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Posted: 6/1/2007 1:42:23 AM EDT
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So, I'm stopped tonight by the police. Just some silly circumstances - "We've had a lot of break-ins around here so we thought we'd bother you for an hour, due to the fact that you're sitting in a parked car eating Arby's at 3 AM and that's incredibly suspicious." I didn't break any laws, and I'm being polite and cooperative. "Do you have any guns or drugs in the car, sir?" "Um, let me think about that. Drugs, no. Guns? I think my rifle is in my trunk." "Could you step over here, sir?" So, the one cop tells his partner, and the partner says: "Do you have a permit for that?" "Uhhh, what?" "Uhhh, yeah. Concealed weapons permit!" "It's in my trunk and unloaded. That's not concealed." "Ohhh, yeah." Hey, I know the law. I could have a loaded handgun in my glove compartment and that isn't concealed by Florida law, either. So they pull my WASR10 out, run the serial number, ask me some questions about model and caliber, etc. Then another cop pulls up, gets out, and starts talking to me: "So why've you got that in your car?" "Well, I took it over to my father's house today to do some work on it." "Some work on it? "Yeah." "Like, what?" "Polishing the bolt carrier." "Why?" "...why?" "Yeah. Why would you do that?" "...to make it shinier, to make it look cooler. It's a cosmetic thing." "Oh. Okay. What kind of shooting do you do?" "Target shooting. I go down to the uh, Cecil Webb range." "Well let me tell you something, son...I've been shot at by a lot of those SKS rifles..." "...it's actually an AKM clone." "SKS, AKM, it's all the same thing. They're all aftermarket. Most people shoot with target rifles. What you've got there is a bit different." "Um, I guess so." Anyway, they let me go a little bit after that. Sheesh. |
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Always be polite and corporative but not too cooperative. See they have no right to bother you beyond a certain point unless they have your permission that’s why they say “Could you step over here, sir?" there asking not ordering you, There is a difference. I think were turning in to a police state. The last time I was pulled over the cop took my license and registration went back to her vehicle to do what ever they do, then another cop in a different vehicle made me get out of my Jeep then held my thumbs together behind my back and searched me with out permission saying it was for his own safety. Doesn’t the fourth amendment protect me from this? Then he gave me a speech on how cops are not trying to be a pricks there just doing there job of protect and serve. Yeah right protect them selves and serve the state |
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Why did you let them open the trunk without a warrant? You are not compelled to tell them that there is a gun in the trunk, much less let him look. Where I live you are only compelled to reveal that you are carrying concealed, and only then if you have a permit. Officer: Hey, what are you doing here? You: Eating my tasty sammich. Officer: Do you have any guns or drugs in the car? You: No sir, there are no drugs or illegal firearms in the car. Officer: Step out of the car. You: Yes sir. Officer: Do you mind if I look in the trunk. You: No sir you may not. Officer: Why not. You: Because I want to finish my sammich and go home. If you feel the need to open the trunk, please obtain a warrant. I am a law abiding citizen and have committed no crime. At that point the Officer has a decision to make. He can wake up a judge or let you on your way. Or he can give you some stick time. He might knock your teeth in for saying "sammich". 
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Let me get this straight, now. When they ask you if you have any drugs or weapons in the car and you DO have a rifle in the trunk, what do you say? If you say you do, like in this case, does it give them probably cause to search your car/detain you? If you say you don't, but they end up finding it anyway somehow, do you get in MORE trouble for lying? |
Because I had nothing to hide, and it was no skin off of my nose except a few more minutes of my time and theirs being wasted. If anything, it let them know what a law-abiding citizen and responsible gun owner looks like up close. As I understand it, police in general have trouble with recognizing both of those. (Not a jab at LEO's; I'm just saying that many of them are clearly not doing their homework)
I have no idea. I would assume that you can't "get in more trouble" if you weren't breaking the law in the first place. If you say "I don't have a gun in my car", and then they find a legally-owned firearm in a lawful position within the vehicle, what exactly could they charge you with? |
i got pulled over, and i did my damnedest to piss the cop off... i knew i didnt do anything, and he was only harrassing me. i offered him a gummy bear(we had a bag we were eating) then i offered him a dinner at waffle house for his "outstanding service from keeping a criminal like myself off the street" then i called him an asshole and told him to just hurry up and right me a ticket, so i could have him fired on monday. he gave me a stupid little warning card. this was a long time ago, i was 18 i think. i was really surprised he didnt try to beat me or anything. |
But it was skin off your nose. What happened next bugged you enough to post about it on a message board. This is the way I see it: I'm always nice, I respect LEOs and the job they do. But personally, I will be damned if I am going to take any shit off one either. They should be out fighting crime instead of poking around in my trunk. As law abiding citizens and gun owners, we should never allow ourselves to be pushed around more than absolutely necessary by people in positions of "authority". If we do, who is to say they will stop with poking around in your trunk? As soon as that becomes the norm, we could start having warrantless full body cavity searches at all traffic stops. And lord knows I don't want them to find the WASR I keep there. 
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Eh, well, I don't see that as a product of being bothered. I'm just sharing an adventure in law enforcement. If anything, it was an experience in how to deal with that kind of situation.
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Certain activities will get you harassed by "the man". I've had some good and bad experiences with this. If anyone has a dirtbike, you know you're going to get harassed and intimidated. Actually, of the many many times I could have been in trouble, only one cop turned out to be an asshole, the others were pretty decent. Here's a quick rundown since we're in a story sharing mood. This all relates to riding a dirtbike-style bike on the street and dirt (one tagged legally, the other not tagged) 1. Getting ready to unload in illegal area - cop pulls up. "Hey, you guys know any cool places to ride around here? My kid just got a bike". 2. Legal road riding turning into an offroad area. Cop drives past, swings around, and pulls up behind me with the lights on. I play stupid, she wants to know where I'm going. Then we talk about bikes for about 10 minutes. 3. Caught on the road with the bike NOT running with an untagged bike. Cop throws a fit, makes me push it up the hill, go to my parent's house and lectures them about how they're responsible. Funny thing is I was like 22 and we weren't really cooperating (besides getting my license for him). He tries and fails to prove a point about someone suing my parents for hitting me on a bike. The bike wasn't running, so he had nothing on me. 4. Riding a race dirtbike on a street. Cop is parked doing something at a friend's house. I ride up, turn it off, and lean it on a stop sign. I walk over like nothing happened and the cop doesn't say a word about the bike. I think the same thing is said of guns and cops. You get some assholes and some decent people. The same thing is also true of everything else you can imagine. |
Magic, where were you stopped? Who stopped you, LCSO, FMPD? Let me know. It would seem that I need to either teach a few fellow LEOs weapon I.D. and firearms laws. I hope they were professional with you and explained why they stopped out with you. I hope they were polite and treated you (and your WASR) with respect. If you can, give me the location where they checked out with you. That will tell me if the area has seen increased criminal activity. There have been a few hot spots in the Ft. Myers area so I'm sure if that be the case, they were ordered to check out with any and all persons in the area after say 12:00am. |
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How many times do I have to post here that if a firearm is in your trunk don't tell the police, don't open the trunk, don't let them touch your firearm as they have no business searching that area of your vehicle and you don't have to tell them what is in a locked trunk. Why are you complying with a request to look in a portion of your vehicle that is locked and not within reach or open view? Don't speed when carrying firearms in your vehicle as can be seen in a number of recent posts here. Link
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This was actually in Punta Gorda; I was visiting a friend. They were fairly professional, but some of them were clearly a little confused about what was proper procedure. |
heh, are you saying meow? am i sayin' meow? do i look like a cat to ya boy? jumpin all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree? do you see me drinkin milk from a saucer? well do you see me eating mice?! now you stop laughin there mr larry johnson. im gon have to give you a ticket on this one, no buts. MEOW. |
Exactly. Honestly, how many cops have been shot at once? Let alone "alot"? For the OP, I would tell them that I don't have any firearms in the vehicle. They wanted to mess with you and the firearm you told them about was the reason. If he seaches and finds it, I'd be like "oh, dang, I forgot I had that in there!" It's legal so I don't see where the problem would be. |
Depends on where you work, and your definition of 'alot'. In my Dept. it's not uncommon for an officer to get shot at. If you're a worker, or assigned to specialized units, that risk increases a lot. Whether you want to believe it or not, SKSs are a common weapon of the shitbags I deal with. I can think of several officers in my Dept. that were shot at (luckily only a few have been hit) with SKS or AK clones over the last few years. That being said, I support the 2nd, especially the civilian ownship of military style weapons. Back to the original post: I wish my Arby's was open until 3AM... |
We had a incident here where a gang-banger did a drive-by with a SKS that he bought at a pawn shop. When the news picked up the story, they used "creative reporting" to turn that SKS into a full-auto AK that could be purchased at any store in SC for $150. I posted about it here. AK, Shoots nine rounds at a time for sale in every gun shop in SC for $130 |
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