Question about requirement to disclose you are carrying?

[howdy]

I just deleted a very good explanation of the requirement to show ID.....then I too realized that the same answer has been given here already.

Again, I did not ask about ID. WHERE DID I ASK THAT?

He asks for identification.

I give the LEO my ID/CHL.

He asks if I am carrying a weapon.

DO I HAVE TO ANSWER IF I AM CARRYING A WEAPON?[/quote]

So is your question now..... do I have to answer the Officer's question (stay quiet) or do I have to tell the Officer the truth?

[LAYGO]

I guess my re-stating the question is rhetorical because people seem to be missing the point.

I don't think anyone is missing the point. You have been told that you do not have to proactivly disclose you are carrying, just present the CHL. If asked, then yes you should tell them you have a gun in the vehicle. You are legal and there is no reason for them to have an issue. And legally, you do not have to answer, but lying may purjure yourself if they do have grounds for search and they find you are carrying.

One thing we see is you seem to have a mistrust of law enforcement overall. You claim it is from your past interactions, which by your own admission were initiated by you being in the wrong on vehicle code violation or speeding, etc. An officer can tell if you are on the defensive when you address the person. If they approach your vehicle and you are immediately confrontational, then that puts them in a mood that you may be hiding something. Failure to be polite and cooperate will not do anything but escalate an already questionable stop and lead to a not so good outcome, even if nothing more than having an officer that won't cut you a break and writes you a ticket.

Bottom line, don't approach every situation with police as a 'this is gonna end badly' scenario and you may find that your 'distrust' is really nothing but an attitude adjustment that needed to be done on your part.

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... 19#p464419" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When this incident occurred, I was in a great mood. Even singing/dancing in the back seat of the truck WHILE HANDCUFFED because I figured I was going to get a ticket & be on my way to the comedy club. I knew the items would be dismissed, if ticketed, and they were EVEN AFTER BEING ARRESTED. The only thing that was left from that entire incident was the weapons charge. I was all on the up & up except for the expired stickers. Nothing to hide, nothing to be defensive about. I just ran into a cop who was dead set to ring up any charge he could . . .

I know how to act around police officers, but it doesn't seem to matter is my point. I'm not defensive, I'm almost aloof. I'm not rude, but I am not happy. I worked in Psych hospitals, played years & years of poker, I learned to read people as well.

I dunno. I guess I'll just be video recording from here on out . . .

[nightmare69]

I just deleted a very good explanation of the requirement to show ID.....then I too realized that the same answer has been given here already.

Again, I did not ask about ID. WHERE DID I ASK THAT?

He asks for identification.

I give the LEO my ID/CHL.

He asks if I am carrying a weapon.

DO I HAVE TO ANSWER IF I AM CARRYING A WEAPON?

Kinda obvious you are armed when you hand over your CHL. You don't have to do anything but being respectful to the LEO can benefit you. If someone is acting like a jerk to me I'll make sure he gets a ticket, don't fail the attitude test. Here is your $200 ticket, press hard 3 copies, have a safe day.

[cb1000rider]

I dunno. I guess I'll just be video recording from here on out . . .

I think that's a great idea...

You're getting miffed because you're not getting direct answers to your questions. People are reading your questions just fine, but the answer is such a bad idea (lying directly, especially after providing your CHL) that you'll be hard pressed to have someone give you that answer.

[spongeworthy]

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... 19#p464419" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When this incident occurred, I was in a great mood. Even singing/dancing in the back seat of the truck WHILE HANDCUFFED because I figured I was going to get a ticket & be on my way to the comedy club. I knew the items would be dismissed, if ticketed, and they were EVEN AFTER BEING ARRESTED. The only thing that was left from that entire incident was the weapons charge. I was all on the up & up except for the expired stickers. Nothing to hide, nothing to be defensive about. I just ran into a cop who was dead set to ring up any charge he could . . .

I know how to act around police officers, but it doesn't seem to matter is my point. I'm not defensive, I'm almost aloof. I'm not rude, but I am not happy. I worked in Psych hospitals, played years & years of poker, I learned to read people as well.

I dunno. I guess I'll just be video recording from here on out . . .

I'm just going to point out that these two bolded statements are contradictory, and surely didn't help your situation at all.

[srothstein]

I think it has been answered in this thread already, but I want to be sure you see it and understand.

There is NO law at any point in time that requires you to answer a police officer when he asks if you are armed. Since you do not have to answer at all, this means that you do not need to disclose your status to him.

Lying may be a crime however, depending on how the officer feels and what he is doing, which may be different from what you think he is doing. Penal Code section 37.08 says

"(a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to deceive, he knowingly makes a false statement that is material to a criminal investigation and makes the statement to:

(1) a peace officer or federal special investigator conducting the investigation;"

If the officer is actually conducting an investigation of your weapons status, lying to him would be a crime. Just as there is no law requiring you to answer his questions, there is no law requiring him to disclose to you all of his motives.


Having covered the law, I will now mention once again that tactics makes a big difference in your life. When you are polite and cooperative with an officer, he will be much more inclined to release you with a warning. When you obstruct him or irritate him, he will be much more inclined to arrest you. This may not be nice or fair or even right, but cops are humans with human emotions. That is the real world.

[WildBill]

Having covered the law, I will now mention once again that tactics makes a big difference in your life. When you are polite and cooperative with an officer, he will be much more inclined to release you with a warning. When you obstruct him or irritate him, he will be much more inclined to arrest you. This may not be nice or fair or even right, but cops are humans with human emotions. That is the real world.

[Dori]

ARE YOU REQUIRED TO REPORT IF YOU ARE ARMED? Either under CHL or MPA . . .

No.

In before page 3.

[Austin83]

I've never had a problem with a police officer having an issue with a firearm in my vehicle. I keep my hands on the steering wheel, and I always explain where my firearm is, and I only remove my hands when the LEO asks for my ID. Just do the right thing and be polite.

[sugar land dave]

I agree with Keith B.

By the letter of the law, you hand an officer a CHL if you are armed, so the presumption at that point should be that you are in fact armed. If you are then asked if you are armed, you can state that you are, or you can not answer the question, but you shouldn't lie unless you would like to increase your chances of a bad outcome.

I will say also that if friends are leaving things in your car that get you in trouble, you should give some future consideration into how to avoid a repeat of that scenario. Make your life a good one, and don't let others around you take it another direction.

[RPBrown]

To answer your question for the umteenth (been awhile since you heard that one) time, NO THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT TO ANSWER IF ASKED IF YOU ARE CARRYING. However, if you lie then you have broken the law and things can go downhill from there.

[4t5]

To answer your question for the umteenth (been awhile since you heard that one) time, NO THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT TO ANSWER IF ASKED IF YOU ARE CARRYING. However, if you lie then you have broken the law and things can go downhill from there.

IANAL. I know that is illegal to lie to a federal agent during an investigation. I do not know of any laws regarding state or local law enforcement. Could someone point them out to me?

[texanjoker]

Good grief, man. Just be respectful and courteous. Giving short, non responsive answers is neither.

I do not see you ever getting out of a ticket. But then again you are grown. Best of luck to you

Being courteous got him his guns taken. I'm not as trusting. (again, source)

This is why you don't believe everything you read on the net.............

[EEllis]

To answer your question for the umteenth (been awhile since you heard that one) time, NO THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT TO ANSWER IF ASKED IF YOU ARE CARRYING. However, if you lie then you have broken the law and things can go downhill from there.

IANAL. I know that is illegal to lie to a federal agent during an investigation. I do not know of any laws regarding state or local law enforcement. Could someone point them out to me?

Well a false report is a class B mis PC 38.01. They also could try and apply 38.15 interference with public duties depending on what the lie is. If they ask you "Where is Bob" and you lie then you can go to jail. If it is "What is your favorite color" then lie all you want. What the lie is determines if it is a violation.

[hillfighter]

Sometimes DADT is good opsec. Sometimes it invites trouble. The trick is knowing the difference.