How do LEO's see CCWer's?

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I ran out of gas on the way back from the range, not in my town. :banghead:
I had several rifles and ammo in the truck, stored correctly, and was legally carrying a concealed pistol.

A local cop stopped to help and offered to give me a ride to and from a gas station in his cruiser. Although Massachusetts does not require notification I decided to tell him what the situation was, based on the "no gun-related suprises" theory that others have mentioned.
He was totally cool and thanked me for the courtesy. I made sure everything was locked up in the truck, and we talked about ARs, 03s, and 1911s during the ride. I think he enjoyed himself as much as I did.

Just one cop, but an excellent outcome. It depends on the cop, but I think it also depends a lot on how you present yourself.

Tinpig
 
As for myself I usually appreciate it if you tell me you are carrying. I can tell when I run your ID if you have a permit. The only time that it is an issue for me is if you are particularly "squirrelly" or you smell like Charlie Sheen. I'd say 100% of the guys/girls that I work with are pro-gun and 99% of them are pro ccw.

edit: If you don't say anything it's ok as well. For everyone's safety, during a traffic stop keep your hands on the wheel, and don't reach for anything until we ask you to! I realize your registration and insurance is in your glove box, but I'll ask you to reach for them. Traffic stops are the most dangerous part of our job. We know you are nervous because you got pulled over, but we are nervous because we don't know who is actually driving and what you have in your car!
 
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In my limited experience, the answer seems to depend both by the jurisdiction and the particular officer.

In my area, there are two counties that seem to be universally hostile to the idea of CCW (Alexandria and Arlington Counties), one where I have had different experiences with different officers (mostly OK, but all professional - Fairfax) and another county (Loudoun) where the sheriff's office is by and large OK with CHP.

And don't even get me started on the Pentagon/DoD police ... one fine officer pulled me over two years and three months ago (he was outside the reservation, on local streets, I was driving my wife to the hospital for a prenatal appointment). I handed him my DL and CHP permit. He immediately stepped back and drew his weapon. Kept it pointed down, mind you, but me and my wife damn near had heart attacks. My opinion about whether I will ever produce my CHP again, unless specifically requested, has somewhat changed since then.
 
I have several customers who are LEOs. Every one of them knows that I am pro-gun, practice often, and carry daily. We talk about gun stuff at the counter all the time. I have a good friend who is a Deputy, and he is totally up for people CCW.

I was actually ringing up a customer while one of my cop customers (off duty and in plain clothes of course) waited. When the customer paid, I had to reach into my back pocket to get my wallet to make some change. In doing so, I brushed back my over shirt and exposed the 6 rounds of .38 special I had riding on my belt as a reload for the .357 Blackhawk I had in a shoulder holster under my other arm. The gentleman goes, "Are those....bullets!?"

I said, "Yes, sir. They are."
"Why do you have...bullets?"
"They are a reload for my revolver that I have to protect myself and my place of business."
"Why do you need a gun?"
My police friend chimes in, "Because I'm off duty, my gun is in my car, and it might be nice to be armed if the time comes".

The guy just kind of looked at him and left. 99% of my customers have no idea that I carry. The 1% that do are friends whom I like to talk firearms with. I hate that the customer didn't like that I carry, but it was really nice to have my LEO customer chime in about my rights:)
 
it could be asked how to ccw'ers see cops?

these are individual situations.
 
I forgot to mention I had one LEO freak out on me a bit, taking my weapon from my IWB holster and afterward handing it back to me with the slide locked back, mag removed and the chambered round loose in hand, so after he walked away I got to reassemble everything while sitting in my car. Seemed pretty pointless to me, and much more dangerous than leaving it holstered on my person. I'd put him firmly in the "CCW is not cool" camp. Still, at least 90% of my conversations with LEOs have suggested they approved of ccw.
 
My CCW class was taught by a state trooper. I asked him the same question the OP asked, and he said the attitude about civilian permits varies from officer to officer. In our state, though, you MUST tell the officer you have a permit, even if you aren't carrying at the time.
 
My state does not require notification. That said, I make a habit of holding my driver's license and my HCP in one hand with the cards slightly spread and the DL on top. I keep both hands just barely out the window as he/she walks up so that they are easily seen.

I've never been asked to hand my guns over while they do their thing. About 50% of the time they ask what I carry. One guys asked what I thought of the gun (Makarov). Half of the time I don't get a ticket. I've been pulled over 4-6 times in the last 6 years. None in the last two years. Mostly when I was driving to and from weekly jobs with 5-8 hour drives each way. You can only push speeding so many times...

I've never been told that they were upset about my having the HCP card out and they have all been noticeably relaxed by how the encounter went. They like your hands where they can see them. They hate surprises.

On another occasion, I flew my little plane into an airport in Lower Alabama (LA) that did not have any services. My son and I walked a mile to a gas station and the lady working the gas station asked a cop standing there if he could give us a ride to town. Before we got into the car I took out my permit and handed it to him. I let him know I was carrying and asked him how he wanted to handle it. He handed the card back and said thanks for letting me know, but if I was honest enough to tell him about it he was not worried about me.

Jim
 
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I talk to a LOT of cops at the LGS that I hang out at - all gun guys, too. I try to ask them about their views on CCW's. So far, all of them are pro-CCW, but ALL of them have held that it's better to tell them. It's one thing if it's pocket carry, but if you reach for your wallet or across the seat to get your registration and your sidearm flashes, you risk getting yanked out of the car and handcuffed. When asked, all but one said that their response when they're told is to ask exactly where it is and to ask you to not make sudden movements. One said that if they felt uncomfortable with the person, they might ask for the CCW holder to hand them their gun until the stop was over.

That being said, if I was entirely confident that my CCW wouldn't flash / print, I might not always tell the cop, depending on the situation.
 
I got pulled over in Austin,Tx a few weeks ago on I-35 for crossing the earthen median between the highway and the access road ( first and last time) a SWAT officer on his way to work just happened to be there in his Crown Vic and immediately lit them up,I was in the slow lane and pulled over asap,turned off the truck,keep my hands on the wheel and was very cooperative he asked for my license and at that time I handed him my DL and my CCP which he handed back to me and said nothing about if I was carrying or not he went back to his car for about 10 minutes and then came back and issued me a warning. My hands never left the wheel while he went back to his car. Being truthful and very respectful goes a long way.
 
Ragnar Danneskjold said:
People don't fit into groups like that. Police officers are just people who have a job. How they personally feel about CCW is going to vary as much from cop to cop as it does between any person.
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Very true!

My experiences have been very positive (actually, complete non-issues) however I dont particularly care what a LEO 'thinks' about my cc'ing. As long as he behaves professionally, there should be no problem.

In my state you do not have to inform but it comes up on their computer if they run your license. I do not inform.
 
It is a bad idea to give a cop more information than he needs to know. It works only in HIS favor, there is no upside for you. It's basically consenting to an unwarranted search.

Here's the thing.

Some states know when they pull up your license info whether you have a permit or not. (Utah is this way.) We are not required to inform. But if you don't, you are leaving the cop hanging. They don't like that. If you DO, they may take it as a sign of good faith in deciding what to do with you. I haven't had a ticket in about 13 years. I have been pulled over a few times, and when I showed them my permit and military ID, (and they pulled up my clean driving record,) they realized that they were unlikely to find any wants or warrants on me, and it turned into a conversation about guns, and they let me go. To date, I have not heard of a single bad experience in this state because someone told an officer they were carrying. If that changes, I will tell the whole world, but as of now, I am advising everyone in Utah to inform. I cannot say it is a good idea anywhere else.
 
Ranger Roberts said:
edit: If you don't say anything it's ok as well. For everyone's safety, during a traffic stop keep your hands on the wheel, and don't reach for anything until we ask you to! I realize your registration and insurance is in your glove box, but I'll ask you to reach for them. Traffic stops are the most dangerous part of our job. We know you are nervous because you got pulled over, but we are nervous because we don't know who is actually driving and what you have in your car!
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Exactly. As an ex-park ranger who used to do car stops, I realize how that small courtesy shows a recognition of respecting the officer's peace of mind.

If stopped, I have my hands at 2 and 10 on the wheel and sit there waiting for any additional instructions. (It's easy to miss a headlight out here in the PNW when it's light until 10 pm in summer and you are always home by then).
 
Here in Lexington Kentucky they actually convinced my wife to get a CCDW license when I have tried for year with no luck. Now after 5 years she wonders why she didn't 20 years ago when I tried to get her to get one for the first time.

At any rate here you are required to declare if you are carrying when stopped. Now with that said, they know if you are driving a car registered to you or if they run your drivers license as it comes up on their screen. I've been stopped about 3 times over the last few years and my wife about 5 times in mostly road block type things where they run traffic checks. Neither of us have ever had a problem and only once was I asked where the gun was which was on me. He didn't ask to see or question further, just told me to have a good day allowing me to go on my way.
 
In Texas there is no duty to notify LEO's. I still show my DL & CHL even when I'm not carrying (before anyone decides flame me, I absolutely cannot have a firearm on me or in my locked vehicle parked on the premises) . I got 1 ticket for a seatbelt & 1 warning on a speeding ticket where I was well in excess. YMMV.
 
joecil said:
At any rate here you are required to declare if you are carrying when stopped. Now with that said, they know if you are driving a car registered to you or if they run your drivers license as it comes up on their screen. I've been stopped about 3 times over the last few years and my wife about 5 times in mostly road block type things where they run traffic checks. Neither of us have ever had a problem and only once was I asked where the gun was which was on me. He didn't ask to see or question further, just told me to have a good day allowing me to go on my way.
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What? What kind of traffic 'checks' are these? And why so many?
 
follow state law.
nobody like surprises when it comes to seeing a gun that isnt under the Christmas tree.
 
I live and work at the same place about 1 block from two main roads in a by the major shopping areas of this town. We have lived here for 10 years now and around Christmas and New Years they put up regular traffic stops for drunk drivers. This is also done periodically during the year. Now living and owning a self storage facility in this area tends to force us to drive through these stops periodically making daily trips to the bank, post office and our own personal shopping tends to put us in the line more than most would be. A total of 7 stops over 10 years with 2 different drivers under these conditions hardly a lot. At least not for a traffic ticket. ;)
 
Retired LEO

Had over three decades "on the job"....I always assumed everybody I came into contact with was armed. If a citizen informed me they were during a stop or whatever, I thanked them. I am not a big fan of having people hand over the carry gun for me to run the numbers. You extended me a courtesy, and f law breakers don't do that. So to me it is rather pointless to run the numbers, plus it involves a lot of gun swapping back and forth from akward positions, and I am not fond of that.
And as a TO ( trng officer) I didn't encourage rookies to take loaded guns from citizens.Because most of the time the officer was totally unfamiliar with the loaded weapon. Most cops are not "bullet heads", they carry a sidearm because it is a condition of their employment. So to assume that an officer is a weapon expert is not recommended. I was a L E firearms instructor for 25 years and know of what I speak.
You as an armed citizen need to know the laws and reg's in your jurisdiction. Most of us "on the job" know that we cannot respond fast enough to save your life or your families if there is imminent threat. And we want every law abiding citizen to be able to be safe. Get some competent trng, enhance your skills sets, and have a defensive mindset. Be safe.
 
Loc n Load said:
Had over three decades "on the job"....I always assumed everybody I came into contact with was armed.
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Exactly. That is why I think informing, if you dont need to, is pointless (from the officer's point of view). For their own safety they must assume everyone is.

Just IMO, I think some people seem to think it makes us all part of some 'club' and we're 'all on the same team.' A LEO cant afford to trust you, one way or another.
 
Loc n Load said:
Had over three decades "on the job"....I always assumed everybody I came into contact with was armed. If a citizen informed me they were during a stop or whatever, I thanked them. I am not a big fan of having people hand over the carry gun for me to run the numbers. You extended me a courtesy, and f law breakers don't do that. So to me it is rather pointless to run the numbers, plus it involves a lot of gun swapping back and forth from akward positions, and I am not fond of that.
And as a TO ( trng officer) I didn't encourage rookies to take loaded guns from citizens.Because most of the time the officer was totally unfamiliar with the loaded weapon. Most cops are not "bullet heads", they carry a sidearm because it is a condition of their employment. So to assume that an officer is a weapon expert is not recommended. I was a L E firearms instructor for 25 years and know of what I speak.
You as an armed citizen need to know the laws and reg's in your jurisdiction. Most of us "on the job" know that we cannot respond fast enough to save your life or your families if there is imminent threat. And we want every law abiding citizen to be able to be safe. Get some competent trng, enhance your skills sets, and have a defensive mindset. Be safe.
Click to expand...

Very good post and as I've been led to believe as well.
 
Ive had two incidences.
First, I was pulled over by a state trooper when i was out of town driving thru Pittsburg TX. Showed him my DL and CHL, he gave me a warning and asked me for directions on how to get to a certain place in Houston.

The second time i was pulled over by a city cop in Longview TX and showed him my DL and CHL and he asked me was I carrying and where was it. He gave me a ticket and we left.

Just follow your local laws and you should be fine.
 
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