Powderman
Member
Just out of my own curiosity I'm wondering what happens if someone is pulled over for a traffic stop and is asked if there are any weapons in the car and responds no while in fact there. Lets assume everything is legal and there is nothing about them the owner is trying to hide. For whatever reason they're discovered.
Well, it depends on the placement of the weapons when they're found.
Example (and this only is the way I would treat it):
I contact you for going 20 over. I'm at your vehicle, and have made contact. I ask you if there are weapons in the car, and you reply no.
I secure your information, and are headed back to the car to run the info. I see what I recognize as a gun case--or even a gun stock--poking out from under some other stuff in the back of your vehicle.
I will take into account the totality of the circumstance--your demeanor, your information, the condition of your vehicle, the occupants of the vehicle, the location, your address--EVERYTHING.
At the very least, I will call for backup and get them there quickly.
I will then ask you to step from your vehicle. If you seem to be an OK Joe or Jane, and you're clear and current, I will ask you why you didn't tell me about the firearm in the back. If I have ANY reason to believe that you deliberately lied to me, you get the felony stop.
Example #2:
Same contact as above, only this time I see the gun on your person, or within your area of control. Now, remember that you just told me you didn't have any weapons in the vehicle.
If you're the only occupant of the vehicle, you WILL be staring down the barrel of my service weapon. You will then remove the keys from your vehicle, drop them outside, step out of the vehicle and assume the prone position. Once there, you will cross your legs, extend your arms and wait in that position until my backup arrives. You have no other option.
If you are NOT the only occupant of your vehicle, I will make small talk as long as you don't reach for the weapon. Then--as I noted above--I will return to my unit, break the AR15 out of its rack, chamber a round and wait for backup.
In summary--why lie? I can't speak for back East, but a good percentage of the cops out here are gun savvy, and don't mind talking about them. Especially here in WA State, we know that we have a good thing--a shall-issue state with very few restrictions to speak of. Why lie?
Please remember this--I am out there doing a job--just like every other man or woman who wears the badge. I want to do my job, and go home safely with a good feeling--just like everyone else who has a job of any kind. I do not want to be hurt, and I do not want to be shot on the job.
If I see a firearm and you have lied to me about its presence, what does that tell me about YOU? And, how do I know your frame of mind or intention?
Don't lie. It's stupid to lie--and stupid has a tendency to HURT.