Duty to Inform the LEO if Carrying on Official Contact

[alsaqr]

i've got a heavy foot and sometimes get stopped for speeding. Last time a deputy clocked me at 82 mph in a 65 zone about 04:00 in the am. i immediately informed the officer i was packing. My model 10 revolver was loaded on the passenger seat and an AR-15 was leaning against the seat. The deputy gave me a verbal warning and after chatting a couple minutes departed.

 

[Styx]

I never inform. It's not the law or any of their business.

 

[Styx]

In Virginia, patrol officers have access to the data base of carry-permit holders. Upon a traffic stop, when an officer runs your plate, he would know if you were licensed to carry. At that point, his logical presumption would be that you are most likely carrying. There's no affirmative duty to tell him you are carrying. (He already knows.) But it might be smart to tell him if you are not carrying.

I don't bring it up period. It has nothing to do with a traffic stop or anything that's going on. It's not their concern. I don't think it's smart to tell them anything because on more than one occasion, they took my CCW, ran the serial, and then handed it back to me unloaded with an empty magazine and a handful of loose rounds. It's not required, they can see that we have our permits to begin with. They know we're legal and aren't criminals. It's usually a simple traffic stop to begin with. There's absolutely no reason why it should be an issue or brought up.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

The survey asks if I personally FEEL like I should be required to inform LEO on official contract.

It doesn't matter what I feel (or think)...what matters is what the law says I need to do.

I come from a time, and family heritage, that such matters fell under personal common sense and left to the individual. But we've indoctrinated not only the general public on such matters, but law enforcement as well and that's not something that's really changed.

When I was younger, LEOs weren't viewed like they are in many circles today. They were respected by the people and honorably helpful on the flip side.

Not to say there weren't bad apples, because there certainly were.

 

[Mosin77]

In MO there is no duty to inform.

I prefer not to, because I’m already being polite, keeping my hands where the officer can see them… if I volunteer that I’m armed I could absolutely imagine a rookie/city cop feeling threatened or panicking, and what should be an utterly routine traffic stop might escalate.

I would be open to changing my opinion if it was felt that volunteering this info generally resulted in cops appreciating my civic-mindedness and might result in warnings rather than tickets……. But I really don’t see that as a likely outcome.

 

[Spats McGee]

As someone noted earlier, Arkansas is a must inform state. I'm torn on whether one should be required to inform, but I'm likely to inform, whether required or not. I've never informed an officer that I was carrying outside of Arkansas, but it's never caused me any trouble, either. Quite to the contrary, most of the officers I've dealt with in "private citizen interactions" (as opposed to dealing with them in my job) seemed amused more than anything. In one particular case, in which my parents' house was broken into one night, and I went over there, the officers seemed relieved. Granted, that might have been the combination of factors: I showed up, introduced myself, gave them my CHCL, and turned off the house alarm that was blaring at them.

 

[JohnKSa]

And I will not draw my gun if asked,that is a HUGE no ,no .

While I agree with the general sentiment, as you know, refusing to comply with a lawful command from an LEO is a bad idea from a legal standpoint and also, if the command involves a firearm, from a personal safety standpoint.

My solution is to ensure my normal concealed carry holster can be unsnapped and removed, gun and all, from my belt without any need for drawing the firearm. This could also easily be done by an LEO if that made them more comfortable than having me do it.

 

[TomVA]

No duty to inform in VA, but I do out of courtesy and respect. I can imagine the apprehension an officer must feel when approaching a car they stopped, especially at night, and making their job a little less stressful helps both them and you. I keep my CCP right behind my driver's license in my wallet, hand both to the officer, and inform them that I have a pistol in my center console. I live in a conservative county in the Blue Ridge Mountains of SW VA so our sheriff deputies don't panic under such circumstances, and I have gotten away with just polite warnings for speeding so far. Respect earns respect.

 

[hk940]

I believe it should be the LEO to decide whether to ask,Then I would answer honestly.In NJ its mandatory to tell LEO immediately.

I used to live in NJ, at that time (I left in 2011) a CC permit was unheard of, of course there were a very few.
Do you have one, how long did it take?

 

[GRIZ22]

I am inclined to tell the LEO because I don’ t want one to see the firearm and get all excited. An excitable LEO has gotten innocent people killed.

Many more LEOs have been killed by excitable people.

 

[epags]

According to my instructor at the last CCW renewal session, my county sheriff's (Fresno County) current position is to stay mute on this matter unless it was situationally relevant or I was asked by an officer directly. One reason given (FWIW) is that CCW holders here are perceived by officers as the good guys, and might receive more sympathetic treatment.

California being a may issue state, this rule/practice probably varies more between jurisdictions.

Here are my questions to my CCW renewal trainer and his anwers to that specific set of questions (re. California):
1) In case of a traffic stop (in California) is it a requirement to immediately notify the officer you have a CCW 10 if you are carrying;
2) if you are NOT carrying and finally
3) should you just include your CCW card with your drivers license?
Answers:
1) Our sheriff requires you to notify any law-enforcement officer during an official contact to notify them that you are a CCW holder and that you are armed. That is a condition of your CCW permit and a violation of that condition could result in you losing your CCW permit. (The CCW permit is issued by the county in which you reside however the provisions specified by the issuing county will apply to anywhere in the state of California.)
2) If you are not armed you do not need to notify the sheriff or whoever pulls you over that you are armed because you are not armed.
3) Only give the CCW permit to the officer when you are armed.

All earlier posts about hands on steering wheel, window down and only saying "I wish to inform you I have a CCW." And then carefully listen to his/her instructions and follow them exactly.

 

[The Night Rider]

I've only ever had one bad run in with a cop at work. In that case it was a sheriff's deputy who followed me on to a site that I was doing a security check at.

In Colorado Springs security vehicles are required to be clearly marked with the company name, a phone number, the words Private Security and it has to be clearly visible from X feet away.

So there's no question the cop knew who I was but he decided to try to roust me for trespassing.

I filed a complaint with the supervisor and I was promised it would never happen again.

Other than that almost every cop I've ever run into at work was somebody doing a job who recognized that I was somebody doing a job. I wonder if I ever ran into Robert.

Other than that, I don't think I've had an official interaction with any kind of Colorado cop since 2009 or 2010.

And like I said, they're not doing traffic stops these days so my odds are pretty low.

 

[BobABQ]

I don’t question that. I understand that traffic stops are dangerous, to both parties. Not everyone it good at their job and that includes law enforcement officers.
I just want to survive my encounters with law enforcement. I imagine they want to do the same.

 

[GHinNH]

I kinda (ok I did ) coasted through a new stop sign at a 4-way that hadn't had one ...ever... making the intersection all stop now.

NH is constitutional carry now, but I keep the PRL anyway because I've always had it, used to have to have it, and the winds of political change never stop blowing horse waste into everyone's corn flakes. Plus our local podunk town Chief told me once you have it, they cannot deny you.

I handed my DL and without a word, included my PRL as a courtesy, or so I thought. Cop looked at it and said, rather gruffly, "I don't need this" and handed it back. Ok...

If or when those fickle political winds ever change again, and decide it's necessary they can ...well... do without knowing.

 

[luzyfuerza]

While many police encounters do involve driving violations, don't forget that some occur elsewhere.

Like walking out of a store. Or down a sidewalk. Or when reporting a crime.

In addition to deciding how to handle traffic stops while carrying, members here should also study up on state laws that apply during consensual and Terry interactions with LEOs.

Especially important is to learn whether your state has a "stop and identify" law and what that law requires.

Stop and identify statutes - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[crstrode]

Cops usually ask for ID when they speak to people so they can document who they spoke to and check for warrants. Whether the person is legally obligated to provide ID in a particular situation is another discussion beyond the scope of this thread.

Must be a lot different in my neck of the woods. The last time I was asked for ID from the cops was in 2002 during a traffic stop. Since that time I've interacted with police probably 15 times with no ID being asked for or provided.

 

[Agsalaska]

I will admit that after almost 20 years of working directly and indirectly with different police departments all over the country I am not exactly what you would call a fan of police. And there is a zero percent chance I would ever provide a police officer with any information beyond what is legally required. No way.