A recruit going through the police academy recently reported a contact he had with Kalifornia highway patrol.  The recruit didn't have a gun on him because he hadn't  graduated yet but the topic came up when he got stopped.  The patrolman claimed to have booked 2 cops from other jurisdictions already for being in possession of their department issued standard capacity magazines that hold over 10 rounds.  LEOSA doesn't prevent it either.

Don't get me wrong, cop or no cop,  nobody should be arrested for such a ridiculously stupid law.  It just goes to show how fanatically hoplophobic this falling state is.

If you haven't already please become a member of AZCDL!

Always in the rumor mill. Not saying it didn't happen, I'm saying to show me the proof of it happening.

Wouldn't surprise me.

I got pulled over for "driving while intoxicated" last night out here. Dude was convinced i had been drinking, despite passing his sobriety tests. I've been out here for four days and already miss free America.

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I'm calling BS on this one, CHP doesn't handle criminal matters for the most part, most everything criminal would get turned over to the local county sheriff. Plus their policy prevents a search without supervisor approval. Sounds like a trainee stirring the pot

I always had that in the back of my mind when I'd go over there to back them and other CA LE up. Never asked, and certainly didn't tell them what I had in the trunk.

What academy class?

There is no law against possessing magazines with a capacity over 10 rounds in CA at the state level.

They would have to admit to importing them to be arrested.

Phoenix Regional Police Academy.  I don't know the class number.  The instructor to whom the story was told advised my class of the story. I sent an email to CHP to get a definitive answer, but I haven't got a response.  

As far as possession not being equal to importation,  I don't know how you can distinguish between the two if you brought them in from out of state?

I'll post more If and when I hear from CHP.

Also if he is currently attending the academy he is not considered current LEO and would not fall under LEOSA. Sounds to me like boot was fishing for some professional courtesy and got a smartass response back

Possession is easy to prove. Importation / manufacture is damn near impossible without proof.

ETA: it's all in the wording of their own laws. Possession = legal, importation / manufacture = not always legal.

Exactly. It would fucking suck to run that memo upstairs.

What happened to OP looking for further details, which corridor did this happen on? I'm assuming the I-10 since youre out of Phoenix

I got this response from CHP.  They didn't exactly address the magazine capacity but did say your issued duty weapon was ok.


Good Morning,

I cannot verify the information regarding two out of state law enforcement officials being arrest for the capacity of magazines, but the important thing when traveling to another state is having your official identification available if you are contacted by law enforcement.  The unfortunately part is many contacts we have with out of state law enforcement would have been much simpler if the off duty officer had more than just a badge available as identification of peace officer status.  In California, the badge has to be backed up with a photo identification card issued by the officer's law enforcement agency, indicating the person's peace officer powers are granted under the issuing state's governing codes.  It may seem frustrating but there are many security companies and other parties who try to impersonate law enforcement using just a badge or generic ID card, so we have to be very careful when verifying out of state credentials.  If you are a peace officer with proper identification, you should not have an issue carrying your issued duty weapon into California.  Some counties have more specific restrictions on firearms, but again, with proper identification, peace officers are still exempt.  One last note, only sworn peace officers are allowed to carry firearms from out of state, any other position, civilian or non-sworn, within out of state law enforcement agencies are not afforded this right.  We have also run into a variety of other situations where a state may allow a specific position within an agency to carry a firearm, but under the international agreement, only peace officers are allowed to carry firearms across state lines.  If you have any additional questions, please let me know.  Thank you.

CHP Customer Service

I don't know.