I get pulled over by the police

I have my wallet in my back pocket and the cop watch me reaching for I moved really slowly

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Texas law requires I declare I have guns. But Iā€™d do it anyway. Hasnā€™t happened yet. But I havenā€™t made any mistakes and got caught. :upside_down_face:

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Here in Missouri, You have no legal obligation to inform a LEO that you have a firearm on your person. However, I STRONGLY encourage my students to do so immediately. No matter what the officer asks or says first, before replying to his statement/question, inform the LEO of your firearm and itā€™s location. This will help put the LEO at ease while dealing with the matter at hand. Overall it makes for a much less stressful situation for all parties involved.

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Thatā€™s great 2A_ IMO, personally, when they say hello, lic and reg, I say hello back and tell them Iā€™d be happy to give you both, but I have to let you know, out of respect for you that I have an LTC and am carrying a handgun, what would you like me to do next. They usually will ask first thing, ā€œis it loaded?ā€ And ā€œwhere on your person is the gun?ā€ I did have that one cop say to me,ā€I do t care, I didnā€™t ask you for that information, can I have your lic and reg?ā€ I was really surprised at that reply, but I just did what was asked of me, and got a warning. Very strange way to do it I suppose, but we all went home safely.

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Iā€™ve done the same thing the couple of times Iā€™ve been stopped. I find being forthcoming and polite goes a long way with officers. After all, theyā€™re doing a job we taxpayers pay them way too little to do. They catch a lot of flack from people who donā€™t appreciate their sevice, and routinely deal with the worst our society has to offer. Treat them straight up, honestly, and with respect and almost 100% of the time you will get that in return.

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depends on your state and laws and more know them so you can be prepared as best possible to handle it.

in my state we do not have to tell an officer however i know in Oklahoma for example you have to

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I see a lot of folks describing what the laws are in their state about informing a cop about your CC. Letā€™s try to remember this, a cop is a human being, they have feelings and fears just like anyone else, a little bit of courtesy can really go a long way for these folks. So whatever the law states, no matter what the requirements are, letā€™s try to treat them with the same respect that we would want for ourselves. Thereā€™s a big difference between whatā€™s required as opposed to whatā€™s right. Letā€™s show them the respect they deserve, it really could pay off in a great way in The long run. Treat everyone the way you would want to be treated. They are doing a near impossible job,and they need our help. God bless.

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Whether it is the law in any state or not, if I am carrying in a vehicle and I get stopped, I will let the officer know that I am carrying, just so that there will be no complications later if he sees a gun and flinches. :wink:

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Very good point @Steve-G! The times Iā€™ve discussed guns with the police, weā€™ve had great conversations about guns. Luckily my lead foot hasnā€™t gotten me in too much trouble (knocking on wood) so I havenā€™t addressed it while pulled over. (still knocking on wood).

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They want to go home safely. I want to go home safely. Regardless of law, I would mention it at hello. I would keep my hands visable, turn on the dome light if it was dark and await to be instructed. Even when asked for my license, I would clearly tell them where it is prior to grabbing it. I keep my wallet in my chest pocket of my jacket. Could look suspicious.

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I was pulled over just 10 days ago for something totally stupid (on my part). When the officer came up to my window he spoke before I had a chance to say anything. My hands were on the wheel and stayed there while he spoke. When he finally asked for my license I responded with ā€œBefore I move I want to inform you I am a licensed CC older and I have a loaded weapon in the vehicleā€. He asked its location which I told him. He thanked me for informing him and asked me not to make sudden moves when I produced my license for him. He did his check and returned to my vehicle with my license and a warning and no ticket :slight_smile: . He once again thanked me for informing him about the weapon and hoped I had a wonderful rest of my day.

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I have mixed feelings about this subject, and really wonā€™t get into my full thoughts on it as every scenario could be different, but I do have a question for all of you.

What if youā€™re pulled over for speeding, basic license and registration scenario, and in your decision to be forthcoming that you have a weapon in the vehicle the officer strikes up a friendly gun conversation? They ask what you carry, and when you tell them they say ā€œOh wow, Iā€™ve wanted to check one those out in person. I really shouldnā€™t do this, but would you mind if I took a quick peek? I was thinking of getting one for myself/wife/husband etcā€ They seem really cool, looks like they may totally forget about the ticket, pro 2A etc.

Then what if, when you show it to them, they write down the serial number? Or maybe theyā€™re so ā€œexcitedā€ they say ā€œDude, thatā€™s a nice gun. I gotta get a pic of that thing!ā€ Now the conversation goes on about the guns they own and have at home, so you naturally talk about the guns you have at home.

Just something to think about. ā€œTreadā€ lightly my friends.

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Interesting point, @Kerryman71! Something similar happened to my son about his car. He has a 1972 Datsun and was pulled over. The officer was all excited about the car and took pictures of it (with my sons consent) to ā€œshare with his brother who likes that model.ā€

I told Kevin Michalowski about it and he kind of laughed at my naivetĆ© - evidently thatā€™s not an unusual tactic if theyā€™re looking for a car that resembles one used in a crime.

Granted, itā€™s a really cool car, so Iā€™m going to let myself be naive and think that the police officer was being nice. (Trust me, I know my kids arenā€™t angels, but theyā€™re not thieves or criminals.) I did warn my kids to not consent going forward. Thereā€™s no reason to consent to photos being taken.

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Exactly. And I think that the majority of us respect and appreciate law enforcement and they know that. We want to comply and make their jobs easier for them, knowing how difficult it can be. What better way for them to get a voluntary gun registration than that?

I work side by side with the police in my city. We get along great and look out for one another, but unless weā€™re close friends, they donā€™t need my gun info. The Sergeant who ran the LTC class in the city told everyone that when they get a gun, they should take a picture of it with the serial number and bring it to the police station so they can file it in case thereā€™s an issue. I donā€™t think so. I have the serial number written down and locked up. If they need to know what it looks like in case itā€™s stolen Iā€™ll have them Google ā€œHeckler & Koch VP9ā€ and tell them itā€™s the black one.

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Hereā€™s an odd question: have you ever called the police station to verify that it is in fact an officer behind you?
Once upon a time I read a blurp about things like this. Tactics used to get you outside your house/car and being aware of your surroundings. Some of it seemed far fetched (like the sound of a baby carrying outside your window to lure you outside to investigate). Cop cars were used in this as well. At night, no other lights beside the blinding white lights flooding your mirrors and the berries nā€™ cherries. Weā€™re taught to just pull over. Do you pull over without thought? Do you slow down with your warning lights on while calling to verify?
More out of curiosity if anyone has done this.

Here in MN we only have to notify the officer we are carrying or if we have a permit to carry is if they ask.

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They had someone here in Minneapolis about 20 years ago posing as a police officer and trying to sexually assault women. The police said if a police car comes up behind you and attempts to pull you over and youā€™re not sure if it is indeed a police officer to slowly drive with your flashers on to the police department or if you are too far from a police department to call 911 and they will verify it is indeed an officer

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Thatā€™s pretty much exactly what I read. I think about it sometimes driving home from work at night. I actually keep my local PD department phone number at the very bottom of my contact list. Easier to scroll down to the bottom than searching for it whIle driving. Came in handy a few times. Not for being pulled over, rather coming across someone with vehicle problems late at night, etc.
With how often we talk about situation awareness, iā€™m just curious if anyone considers this.
(By the way, welcome to the community @Vikesfanbrian! weā€™ll leave MNvsGB for a different conversation! Haha :rofl: Thanks for your response to this! )

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Iā€™ll only tell them if itā€™s going to be obviously visible when they approach the car. Iā€™ve never been pulled over though.

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Very good point! Verifying the car is in fact a police officer can be important.

What a sad state when people impersonate and target police ā€¦ :frowning:

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