Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Never ever...under any circumstance fire a warning shot. The civil liabilities alone are not worth it.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Rochard, one thing to understand. You are driving alone, you are working alone. All you have is a radio. You hear one of your partners call out that he has pulled over a vehicle with weapons. There are certain legalities that cover what can be said over the radio. So think that your buddy just pulled over a guy with guns. Wouldn't want to go make sure he was ok? I do it all the time with the officers I work with.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

First off, Ill also try to answer any questions to the best of my ability. Its worth noting Im a Federal cop, not a city cop, so things differ slightly, but not much.

1) It doesnt matter how you pull over or what you do with your vehicle. (it does to an extent, more on that in a minute)Police officers are trained to treat every traffic stop with the utmost caution. We are trained to always be ready for the worst possible scenario, so when I approach a vehicle I always prepare for them to run, have a gun, a knife, or even explosives. Dont take this the wrong way. I dont treat everyone like they are the worst criminal in the world. I simply expect the worst, because you never know when something is going to happen. The moment you let your guard down is the moment something does. I treat every traffic stop this way.

Now as for how you should pull over when yielding to or being stopped by a Law enforcement Agency. You should make every effort to pull over to the right side of the road as much out of traffic as possible. When it is too difficult to pull to the right, then find an embankment, empty turn lane, or median and pull in there. Remember, if you have to pull over in a lane and block traffic in that lane because there is nowhere else to go(a rare occassion) then make sure that your vehicle is visible in both directions for at least 1000 feet(IE-dont block an open lane of traffic right around a sharp bend in the road). If at all possible try to find somewhere to pull into(such as a parking lot). In the end, you should be thinking about the safety of the other motorists on the road, the officer pulling you over, and yourself.

Personally, I dont cut anyone slack based on how they pull over. I may give them a ticket or I may give them a warning. Its based on what the person did to be stopped, the attitude they have and how cooperative they are. Every officer is different.

2) In this case it really depends on what state this incident occured. On a military or federal installation no private weapons are allowed unless you are on official business and have a license to carry a concealed weapon. If this guy came on base he would have been arrested regardless of whether all the weapons were legal and licensed. Since this happened in the city the officer might have suspected he was an illegal arms dealer or it could have just been protocol when someone is in possession of three or more firearms(or whatever it may be). I cant say for sure.

3)As I said in answer #1 this can vary, because I give out tickets/warnings based on why the person was stopped, the attitude they have and their level of cooperation.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Here is where we are going to differ. If you are bringing a gun to a knife fight you better be able to articulate why. If you can shoot to warn, then you were in control of the situation enough to get away. In Tennessee, you would be brought up on charges for firing a warning shot.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

I know it's not easy, and there are different ways to interpret what a law says versus what it may mean. But here, it is spelled out very clearly that they are allowed, and what the requiorement for them is. I just wonder why, if the laws is pretty specific here, and tited covers are allowed, why they make a big deal about the mach, but never have pulled over the Escape. I know the answer really, but just wondered aloud I guess. I have talked to several different guys, and can't get the same answer from anyone. I think some have pet infractions they like to issue, and the TR Mach does not go unnoticed. It just seems odd to me. Especially since I am not a kid, not a racer (ok, mostly), no traffic tickets, nothing to warrent getting pulled over, and i did my homework before I put them on. I have not had any problems for a while, but still seems funny.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Not trying to be smart, but what's the diffrence between the two??

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

There sure a lot of cops registered here....I may have earned another pullover LOL

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Well, there is actually quite abit of difference lol. As a federal officer we are assigned to perform law enforcement duties on military/federal installations. Military installation being a base like Kirtland AFB and a federal installation being something like Los Alamos National Labs as examples. Our jurisdiction is limited to these areas, and a persons civil liberties in these areas are very different than if they were in the city. For example, when you enter a military/federal installation your vehicle and all of your belongings are subject to search at any time without cause. In the city, an officer cannot search your vehicle or belongings without consent or probable cause. As I stated earlier, you cannot carry a private weapon onto a installation. In city, you can carry your weapon wherever you want except onto private property and in areas where it is marked that no firearms are allowed.

Essentially, the laws are much more strict and you have fewer civil liberties.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Thanks bro. :yeh:

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Yeah I didn't see that there was so many men in blue on here. That is cool. I feel an even better bond with this site.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Hey Dave,

I'm going to have to look up California case law on this. Women do this crap all the time. They shoot to wound. Given the fact that you are only supposed to shoot if you believe you are in fear of your life or great personal injury, you can open yourself up to a nasty lawsuit.

"Your Honnor, if the defendant truly believed his life was in danger, he would have killed my client. Since he shot my client in the arm, he obviously didn't believe my client was willing to kill him."

Some poor California crime victim admitted to shooting to wound, not kill and the jury was pursuaded that he wasn't truly in fear of his life of great personal injury. The crimal was awarded significant damages. I think the poor guy was also convicted of illegally shooting his assailant.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

I dunno! I caught a local gendarme coming out of the donut shop one afternoon with TWO dozen donuts!!! and loved his expression when I said "It's true!... Cops eat donuts!" He said he just KNEW he was gonna get some comment! LOL... he then graciously let me take a pic of him in uniform in the cop car with the box of donuts!! We both had a good laugh... nice guy!

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Not in Texas. Right to carry laws here require that the individual keep the handgun concealed at all times, unless of course it is being used in a self defense situation where deadly force was required. Open display of a gun in a holster or brandishing a gun to intimidate others would result in suspension or revocation of the individual's permit.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

They must have changed it. I haven't been there since '98-'99 ish. I swear the two different waiters had small caliber glocks on them.

One cool thing in Tennessee is you can carry with your weapon in plain view. While I would never do that (kinda gives away the element of surprise), I have seen people do it.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

I'm an officer in Texas, where we have right to carry laws. Both of my in-laws are concealed handgun license holders and I am an advocate of the program. When someone has a CHL (Concealed Handgun License) it indicates that they were willing to jump through the hoops and get the training and background checks (and spend the money) to follow the law. This usually means they are not bad people. Also, it gives the bad guys a moment of pause, as they never know who may be armed. Another benefit for us is that the people with these licenses have a lot to lose if the screw up, so it's another incentive for them to keep following the law.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Are they allowed to carry in plain view?

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

No. It is specifically prohibited and the handgun license holder would be subject to having his license suspended. The only thing that I can think of is if the waiters were carrying under the exepction to prosecution that says its ok to be in possession of a weapon on your own property or when being employed to protect the property of a third person (i'd have to double check the law to get the official language.)

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Ok thanks. :)

Private citizens cannot carry in a location that sells alcohol for consumption. But they are permitted to carry where it is sold (i.e. Gas station, etc.), except where prohibited by the business.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

True, the training and background check were very thorough in my opinion. I have had a CHL since it was first authorized in Texas, and have heard very little negative reporting from the local news media regarding the right to carry laws. Reciprocity with other states right to carry programs continues to steadily improve.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

In Texas, Constables and even Game Wardens have been known to write tickets. There is a lot of competition these days for the best spot to setup radar on DFW freeways. My question is when did these guys receive the authority to write speeding tickets???

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

I know, I got "radar-ed" by a Tarrant County Constable on I-20 in Arlington recently.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

This is a VERY interesting thread.
Good knowledge being absorbed here.
I do many miles in the continental US so it is good to see what goes where.

I have clear covers over my tags & fortunately I have not been asked to remove or fined in the states I have driven through.
Might be because I am on the Interstate hwy 'passing through'.
I forget which state but my cross country drive to Las Vegas in 2004 one state had a whack pile of speed traps on the Interstate I was on. Either CO or UT, whoa. I will bet on CO. going over the mountains, vehicle speed can get away from you. Scary when at the top and it is wet snow.

The police do get a bad rap from some civilians.
My hats off to all you law enforcement staff.
Thanks EH. :yes:

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Under the Texas Code of Criminal Proceedure, any licensed peace officer has the authority to issue citations for traffic offenses if they are in their jurisdiction. For state officers (DPS, Parks and Wildlife,etc.) that's anywhere in the state. County officers are county wide and municipal officers are city wide. (For traffic offenses). The State and County officers will usually file their charges through the JP court or County Court systems (at least that's the way it is in the Houston area) where Municipal officers file through Municipal court.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Stan: The theory is to shoot to stop someone's threat to your life. Not shoot to wound. People are getting that all mixed up. If you shoot someone in the head, it stops their aggressive attack on your life. If they are killed in the process, well, sorry. It is not the intent of the victim to kill the other person, just to stop their attack and preserve life. If you go into court and say, "Yes, jury of my peers, I shot to kill that guy," you will be looked at in a different light here in the land of fruits and nuts. But if you say, "Hey, guys....I shot him to save my life and get him to stop what he was doing. Unfortunately he didn't stop before he lost his life," you will be seen as a true victim, not someone bent on revenge for his attack against you. Do y'all see the difference here? The difference is a reverence for human life, which all deadly force decisions MUST BE BASED UPON. I hope this clarifies things.

Re: Ask A Police Officer
 

Much better explanation IMU :)