Pulled Over by MSP/Guns in Car

joppaj said:

I hereby declare this a "good thread ".

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SS396 said:

See what I wrote below for the answer to your scenario. Remember though that in the OP's case you are only hearing one side of the story as is almost always the case. No disrespect to the OP, but there could have been other indicators the officers picked up on that caused more scrutiny. For example, how many posters have you seen in this forum that might come off the wrong way immediately due to the political climate we live in? As opposed to remaining calm and resisting the urge to prejudge what the officers are trying to do.

As I mentioned somewhere above, not every officer is a gun enthusiast or was raised around firearms. They may innocently use the term "registration", a term that is not well liked among many of us. Ultimately you can do two things, be the guy I mentioned above, or talk to the officer, maybe educate him/her respectfully with your knowledge of the law. Win as many people over as you can; for God's sake don't push them away.



In the absence of any other reasonable and articulable suspicion, I would have to let him go. This is not at all uncommon. I've had many situations where I knew something was in the car, but I had been dealt a weak hand and really couldn't take it any farther. In other situations, you're dealt a strong hand and can do more. I'd like to think though that the average guy who is following the law would be able to control himself and act accordingly. You can exercise your rights without being an ass and calling suspicion to yourself (I'm not saying this was the OP; there's not enough information.).

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fidelity said:

Over 300 posts in a largely respectful dialog between citizens and those citizens who also happen to work in law enforcement. Where's MPDC411? He's often laying the mileage/post markers in LEO threads gone bad (if only to defuse bickering).
All kidding aside, for those who keep posting to address the same questions repeated or rephrased (as my Frederick area LEO SS396 has done heroically), please enjoy your weekends. You've done more than your share of community service in this thread and others can be politely directed to invest some time reading instead of this thing continuing in a circle.

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Brooklyn said:

See now we are in complete agreement. And that's the statement I was looking for.. I am not prepared to say anything about the OP situation other than the gun alone can not be allowed to become reasonable suspicion.

Nor can I say, nor have I said, that there was misconduct. So it took a while but we are 100% in agreement,, I think.

Now I am prepared to say that there may have been a reasonable suspicion, or it may be a rookie thinking there was. Not a big deal either way.. but clarifying that the gun alone will not do is important.

I think we finally managed to communicate on mdshooters --

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T'Challa said:

I see it all the time. Question, does a broken window or busted tail light really justify a warrant check? I have often been conflicted on this. On the one had, the warrant check got a person into custody for a crime. On the other hand, did I have justifiable reason to check in the first place. Do I do a warrant check on every person that I stop or do I just check the ones who look suspicious? Do I do a warrant check on men and not women? Do I do a check on blacks, Latinos and the Irish or do I check people who sound like they are not citizens? Decisions decisions. Some LEOs find objectivity better than others I guess.

when it comes to the warrant check dilemma. I leaned towards checking EVERYONE no matter what or checking NO ONE. Just my two bits worth.

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