Open carry incident
3/22/2009
Louisville, OH
After some discussion with my close friend we both decided we would start open carrying of handguns where and when legal. He is 22, I am 23. We are both career firefighter paramedics from the area. Neither of us have a CCW or any type of criminal record. By all means we are both fine, upstanding “law abiding” citizens.
I had met my friend at his house and we decided we would walk to a Dairy Queen near his home, have our dinner and walk home. The weather was fair so a walk sounded nice. We strapped on our Fobus paddle holsters and firearms. I carried my Beretta 92 FS and my friend carried his .45 Sig Sauer. We were wearing sweaters and reminded each other to be mindful that they did not flop over the guns and conceal them in any way.
We began walking out of his neighborhood and enjoying the evening. The total distance one way was a little more than a mile. The streets we used were his neighborhood road, a fairly busy through street and finally the main street in town with sidewalks on each side. As we walked we did not notice any lingering stares and made no direct contact with anybody.
As we approached the Dairy Queen we double checked for any “No Weapons” signs or decals. There were none and we proceeded in calmly and naturally. We walked directly to the counter and politely ordered our food. I do not think any employees noticed our guns. We then filled our drinks and sat down. I did not notice any glares from other customers. Nobody seemed scared or uneasy. We did overhear two younger guys saying something to the effect of “they are probably cops”. We ate out dinner in a timely fashion, stood up, put our trash in the cans and exited the Dairy Queen.
We walked back the same way we came and in the same manner. A marked police car passed us and did not slow or turn around. After a few minutes we were nearly 9/10ths the way back to my friends home when we herd a siren “bleep” very close behind us. We turned around to see two marked cruisers about 15 feet behind us with their lights flashing.
The officer yelled out his window as he exited to put our hands up. We did so. The two uniformed officers exited and moved to us, hands on guns but still holstered. They ordered us to place our hands on the hoods of the cruiser and we did so. At this time a third officer in an unmarked car and out of uniform arrived.
The officer removed my magazine from my gun and asked me to slowly remove it from the holster and give it to him and I did. At this point one officer began inspecting our guns on and writing down information. He asked if it was registered to me and I replied that I purchased it lawfully in a face to face transaction. He also asked if I had ID and I replied no. I had not brought my wallet with me, only cash. I volunteered my name, address and date of birth.
At this point we were all in a very relaxed mood. We were not cuffed or even patted down for other weapons. I was also carrying a spare magazine and a folding knife. I was never asked if I had other weapons on me. The officers were quite polite although obviously disturbed. The off duty officer was the most hostile. He stated that we didn’t even look old enough to have handguns, asked if we were trying to prove something or act hard and also asked if we were scared. I simply replied that I like to armed when I can legally for the same reasons he does and that I was not scared.
One officer hinted that we may be “inducing panic” and I replied by stating “I have herd allegations of such before related to open carry” and smiled politely. He then asked us if we had CCWs. I replied that we did not but it is lawful to open carry in Ohio. They asked if we were worried people would get upset or panicked. I replied that it was not our intention to upset anyone in the process of open carrying. The off duty officer alleged he drove past us several times and that my sweatshirt was covering my gun, concealing it. I simply replied that “I have been very mindful to keep my weapon in the open”. The ranking officer on scene, a Lt. then asked where I worked and I told him I was a firefighter with two area departments. The off duty officer responded by saying I “should know better as a public safety official”. I did not respond.
At this point their dispatch had returned our info to them with no warrants and no priors. The officer who was a Lt. asked if I was a member of the NRA or any such group. I told him I was an NRA member and a Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association member. He replied that he wanted us to know that none of us are “anti-gun” and that he was a life member of the NRA, but that people were scared and had called several times reporting two men with guns and they had to investigate.
The officers now put the magazines back into our handguns and gave them back to us. The Lt. offered us a ride the rest of the way back to my friends house. We accepted the offer, mostly to see what further interaction he would have with us in the absence of the other two officers. On the ride back (very short) the three of us simply talked shop about some firearms and discovered we had some mutual friends. While riding in the back of the police car we had our loaded guns on us still so he obviously did not see us a threat. He let us out of the car at my friends house and we chatted some more about local shooting ranges. He also gave us his card and said if we could not find a CCW class soon to contact him and he would help us out as much as possible. We could have chatted longer but he received another call and had to respond. We shook hands and he left.
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So what do we think? This was my first OC ever. I thought they did a good job but was a little upset that they hinted that we should not do this again.
FFMedic
3/22/2009
Louisville, OH
After some discussion with my close friend we both decided we would start open carrying of handguns where and when legal. He is 22, I am 23. We are both career firefighter paramedics from the area. Neither of us have a CCW or any type of criminal record. By all means we are both fine, upstanding “law abiding” citizens.
I had met my friend at his house and we decided we would walk to a Dairy Queen near his home, have our dinner and walk home. The weather was fair so a walk sounded nice. We strapped on our Fobus paddle holsters and firearms. I carried my Beretta 92 FS and my friend carried his .45 Sig Sauer. We were wearing sweaters and reminded each other to be mindful that they did not flop over the guns and conceal them in any way.
We began walking out of his neighborhood and enjoying the evening. The total distance one way was a little more than a mile. The streets we used were his neighborhood road, a fairly busy through street and finally the main street in town with sidewalks on each side. As we walked we did not notice any lingering stares and made no direct contact with anybody.
As we approached the Dairy Queen we double checked for any “No Weapons” signs or decals. There were none and we proceeded in calmly and naturally. We walked directly to the counter and politely ordered our food. I do not think any employees noticed our guns. We then filled our drinks and sat down. I did not notice any glares from other customers. Nobody seemed scared or uneasy. We did overhear two younger guys saying something to the effect of “they are probably cops”. We ate out dinner in a timely fashion, stood up, put our trash in the cans and exited the Dairy Queen.
We walked back the same way we came and in the same manner. A marked police car passed us and did not slow or turn around. After a few minutes we were nearly 9/10ths the way back to my friends home when we herd a siren “bleep” very close behind us. We turned around to see two marked cruisers about 15 feet behind us with their lights flashing.
The officer yelled out his window as he exited to put our hands up. We did so. The two uniformed officers exited and moved to us, hands on guns but still holstered. They ordered us to place our hands on the hoods of the cruiser and we did so. At this time a third officer in an unmarked car and out of uniform arrived.
The officer removed my magazine from my gun and asked me to slowly remove it from the holster and give it to him and I did. At this point one officer began inspecting our guns on and writing down information. He asked if it was registered to me and I replied that I purchased it lawfully in a face to face transaction. He also asked if I had ID and I replied no. I had not brought my wallet with me, only cash. I volunteered my name, address and date of birth.
At this point we were all in a very relaxed mood. We were not cuffed or even patted down for other weapons. I was also carrying a spare magazine and a folding knife. I was never asked if I had other weapons on me. The officers were quite polite although obviously disturbed. The off duty officer was the most hostile. He stated that we didn’t even look old enough to have handguns, asked if we were trying to prove something or act hard and also asked if we were scared. I simply replied that I like to armed when I can legally for the same reasons he does and that I was not scared.
One officer hinted that we may be “inducing panic” and I replied by stating “I have herd allegations of such before related to open carry” and smiled politely. He then asked us if we had CCWs. I replied that we did not but it is lawful to open carry in Ohio. They asked if we were worried people would get upset or panicked. I replied that it was not our intention to upset anyone in the process of open carrying. The off duty officer alleged he drove past us several times and that my sweatshirt was covering my gun, concealing it. I simply replied that “I have been very mindful to keep my weapon in the open”. The ranking officer on scene, a Lt. then asked where I worked and I told him I was a firefighter with two area departments. The off duty officer responded by saying I “should know better as a public safety official”. I did not respond.
At this point their dispatch had returned our info to them with no warrants and no priors. The officer who was a Lt. asked if I was a member of the NRA or any such group. I told him I was an NRA member and a Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association member. He replied that he wanted us to know that none of us are “anti-gun” and that he was a life member of the NRA, but that people were scared and had called several times reporting two men with guns and they had to investigate.
The officers now put the magazines back into our handguns and gave them back to us. The Lt. offered us a ride the rest of the way back to my friends house. We accepted the offer, mostly to see what further interaction he would have with us in the absence of the other two officers. On the ride back (very short) the three of us simply talked shop about some firearms and discovered we had some mutual friends. While riding in the back of the police car we had our loaded guns on us still so he obviously did not see us a threat. He let us out of the car at my friends house and we chatted some more about local shooting ranges. He also gave us his card and said if we could not find a CCW class soon to contact him and he would help us out as much as possible. We could have chatted longer but he received another call and had to respond. We shook hands and he left.
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So what do we think? This was my first OC ever. I thought they did a good job but was a little upset that they hinted that we should not do this again.
FFMedic
