Lakeland Man,
I think you have it right, the bad encounters are always reported and the good ones never are.
I have not had a bad one since high school (and everybody in town knew he was a jerk).
The last two involved the protocol for SC (during official encounters while carrying concealed, notify UNLESS you are in an area where no CC permit is required).
The first time, I reported a man lurking around a house I knew to be vacant and then running off while wearing heavy boots (and I knew he was not out for his morning run because of the beard, hair and scrawny body; this was no SEAL home on leave).
Two years later, it was a suspicious car parked on my long driveway (over 800').
Both times, presenting the permit was optional because I was on my land and it was a non-issue when I advised him anyway.
The last time occurred while I helped rescue an owl (not one of the endangered species, but I did not know it at the time).
Again, a non-issue. He looked at the permit, and just asked for the details of my report.
I have been stopped at a DUI check point, at night no less, and handed out my driver's license, insurance, and CW permit. He said "What 'ya carry?" I said "Sig .40 caliber P239, at 3 o'clock in a El Paso Saddlery IWB holster." He said: "I am a Glock man myself." I said, "Oh, am I going to need a lawyer?" He said "Nope, we are only doing drunks and the uninsured motorists tonight! See ya!" And that was it. No drama at all.
This is the only time I have ever written about this.
Of course, the secret to having no problems is refraining from juvenile behavior like street racing, keeping my insurance paid, not drinking and driving, not doing capers that involve travel in the small hours in the morning, maintaining my vehicles, and general behaving myself so LEOs have something better to do.
Dealing with someone they stop with an attitude has to be light up their threat detection board.
I think there is plenty of indication that most of these incidents just escalate from bad attitudes of the civilian involved. Add a long shift, working alone in the middle of the night and anyone can imagine that the
last straw is just one comment away.
My $.02.
KLW
I agree with most of your reasoning. However, a couple of points. LEO's take an oath to serve and protect the public. The general public, including gun owners and carriers do not. Do some of those LEO's violate that oath? Yes. But not all and I would say not most. I don't argue that there some bad cops. What I object to is the seemingly pervasive feeling among some members here that most or all cops are bad. When I was an LEO, I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of my peers who were less than honorable, and I would still have 4 fingers left over.
I carry to protect myself from the darker elements of society. However, everyone I pass is not suspect. I don't mistrust all the people I come into contact with. I don't act as if they all have intentions of harming me and my family. I don't want to live in that kind of a paranoid state. I am ready for confrontation at all times but I don't expect everyone to be the bad guy. So far, this has served me well.
When you are standing in line at the grocery store, do you expect the cashier to whip out a knife and attack you? Unless it's my ex-wife, I don't. Am I ready for such an attack? I like to think so. But readiness and fear or paranoia are two different things.
How many thousands of times a day do you suppose LE come into contact with the public? And how many of those times do you suppose the LEO is wrong or doing something they're not supposed to. I don't have numbers or statistics, but I'd be willing to wager that the percentage is statistically insignificant. However some posters here seem to feel the reverse is the norm. They judge all by the actions of a very few. Once again I say that that is Brady reasoning.
