How to talk to the police


Be polite and say. why am I being stopped? Am i free to leave? am i under arrest? am I being detained and repeat as often as needed.
 
If you have a smart phone get the voice recorder app. Start the recorder and put it in your top pocket or down by the door handle. Make sure it captures the entire stop.
 
If anyone ever watches Deadliest Catch this week's episode shows what appears to be Elliot Neese the Captain of the SAGA defying an LEO while in his truck at port. Only saw the previews but looks like he plays it well when the LEO tells him that it would be in his best interest to roll down his window and Elliot responds with good old fashioned non-compliance. BAFUNGU!
 
I don"t know if age has anything to do with it but at age 64 I have been stopped twice by different local police in the last six months . Both times when the officer got to my car window i had both hands on the steering wheel , window rolled down and spoke in a calm voice . Before the officers as for anything I informed them I had a licensed concealed firearm . They ask where it was on my person and told me not to go near that area , when handing my drivers licence , insurance card and etc. I included my carry permit . Both stops when very well and there were no tickets issued .........................
 
I don"t know if age has anything to do with it but at age 64 I have been stopped twice by different local police in the last six months . Both times when the officer got to my car window i had both hands on the steering wheel , window rolled down and spoke in a calm voice . Before the officers as for anything I informed them I had a licensed concealed firearm . They ask where it was on my person and told me not to go near that area , when handing my drivers licence , insurance card and etc. I included my carry permit . Both stops when very well and there were no tickets issued .........................

Unless your state law requires it, why do you feel the need to present an extra license that you have and disclose to the officer what objects you are legally carrying? If you held a teacher's certificate, would you show that to the officer as well? A teacher's certificate has about as much relevence on a traffic stop as a firearms license does - again, assuming there is no state law requiring notification, but it would show you are a "good guy" because, at least in Washington, a background check is required to obtain a teacher's certificate.
 
I will say that after a group of us were stopped tear-assin' on Missouri and Arkansas twisty roads on our FJR motorcycles, when the helmets came-off and the gray hair shown, the officer definitely treated us differently than a bunch of young hoons (even though that's what we were) on sportbikes. We all had silver FJR1300 sport touring bikes with side and top hard cases, so it was a color-coded day for us. Just a well-deserved warning from the LEO, and we mounted again and continued our, um, tour.

This has nothing to do with the OP, but wanted to mention it only as the age factor of barrygray0 was brought-up.
 
TO...NAVYLCDR
The reason I shared the information with both officers I wanted to establish "good upfront grounds " and show them how "honest and open" I am ! ! ! !
 
TO...NAVYLCDR
The reason I shared the information with both officers I wanted to establish "good upfront grounds " and show them how "honest and open" I am ! ! ! !

For me, the risk to my personal safety and the safety of others is not worth it to "establish 'good upfront grounds'" and "show them how 'honest and open' I am". When I tell the officer about my gun at first opportunity I am extending to that officer an invitation to seize my gun temporarily "for officer safety", to frisk me for other weapons, and to search the area of my vehicle from which I might readily obtain another weapon - all without requiring my consent. Most officers won't be tempted and won't accept that offer, but a minority will - and just like the officer doesn't know what my intentions are, I don't know what the officer's intentions are. The safest place for my gun is in the holster with nobody handling it, and the greatest chance of it staying in the holster without being handled is if the officer does not know about it when he is not required to know about it by law.

Second, the immediate and voluntary waiving at the first opportunity of my 4th Amendment (and Washington State Constitution) rights to be secure in my personal property and papers is also not worth it. If the officer is of the type that will want to take my gun "for officer safety" you can bet that they will also be the type that will run the serial number of the gun. In Washington the Department of Licensing maintains a database of handguns purchased from FFLs and who purchased them. It is likely that the gun I am carrying will not match my name because it was purchased in a private transaction. That same type of officer is likely to get a bee in his bun when the DOL tells him that my gun was purchased by someone else from an FFL - even though I am now the person in 100% legal possession of it.

The risk to everyone's safety, the waiving of my rights at first sight of a government official, and the potential and irrelevant issues that I might raise by telling the officer about my permit and gun are just not worth the "butt kissing" value of such action. Especially when I do things like signal the officer that I see their lights by turning on my hazard flashers, actively look for and pull over in the safest place for the officer, have my Driver's License in hand, my window rolled down, the hand with the Driver's License slightly out the window with the Driver's License on plain display. Engine and radio turned off, interior dome light on if at night, my free hand on the steering wheel. The folder with my insurance and registration will be on my lap. I will greet the officer friendly and professionally using "sir and officer". I won't argue with what the officer is wanting to cite me for. I will give the officer a polite and professional "good bye" whether or not they give me a ticket. If that isn't enough to "endear" myself to the officer, then telling them about my gun and showing a firearms permit - which is introducing irrelevant information for the officer to process - isn't likely to influence them that much more.

If the officer wants to know about my gun, and if it matters that much to an officer whether or not I have a gun - all they have to do is take 2 seconds to ask me.
 
Hay NAVY to each his own... you do what you want and i'll do WHAT HAS WORKED FOR ME AND MANY MORE ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
 
Most officers won't be tempted and won't accept that offer, but a minority will - and just like the officer doesn't know what my intentions are, I don't know what the officer's intentions are.
But don't you know; trust between citizen and cop is a one way street. You're supposed to trust him WITHOUT QUESTION, and with NO gesture of ANY kind on his part.

YOU on the other hand are supposed to engage in ritualized shows of submission toward him. And if that tugging at your forelock actually ENDANGERS you, that doesn't matter because it supposedly makes HIM safer.

You're guilty until he DECIDES that you've proved yourself "innocent". He on the other hand is "innocent", NO MATTER WHAT.
 
Hay NAVY to each his own... you do what you want and i'll do WHAT HAS WORKED FOR ME AND MANY MORE ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The problem is that it HASN'T "work" for a LOT of people.

I advise people to OBEY THE LAW AS WRITTEN.

If it REQUIRES you to notify, notify.
If it doesn't, DON'T.

In Ohio, we're required to notify WHEN ARMED.

NATURALLY, some cops and groupies insist that people notify when NOT armed.

I don't do "courtesies". I do the LAW.

The way to avoid speeding and traffic tickets is to obey the speed limit and traffic laws, NOT to play Stepin Fetchit for random cops. THAT works (for the most part) for me and a lot of others.
 
TO...NAVYLCDR
The reason I shared the information with both officers I wanted to establish "good upfront grounds " and show them how "honest and open" I am ! ! ! !
MISTAKE! MISTAKE! MISTAKE! MISTAKE!
.
Hay NAVY to each his own... you do what you want and i'll do WHAT HAS WORKED FOR ME AND MANY MORE ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
This could go bad in a second. Don't assume because he has a badge that he's not a criminal or psycho. Don't assume he's smart. Don't assume he understands his job, the law, your rights, the constitution or rules of evidence.
 
In Ohio when your plate is ran, it comes up that you're a CCW holder. Your obligated to also inform them as well as if you're carrying with you or not. Normally it's a good idea to ask if they have any special instructions regarding that.
My understanding in Ohio , failure to inform is a violation that could lead to suspension of CCW. Not to mention P them off since they already know anyway.
 
In Ohio when your plate is ran, it comes up that you're a CCW holder. Your obligated to also inform them as well as if you're carrying with you or not.
They don't really know. The driver may not be the person to whom the car is registered.
 
They don't really know. The driver may not be the person to whom the car is registered.

I feel for someone borrowing the car of someone with a CCW if they do know by running plates. I can only imagine how that stop would go:

"Why aren't you giving me your CCP? You're breaking the law. You're required to inform me you have a gun. Where is it?"

"But I don't have a gun! I have no idea what you're talking about."

I imagine it would work out very well.
 

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