Inform the officer or not when concealed carry?

[NavyLCDR]

and am going to hand over ID - the first thing I do is state that I hold a concealed carry permit and am/am not carrying. If the firearm/weapon is in the vehicle in storage (I have two minisafes bolted into the back of the SUV) I state where the weapons are, if they are loaded and that they are locked in a minisafe securely.

I think the key is 'no surprises'. I'd rather have a face plant than a swiss cheese experience. As recent events have shown us, someone hollering "gun" or requesting backup for a guy with a gun is likely to lead to something less than a desirable outcome, safe or otherwise.

In the five years that I have been carrying, I have been in such encounters several times, have always shown the greatest of courtesy and have always received the greatest of courtesy and appreciation in return. In fact, many if not most times I just get a "thank you" and I am on my way. Once I had them ask me to open the back of the SUV when the guns were stowed, they saw the locked safes and never even asked me to unlock them. I was on my way 5 seconds later.

I am just curious... at what point WOULD you stop waiving your 4th amendment rights and exercise them?

[Treo]

I am just curious... at what point WOULD you stop waiving your 4th amendment rights and exercise them?

I'm guessing it would be too late anyway

[NavyLCDR]

I'm guessing it would be too late anyway

Probably. I live by the principle of, "Just because you have nothing to hide, does not guarantee that they won't find something."

[Treo]

Probably. I live by the principle of, "Just because you have nothing to hide, does not guarantee that they won't find something."

I believe you may have read my story about the cops at Ft. Lewis that tried to send me to a military prison for a crime they knew I never committed on THR?

I never consent to a search and I never make a statement w/ out a lawyer present

[piesyor]

And I have nothing to hide so sure you can search my car.
And I have nothing to hide so sure you can search my house.

[CathyInBlue]

When you have nothing to hide is when you need to guard most jealously against the state demanding permission to search you. Since you have done nothing wrong, there's no reason for the authorities to search you.

If you're a criminal and the cops want to search you, you're prolly already boned by other evidence they've collected.

[S&W645]

When you have nothing to hide is when you need to guard most jealously against the state demanding permission to search you. Since you have done nothing wrong, there's no reason for the authorities to search you.

If you're a criminal and the cops want to search you, you're prolly already boned by other evidence they've collected.

That is correct. If the state doesn't require you to tell them you have a permit, them it seems to me it does not need to come up.

[Treo]

In 1991 at Fort Lewis (in the original shall issue state) Washington, I was arrested because someone called my barracks and told the C.Q. that there was a bomb somewhere in the building, the battalion dispatch clerk (who didn’t like me) told CID that I did it. Up to this point this is the story of a fairly minor inconvenience. The cop that arrested me refused to tell me what I was being charged (remember that fact because it’s going to figure back into the story) W/. He also felt that it would be a good idea to make a public spectacle of me by dragging me through the barracks twice in handcuffs.

When I was taken to CID headquarters I was left alone in a room for about an hour still in cuffs. (This is probably when I developed my pathologic fear of being mechanically restrained in any way), then taken to an interrogation room where I was handcuffed to a chair. And then the fun really began. The investigating officer told me that he knew that I was innocent (remember this is the same guy who has now left me hand cuffed for going on three hours) and that I had an excellent service record. (I didn’t know it at the time but my military career ended that night) He then asked me to do him just a little favor, if I would confess to the crime (they still hadn’t told me exactly what I was being charged with.) it would really help him out. In return for my assistance he would release me to my battalion commander with a recommendation that I receive no punishment.

When I refused to confess to a crime that I hadn’t committed, the real interrogation started, I wasn’t physically mistreated. Unless you count the fact that I was handcuffed for a total of 4 hours (and this by a cop who had already told me he knew I was innocent)

When golden boy was done with the mind games he (while I was still cuffed to his chair, probably for my own safety) typed up a transcript of our interview. Oddly enough the part where he professed my innocence disappeared, and a section in which I made a full confession was magically added. When the confes- I mean transcript was handed to me I refused to sign it and finally had enough sense to tell the cop that I wasn’t saying another word until I spoke to a lawyer.

The near term end of the story is that a month or so later after taking two lie detector tests all charges (which I still hadn’t been informed of) were dropped.

Now I’ve drawn attention to the fact that they never told me what the (according to the cop) relatively minor charges they filed against me were, honestly once they were dropped I didn’t care… until I tried to get a security clearance in 2002 and found out that they had been attempting to get me to confess to communication of a terrorist threat against the United States during a time of war. The “relatively minor charge” was still on my record 11 years after all charges were dropped.

I don’t start conversations w/ cops. I don’t say one more word than I am absolutely required to, to a cop. If I ever get pulled over and the question gets asked the only answer the cop is going to get is “Sir I am licensed to carry, am I free to go” if the conversation goes any farther I’m going to say “Sir I wish to speak to my lawyer".

[B2Tall]

In 1994 I was in the office at my place of business. The office had a small one-way window that looked out onto the floor of the business. While going over the previous day's paperwork I looked up to see half a dozen Philly cops with their guns drawn come running through our front door and take up position near the window I was looking through. Not exactly what I wanted to see.

I picked up the inter-store phone and called one of my co-workers who was on the floor. I was informed by one of the officers that a man armed with a pistol had run into our storage room. Since the only way in and out of our office was through the storage room this put me in a rather difficult situation. Fortunately the door to the office could only be opened with a key so I was safe for the moment. The officer told me to stay on the phone with him and to let him know if the perp tried to force the office door open. They were going to try and talk him out but if he became a direct threat to me they would charge the storage room and take him by force.

45 minutes later the perp gave himself up. All during that time there was a group of cops poised to put themselves in harm's way should my life be in danger. Me.....somebody these guy's didn't know from Adam....and they were willing to subject themselves to a potential hail of bullets if necessary.

That's why I respect LEOs on the whole. That's why I would show courtesy and inform the officer instead of throwing up red flags by pleading the fifth, so to speak.

[Hamilton Felix]

If this had happened to free men and women, in a free land instead of Philly, everyone there before the cops arrived would have been armed and acepting of the responsibility for their own defense.

But it did happen in Philly. So never forget for a second that, if you HAD protected yourselves, those same cops would have treated you MUCH worse than they ever did the perp they were chasing.

I will never shirk my responsibility to potect myself, never give it over to another, least of all to police who have NO legal responsibility to protect me.