ecocks
New member
While I have had a few conversations with police officers while CC'ing or in a traffic stop, I had my first Man With a Gun incident a couple of days ago. It's a joke in our little group of gun-nuts that cops just don't notice me. It's also a joe that another one of our guys is a "cop magnet". I happened to be sitting with him having a cup of coffee the other day....
Another guy and I met up this morning at Tully's Coffeehouse over in the Marketplace Shopping Center in Nampa. No real agenda, just drink some coffee and plan out what we want to think about for the next meeting of our pro-carry group and any summer activity possibilities in a general sort of way.
When I arrived (about 9:35AM) I noticed 2 police officers out front but they had apparently just tanked up on coffee and scones or whatever and were heading out for their shift. One even passed me and we exchanged "Good Mornings" as he went to his car and didn't notice my OC condition (short, bomber-style jacket was swept back behind the gun's grip).
So, I go inside and took the jacket off, unpacked my PC and order a coffee, moving to a better table when one opened up a few moments later. My biddy arrives about 10:00 or so. We were fine for about 2 hours when another officer (Nampa PD) arrives at the door, sweeps the room with a look which made me think, "I wonder...?" but then headed for the coffee counter. Maybe I was wrong and this is where Nampa cops routinely top off their tanks? A few minutes later though another cop pulls up, here we go.
The first cop comes up to our table and says something like, "Excuse me, you guys doing okay? I reply to the effect of "Yep, we're fine officer." He says, "Well we got a call and I was wondering if anything was going on?" Me again: "No Sir, just sitting drinking coffee and talking." The officer then asked, "Do you have concealed carry permits?" I replied, "I do." (Note: My apology to my firend because I did add something to the effect that he didn't have one and wasn't CC'ing.) I pulled out my DL and handed it to him, followed a couple of minutes later with my permt. My friend declined to provide ID but gave the officer his name and DL#, all of which were duly called in and responded to with an all-clear for warrants and records.
We chatted about OC being legal in Idaho but that people calling in that there were men with guns at the location required a response and that they were probably just unaware that Idaho law allows this. He and the second officer seemed calm and at ease, just solid police officers doing their jobs. Athough there is no clear understanding of how they would have responded to a call of Men With A Bible at the same location.
We asked the two counter staff about it after he left and they said yes 3-4 customers told them there were men with guns sitting there. They were unsure who called it in and neither took credit for making a/the call.
So, Tully's did not refuse service or indicate we were not welcome. We finished our coffees and left about an hour or so later.
The Nampa Police responded well (IMO), were polite and not openly seeking to escalate confrontation of any type. I am not one of those who gets all upset about providing ID when asked respectfully and believe it is reasonable for the officer to feel unthreatened by the situation. They knew the law and you being calm will calm them considerably.
The 911 dispatchers logged another MWAG call which proved to be legal and a non-event.
The customers saw other customers who were armed, amiably chatting with police officers, no arrests and no bloodbath resulted.
Educational for all concerned, IMO.
So, I favor getting out more. Dispatchers need to become used to these calls and learn to screen them better. They will do that after the 2000th (or whatever the magic number is) call and the police get them to understand how to better define to citizens the difference between normal people legally carrying guns and those who are a potential danger to the community. When all parties (customers, carriers, business owners, police and dispatchers) become more used to lawful carry situations, the fear will drop, police will get on with crime prevention/solution and the attendant tensions will drain off.
Another guy and I met up this morning at Tully's Coffeehouse over in the Marketplace Shopping Center in Nampa. No real agenda, just drink some coffee and plan out what we want to think about for the next meeting of our pro-carry group and any summer activity possibilities in a general sort of way.
When I arrived (about 9:35AM) I noticed 2 police officers out front but they had apparently just tanked up on coffee and scones or whatever and were heading out for their shift. One even passed me and we exchanged "Good Mornings" as he went to his car and didn't notice my OC condition (short, bomber-style jacket was swept back behind the gun's grip).
So, I go inside and took the jacket off, unpacked my PC and order a coffee, moving to a better table when one opened up a few moments later. My biddy arrives about 10:00 or so. We were fine for about 2 hours when another officer (Nampa PD) arrives at the door, sweeps the room with a look which made me think, "I wonder...?" but then headed for the coffee counter. Maybe I was wrong and this is where Nampa cops routinely top off their tanks? A few minutes later though another cop pulls up, here we go.
The first cop comes up to our table and says something like, "Excuse me, you guys doing okay? I reply to the effect of "Yep, we're fine officer." He says, "Well we got a call and I was wondering if anything was going on?" Me again: "No Sir, just sitting drinking coffee and talking." The officer then asked, "Do you have concealed carry permits?" I replied, "I do." (Note: My apology to my firend because I did add something to the effect that he didn't have one and wasn't CC'ing.) I pulled out my DL and handed it to him, followed a couple of minutes later with my permt. My friend declined to provide ID but gave the officer his name and DL#, all of which were duly called in and responded to with an all-clear for warrants and records.
We chatted about OC being legal in Idaho but that people calling in that there were men with guns at the location required a response and that they were probably just unaware that Idaho law allows this. He and the second officer seemed calm and at ease, just solid police officers doing their jobs. Athough there is no clear understanding of how they would have responded to a call of Men With A Bible at the same location.
We asked the two counter staff about it after he left and they said yes 3-4 customers told them there were men with guns sitting there. They were unsure who called it in and neither took credit for making a/the call.
So, Tully's did not refuse service or indicate we were not welcome. We finished our coffees and left about an hour or so later.
The Nampa Police responded well (IMO), were polite and not openly seeking to escalate confrontation of any type. I am not one of those who gets all upset about providing ID when asked respectfully and believe it is reasonable for the officer to feel unthreatened by the situation. They knew the law and you being calm will calm them considerably.
The 911 dispatchers logged another MWAG call which proved to be legal and a non-event.
The customers saw other customers who were armed, amiably chatting with police officers, no arrests and no bloodbath resulted.
Educational for all concerned, IMO.
So, I favor getting out more. Dispatchers need to become used to these calls and learn to screen them better. They will do that after the 2000th (or whatever the magic number is) call and the police get them to understand how to better define to citizens the difference between normal people legally carrying guns and those who are a potential danger to the community. When all parties (customers, carriers, business owners, police and dispatchers) become more used to lawful carry situations, the fear will drop, police will get on with crime prevention/solution and the attendant tensions will drain off.
