Why Didn't You Inform Me Sooner?

[Treo]

deleted

 

[evan price]

Well, Treo, since you asked:

I'll use small words and speak slowly:

WHO

CARES?


You chose to make the traffic stop difficult by not notifying, and now all of a sudden you are worried about what you will tell the police officer when he pulls you out of the car and finds a gun?

You made your choice already- you chose to make things more difficult by not notifying- live with the consequences- it's between you and a cop on the side of the road.

Hey, at least it's not 3am, and someone kicking your door down and shooting your dog, right?

Enjoy!

 

[Ivy Mike]

Always put the ball back in his court.
Should you be asked why you didn't notify the cop you were carrying earlier, you simply inform him that he didn't ask.

Seems that a lot of people are willing to notify out of personal convenience. Some of us are willing to skip some of that convenience simply because we can.
If you have to ask why, there is little point in my trying to explain it to you.

 

[Deus Machina]

"I'm not required to by law, and I didn't want to worry you."

It's kept some members of my family out of trouble, but those were probably simpler times.

 

[mdm]

There is an interesting obsession with how to deal with the fact that you are armed when stopped by an LEO. “Do I tell?” “When do I tell?” “Why do I tell?” “What do I tell?”

Numerous people have war stories to tell on this subject and I’ve heard a lot of them. However, several questions come to me every time I see this subject brought up. Why are you so concerned about it? What are you doing in your life that gets you stopped by the police so often? How many times have you actually been pulled over by the police or is it just Mall Ninja talk? If you are truly being stopped by the police so often that you are concerned about this issue, are the stops legitimate or bogus? If they are legitimate, why don’t you do something to prevent them? If they are bogus, why don’t you take action against the officer and/or department?

I must admit that I used to talk with the police on a very regular basis about my driving habits. In ’87 I made a round trip from Montana to Wisconsin and back that resulted in five speeding tickets and close to $1000 in fines (two of the tickets were from the same trooper). After that trip I made the decision that I was spending far too much hard earned cash supporting my speeding habit and that I needed to eliminate that habit from my life. The amazing thing is that since I made that decision and stopped speeding I have not been pulled over by a police officer.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

After that trip I made the decision that I was spending far too much hard earned cash supporting my speeding habit and that I needed to eliminate that habit from my life. The amazing thing is that since I made that decision and stopped speeding I have not been pulled over by a police officer.

I arrived at a similar conclusion a few decades ago. No worries about radar, laser, clocking, profiling my vehicle -- just relax and get where I'm going. My only traffic-related "official" interection in recent memory was a few years ago when an overturned tractor-trailer had the highway completely blocked. I started up an entrance ramp, saw things weren't moving, stopped and started to back down. A trooper at the top of the ramp came RUNNING down the ramp, flagged me down, and insisted that I proceed up the ramp to add my insignificant contribution to the complete gridlock already in progress.

God forbid he should stand at the bottom of the ramp and send people to another route ...

 

[zxcvbob]

There is an interesting obsession with how to deal with the fact that you are armed when stopped by an LEO. “Do I tell?” “When do I tell?” “Why do I tell?” “What do I tell?”

If the situation ever comes up, it's better to have thought it though ahead of time and considered your possible choices. It's like I told the Boy Scouts, "Be prepared"

If you are truly being stopped by the police so often that you are concerned about this issue, are the stops legitimate or bogus?

Does it matter?

I must admit that I used to talk with the police on a very regular basis about my driving habits. In ’87 I made a round trip from Montana to Wisconsin and back that resulted in five speeding tickets and close to $1000 in fines (two of the tickets were from the same trooper). After that trip I made the decision that I was spending far too much hard earned cash supporting my speeding habit and that I needed to eliminate that habit from my life. The amazing thing is that since I made that decision and stopped speeding I have not been pulled over by a police officer.

You made (IMHO) a wise decision. Even so, you can't *guarantee* that you'll never get pulled over for a burned-out tail light or suspicion of DUI or just a bored cop who wants to mess with you.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Politely,

"I thought you knew--you ran my tags, didn't you?"

I have been pulled over a fair amount ("recovering" aggressive driver, and they like holiday traffic stops around here). Theoretically, when they run my tags, my CCW should pop up.

The only time I did mention it, I had a lot of time on my hands, so I wanted to see what would happen (I had heard a lot of hood-slammed/hand-cuffed stories). As it happens, I was returning from a firearms course, when the car in front of me SLAMS on his brakes (he saw the Trooper before I did); the Statie pulls me over for "following too close."

In the course of what followed, after license and registration, he asked, "So where're you coming form?"

Me (here I go!): "A firearms instruction course."

Him: (pause): "Are you carrying any firearms?"

Me: "I have the required license here (in my hand), and I am." (After handing the license, my hands go slowly to the top of the steering wheel."

Him: "Where?"

Me: "Right hip and left front pocket."

Him: "Any other firearms in the car?"

Me: "Unloaded and locked shotgun in the trunk."

Him, peering at the floor of the passenger side: "What's in that cooler?"

Me: "Birthday cake."

Him (laughs).

At that point I knew it would be fine, compared to what I'd feared.

He eventually told me his computer was down, so he couldn't check if the license had been recently revoked, "But you look okay." Ended up discussing with me why I carry a BUG (he didn't).

If your state does not provide ccw license info to its police, the I'd go with (politely): "You didn't ask, sir (or ma'am). If you had, I would have told you, just like I'm telling you now."

 

[rondog]

Quote:
Of course, Colorado Springs seems to have a LOT of shady characters roaming around. At least in the areas I go through.

Are you implying that I'm in some way a criminal?

No, I'm not. I don't know you, have no reason to doubt your integrity. I'm merely stating that on my trips through CLSP, I see a lot of shady characters roaming the streets. Denver's full of 'em too. I just think it's odd that you have such a vocal distrust of Law Enforcement, they're not "out to get you", ya know.

 

[mdm]

If the situation ever comes up, it's better to have thought it though ahead of time and considered your possible choices. It's like I told the Boy Scouts, "Be prepared"

I'm all for being prepared.

If you are truly being stopped by the police so often that you are concerned about this issue, are the stops legitimate or bogus?

Does it matter?

Numerous times I hear it said that people with CCW permits are somehow "better" people. They are not people that are likely to be breaking the law or be a danger to the officer or the public. This is because of background checks, training, ... How many times have you heard that once the officer found out someone has a CCW permit the officer relaxes and the guy is let go with a warning. How many times have you heard talk about this happening to a person several times? If they are truly "better" why are they behaving in a manner that makes a police officer stop them? If you are behaving in a manner that requires a police officer to stop you then you need to examine and modify your behavior.

So yes, I do believe it matters.

 

[Biker]

I've not read the entire thread, but whenever I have contact with a cop in an official capacity, I do what I can to make things go as smooth as possible. I inform the cop that I'm carrying.

What's the point in being a peckerhead?

Makes no sense to me. Get it done and go on about your merry way.

Biker

 

[wyocarp]

If they are truly "better" why are they behaving in a manner that makes a police officer stop them? If you are behaving in a manner that requires a police officer to stop you then you need to examine and modify your behavior.

mdm, not every stop or contact with an officer is because the permit holder was behaving badly.

Most recent contact:
I stopped the officer after being ran off the road by a trucker.

2nd most recent contact:
I was driving home about midnight and just got onto the interstate at the start of one lane traffic because of construction. I was driving around 50 in the 65 mph and he said I went over the white line. Again, not bad behavior.

3rd most recent contact:
Said they had a complaint of a truck like mine driving wrecklessly. I was parked at the time and not in my truck. The officers were total jerks.

4th most recent contact:
I was pulled over for doing (he said almost 40) in a 55 mph zone almost 10 miles from town as I passed him. He was parked on the side of the road. He told me that he thought I could have been going about 5 mph slower as I went by him. I spent over an hour in the back of a patrol car in handcuffs while they checked the guns in my truck, "for their safety."

mdm, I suggest you rethink your statement. I drive a lot, almost $30,000 in fuel in my truck in 2007 and I don't drive for a living. If you spend the amount of time behind the wheel that I do, you will have more contact. And half the time, the officers are jerks. Also, I don't fit any profile I would think would get targeted. I'm a clean cut guy driving a very nice pick-up who is almost 50 years old.

 

[XDKingslayer]

How would you handle it if a cop got irate because you didn’t inform him that you were carrying (please, I don’t care if you’d handle it by telling him upfront I wouldn’t.)?

Been there, done that. Not with a gun but it's the same thing. I learned two things that day.

1. The 2nd best way to tick off a cop is tell him he's wrong.

2. The best way to tick off a cop is to prove it.

I'll handle it the same way. I'm going to treat him exactly the way he treats me. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not worried about being arrested when I'm in the right. That's what attorneys are for.

 

[kentucky_Dave]

I've not read the entire thread, but whenever I have contact with a cop in an official capacity, I do what I can to make things go as smooth as possible. I inform the cop that I'm carrying.

What's the point in being a peckerhead?

Makes no sense to me. Get it done and go on about your merry way.

Hehe...well put...

 

[wyocarp]

It is very possible that we have arrived at the time when a wise man feels the need to avoid the notice of authorities -- regardless of his personal character.

I read the above statement in another thread recently and I whole heartedly believe it.

 

[Treo]

I have been pulled over 2 times since I started carrying. Both time by the same Colorado State Trooper , niether time was for speeding per sé ( so much for my "road warrior" tendancies being the cause of my problems).

The first time I came over a hill on State 24 , he had someone else pulled over and I didn't yeild the right lane fast enough to suit him.
Warning , didn't ask about weapons, no ticket.

Second time, same road damn near same place. he said I was going too fast for conditions ( snow, ice and migrating deer in Ute Pass.) Again warning, no ticket and a friendly lecture about how his buddy had a deer come through the windshield.

This time he did ask about weapons, he walked up to the car, told me why he stopped me and asked for my paperwork. Then he asked if I had any weapons in the car I handed him my permit and all hell broke loose.

Long story short I was told that I didn't inform soon enough ( and the seeds of this thread were planted) & that I was legally required to do so.

Mind you I had informed him W/ in the first 30 seconds after he approached my car. When he saw my permit he literally jumped back 2 or 3 feet from the car and started to take a defensive stance. ( imagine his reaction had I actually said " I have a gun" .)

His reaction, along W/ a prior gun related run in W/ CSPD ( intruder in my home) were enough to convince me that it's better all around that I keep my mouth shut unless circumstances dictate otherwise.

State law supports my decision and I am under no legal obligation to inform. The cop is getting paid by the hour to be there I'm not I want the stop done ASAP the less information I give the cop to act on the more likely I am to accomplish that , the less likely I am to find an anti- cop the hard way.

 

[Art Eatman]

Enuf. Too much 'round'n'round'n'round...