

If he turned his back on you while you had a loaded gun in your hands, that's pretty good evidence "safety" was not the reason he disarmed you originally when he found out you were carrying a card that shows you passed DPS and FBI background checks. We'll never know if it's department policy, or personal policy, or a bad mood.