Police Standards
OldLt,
I set forth what I would have expected the officers to do in my letter:
If they had approached me, I would have greeted them politely. If they had requested that I tuck my shirt over my firearm due to the irrational concern expressed by other patrons of the store, I would have politely complied.
Even if they felt the need to have one officer sneak up behind me, ready to tackle me, while another officer engaged me in conversation, that would have been fine too.
I also acknowledged in the letter that forgetting to tuck in my shirt after removing my coat "spooked the horses," so to speak, and indicated that I would plan to be more discreet in the future.
But on the other hand, there is the following excerpt from the
August 2003 newsletter of the New Hampshire Police Standards & Training Council, forwarded to me by one of our fellow THRoaders:
"Remember that New Hampshire is a state where a person who is not barred by the Brady bill can carry a loaded pistol or revolver in plain sight on their hip in public, and not be violating the law. They can also carry a pistol or revolver that is concealed from view, as long as the weapon is not loaded. They do not need a license in either case. The only time a license to carry is required is if they intend to carry the weapon both concealed and loaded, or loaded in a motor vehicle. Therefore, even though you decide a person who is otherwise not barred from carrying a firearm is not "suitable," they could still carry it openly, virtually anywhere in the state except for a motor vehicle, an airport or a courthouse."
Articulable Suspicion, Vol. 18, No. 8, August 2003, at p. 3
This is the one-paragraph essence of why I have complained to the head of Professional Standards at the Manchester PD.
Just because someone views themseves to be at risk doesn't mean they actually are at risk, and the officers should have known that, as I said in my letter.
This brings to mind one of the officers who addressed the class at the San Jose, California Citizens' Police Academy. He told the tale of a guy who kept calling the police over because there were tiny people living in his carpet, tormenting him and shooting him with lasers, who would all hide when the police arrived.
After the third or fourth call, the officer suggested that the guy wrap his legs in tin foil, so that the laser beams would bounce back to the tiny shooters in his carpet, killing them.
A few days later, he got an enthusiastic call from the guy offering profuse thanks for helping him get rid of the tiny people in his carpet.
Sometimes an officer's job might simply be to hand out tin foil, rather than grabbing and detaining someone who's not breaking any laws.