highwayheat
highwayheat
Looks do not matter to me. I have arrested peeple from all walks of life for criminal acts. Some of my best felony arrest/seizures have come from individuals dressed in very nice, expensive clothes. Basing my enforcement on the way people look would just be a fishing expedition which is a total waste of my time. If I have a legal reason to stop someone then I may start digging deeper based on their body language and reactions to my presence. We get paid to ask questions and conduct investigations. All traffic stops are an investigation by nature and it is not illegal to ask questions. Most traffic stops lead to someone being issued the appropriate paperwork and cut loose in a minimal amount of time. There are however, traffic stops that lead to further questioning and possibly an arrest depending on what is discovered or learned through out the course of the traffic stop.
I personally ask everyone if the there are any weapons in the vehicle. I ask this for the safety of the individual(s) I have stopped and my personal safety as well. I posted on here before how earlier in my career that an individual with a MD CCW had a loaded pistol in the glove box. When he went to retrieve his registration it fell out on the passenger seat and the situation became tense for a few moments. Once I determined he had a CCW he was released and sent on his way with a warning for the traffic violation. I explained to him that a little heads up would have been nice and he would have not found himself in cuffs for a few minutes. He apologized and we shook hands. I personally can not speak for all LEO's in this state, but I prefer someone tell me that they have a weapon in the car. If the person is a legit, law abiding citizen then I cut them loose with the appropriate paperwork and move on to the next stop. Courtesy is a two way street and goes along way from both sides of the traffic stop. On the same note I have had criminals that should never be in possession of a firearm tell me they are carrying. Once I find out through "questions" that they are a prohibited person then they get a free ride to the pokey.
If I stop a vehicle that happens to have some form of a 2A sticker on it then I usually end in a casual convestaion with the driver/passengers about firearms and how the firearm laws is this state suck. Unfortuanately, there are a few bad apples in law enforement that will do anything for a stat/arrest, even if they do not necessarily agree with the law that they are enforcing. I will stick with my best partner, which is common sense discretion.
