When pulled over do you tell LEO that you are carrying when not required?


conn1957

New member
I just received my Florida concealed carry license yesterday. In states where it's not required to tell the LEO that you are carrying is it wise to let them know ASAP?
 

There are dozens of threads on this already. You will get very adament responses that yes you should tell, and equally adament responses that no you should not. Just like open carry v. concealed carry.

So let's try to summaraize the responses:

1. Follow the law. If the law requires you to notify, then you notify. Otherwise:

2. Your lawfully carried firearm has absolutely nothing to do with the traffic stop. To avoid any potential hassle, keep your mouth shut about it.

3. If the cop sees the gun accidentally or is otherwise surprised by it, they will potentially take forceful action against you, so tell them up front to avoid that.

4. If you show your permit and tell them up front about your gun, you are giving them legal justification to seize your gun, frisk you, and perform a search of the vehicle from which you may immediately obtain another weapon, all without your consent, until they can verify the validity of your permit, so just keep your mouth shut to avoid that.

5. They might know you have a permit anyway, once they run your name and birthdate/address from your driver's license, so just tell them up front.

6. If you don't tell them up front, and they find out about your permit from the dispatcher, they might wonder why you didn't tell them and treat you badly for it, so tell them up front to avoid that.

7. Once they find out about your permit from dispatcher, they now know that you have passed a background check and any weapon you might have is 99% chance completely legal, so they shouldn't bother you at all once they find out you have a VALID permit, so don't tell them. If you do tell them first, they have no way of knowing if your permit is valid or not (see #4 above).

8. They just want to go home safe to their family at the end of their shift. I have no idea what this has to do with telling them about your gun, but some poeple claim that is a reason to inform them.

9. It's polite. Again, I don't see how telling them about the gun and permit is polite, but some people claim it is. So should you also be polite to bus driver's, taxi driver's and convenience store clerks and tell them about your gun and permit too at first opportunity?

10. I want to go home safe to my family at night without being hassled by a police officer about my gun, so I won't tell them because that only invites hassle (whether or not the officer hassles me is up to them, but I don't need to give them a reason to.)

11. The safest place for my gun is in it's holster not being touched by anyone. Telling the officer about the gun invites them to disarm you, causing needless handling of the gun, placing everyone in added danger from a negligent discharge.

12. You should tell them about your permit because it will prove to the officer that you are a good guy and maybe they will be more inclined to let you out of a ticket. (Not the reason I got my permit, but some people use it for that.)

13. My 4th Amendment rights are just as important to me as the others are, so I won't tell them about my gun and invite them to take it from me.

14. If you have nothing to hide, why not tell them about it?

15. Just because I have nothing to hide is no reason to tell them about any object I lawfully possess, including my firearm.

16. If they want to know if I have a gun, why not just ask me? If they aren't concerned enough to ask, I am not concerned enough to offer.

I am sure I will think of more responses and others will add their own.
 
Whatever you do, DO NOT lie to them! I have thought about this and have came down on both sides on this at different times. Now I will play it by ear if I am ever stopped.
 
Absolutely not! You never can tell how the LEO will react, so why open that can of worms. You may get one that's a 2A supporter, it may be a pleasant encounter....BUT...if you get one that thinks only LEO should have weapons, that may end up completely different. If, for some reason, you are asked to step out of the vehicle or you are asked about weapons in the vehicle, then respond appropriately. Be honest, tell them that you have a valid CCW permit, where the weapon is and ask how they wish to proceed. Otherwise, have your license and other documents ready and accessible...and in sight when the LEO approaches. It's all about Probable Cause! If you volunteer that info, you may be asked to see the weapon...which you can answer in two ways... Either you can surrender your weapon to the office...or you can say "No", which could be construed as failure to comply with a reasonable request of a police officer. Hmmm, either way, he'll have your weapon. The first, you've relinquished your rights without any probable cause, the second, you'll probably end up in cuffs. SO, the moral of this story can be summed up using a few old phrases...Let a sleeping dog lie! If it ain't broke, don't fix it! No probable cause, No search!
 
17. Some people claim to tell the officer about their gun and show their permit out of "respect". Again, I can't figure out the relationship between telling them about a permit and lawfully carried object and respect. I must ask do they also tell the officer about other licenses they might have out of "respect" like a pilot's license, or license to practice medicine or scuba dive? Does telling the officer about other legally possessed objects like cell phones, spare tires, etc. also show "respect". And, of course, do they show this same "respect" to others such as convenience store clerks or bus drivers?

18. Some people say they inform the officer because the officer has a dangerous job. Well, how does my firearm that is secured in it's holster present any danger to the officer? So, according to them, I should tell the officer about my gun, which is completely safe in its holster, and offer that officer the invitation to handle my gun and take it from me, placing us all in greater danger? That makes no sense at all to me. In addition, for the last several years Police Officer has been rated as the #11 most dangerous job in America, safer than other occupations such as lumber worker, sanitation worker, and farmer. So...by the same reasoning, should people tell their garbage collector about their gun and permit because they have a more dangerous job than Police Officers?
 
Statistically speaking....

After reading many gun forums for many years, this is what I believe to be true:

By far the fewest incidents when the officer reacts in a negative manner, at least posted about, occur when the officer discovers the permit or gun on their own if everything else about the traffic stop is "normal". I've only read maybe four or five of these kinds of posts. Normally if the subject does talk about the gun, the gun never becomes an issue.

There are slightly more frequent post where the person informs the officer about their gun and permit and gets their gun seized by the officer anyway, ranging in reaction from "I'll just hold on to this" to being frisked and the gun serial number checked for stolen, to officers drawing their own firearms.

For every negative reaction when the officer finds out about the gun, there are probably thousands more where the individual informs the officer about the license and gun and the officer either doesn't react at all or reacts positively.

But, here's the kicker. For every traffic stop that goes well after the person informs the officer of the license and gun, there are probably tens of thousands of traffic stops that go equally as polite and professional with an equal number of warnings vice tickets where neither the officer nor the person stopped made any mention of a permit or gun. All of my traffic stops (probably 12-15, I used to speed a lot) have gone this way. I've never had a stop that was less than polite and professional, run about 50/50 getting a warning vice ticket, and neither I nor the officer has ever mentioned my CPL or any firearms I might have been carrying at the time.

So... I will play the odds. The greatest chance that I have of just getting the traffic stop over with in a polite and professional manner is to act that way myself and keep my mouth shut about guns and permits that have no bearing on the traffic stop at all. Does telling the officer about the gun and permit increase you chances of getting out of the ticket that you deserve to get anyway? Maybe. But I refuse to use my permit for that reason.
 
I just received my Florida concealed carry license yesterday. In states where it's not required to tell the LEO that you are carrying is it wise to let them know ASAP?
1. congratulations and good luck
2. try using the search option, this subject has been discussed to death in many threads
3. why would you offer any info to cop if you are not required to?
 
some of this response is not quite accurate for the OPs FLA CWFL.
FLA CWFL permits are not part of ANY dmv data base, a cop doing a field stop would have to have his agency access the DOACS data base to get any info about any CWFL permit.

There are dozens of threads on this already. You will get very adament responses that yes you should tell, and equally adament responses that no you should not. Just like open carry v. concealed carry.

So let's try to summaraize the responses:

1. Follow the law. If the law requires you to notify, then you notify. Otherwise:

2. Your lawfully carried firearm has absolutely nothing to do with the traffic stop. To avoid any potential hassle, keep your mouth shut about it.

3. If the cop sees the gun accidentally or is otherwise surprised by it, they will potentially take forceful action against you, so tell them up front to avoid that.

4. If you show your permit and tell them up front about your gun, you are giving them legal justification to seize your gun, frisk you, and perform a search of the vehicle from which you may immediately obtain another weapon, all without your consent, until they can verify the validity of your permit, so just keep your mouth shut to avoid that.

5. They might know you have a permit anyway, once they run your name and birthdate/address from your driver's license, so just tell them up front.

6. If you don't tell them up front, and they find out about your permit from the dispatcher, they might wonder why you didn't tell them and treat you badly for it, so tell them up front to avoid that.

7. Once they find out about your permit from dispatcher, they now know that you have passed a background check and any weapon you might have is 99% chance completely legal, so they shouldn't bother you at all once they find out you have a VALID permit, so don't tell them. If you do tell them first, they have no way of knowing if your permit is valid or not (see #4 above).

8. They just want to go home safe to their family at the end of their shift. I have no idea what this has to do with telling them about your gun, but some poeple claim that is a reason to inform them.

9. It's polite. Again, I don't see how telling them about the gun and permit is polite, but some people claim it is. So should you also be polite to bus driver's, taxi driver's and convenience store clerks and tell them about your gun and permit too at first opportunity?

10. I want to go home safe to my family at night without being hassled by a police officer about my gun, so I won't tell them because that only invites hassle (whether or not the officer hassles me is up to them, but I don't need to give them a reason to.)

11. The safest place for my gun is in it's holster not being touched by anyone. Telling the officer about the gun invites them to disarm you, causing needless handling of the gun, placing everyone in added danger from a negligent discharge.

12. You should tell them about your permit because it will prove to the officer that you are a good guy and maybe they will be more inclined to let you out of a ticket. (Not the reason I got my permit, but some people use it for that.)

13. My 4th Amendment rights are just as important to me as the others are, so I won't tell them about my gun and invite them to take it from me.

14. If you have nothing to hide, why not tell them about it?

15. Just because I have nothing to hide is no reason to tell them about any object I lawfully possess, including my firearm.

16. If they want to know if I have a gun, why not just ask me? If they aren't concerned enough to ask, I am not concerned enough to offer.

I am sure I will think of more responses and others will add their own.
 
some of this response is not quite accurate for the OPs FLA CWFL.
FLA CWFL permits are not part of ANY dmv data base, a cop doing a field stop would have to have his agency access the DOACS data base to get any info about any CWFL permit.

I think that's why Navy said "might." In WA, we don't have a DMV per-say, we have a DOL or Department of Licensing that handles almost all state licenses including both Drivers Licenses and CC licenses. I don't think your CHL automatically pops up when the LEO runs your name in WA (and if it does, no cop has ever mentioned to me before) but they do have access to the info if they want it.
 
In NY you are not required to notify. Unbelievable considering it's NY, but true. However, if asked by the officer, I'd tell him.
 
In NY you are not required to notify. Unbelievable considering it's NY, but true. However, if asked by the officer, I'd tell him.

"Not required to notify", means not required to notify voluntarily. Most states still require you to answer if specifically asked by a LEO. And in all states it's illegal to lie to a LEO, so if he asks you must answer.
 
I think that's why Navy said "might." In WA, we don't have a DMV per-say, we have a DOL or Department of Licensing that handles almost all state licenses including both Drivers Licenses and CC licenses. I don't think your CHL automatically pops up when the LEO runs your name in WA (and if it does, no cop has ever mentioned to me before) but they do have access to the info if they want it.

that is why a specifically mentioned FLORIDA
 
that is why a specifically mentioned FLORIDA

Ok, apparently that went right over your head. You stated that Navy's information was incorrect for the OPs post. I stated that that is why he used the word "might" so as to signify that that information was not necessarily inclusive of all states. Since he did not state anything as fact as it pertains to Florida, his statement was not at all incorrect.
 
some of this response is not quite accurate for the OPs FLA CWFL.
FLA CWFL permits are not part of ANY dmv data base, a cop doing a field stop would have to have his agency access the DOACS data base to get any info about any CWFL permit.

Really? Read what I actually wrote and tell me how it isn't accurate:

5. They might know you have a permit anyway, once they run your name and birthdate/address from your driver's license, so just tell them up front.

Notice what information I said they would use. Name, birth date and address. Now, I don't know about Florida, but on Wyoming and Washington driver's licenses the person's name, address and birth date is printed right on the license. The officer has no need to access DMV records to obtain that information. So the officer obtains the driver's license from the driver, and uses the name, address, and birth date to check for a concealed weapon license without ever having to access any database from the DMV. So, tell me how my statement is inaccurate for Florida?

Or the officer can obtain name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle from the license plate number, and use the name and address information obtained to check for concealed weapon license information regarding the registered owner of the vehicle, which, of course, in no way determines who is driving the vehicle.

I never stated anything at all about a police officer using a driver's license number or license plate number to obtain concealed weapon license information, did I? I stated name, address and birth date.
 
Really? Read what I actually wrote and tell me how it isn't accurate:
your comment is not accurate for a FLA CWFL holder because DOACS does not share with ANY DMV the fact that they issued anyone a CWFL in order for a cop in the field to find out if anyone he comes into contact with has a valid CWFL he needs to have his agency contact the DOACCS and request a check, the info is not readily available and to do that takes time, the cop needs probable cause to detain someone while the check is made so if you do not inform, why would a cop call in to his dispatch in order to have them contact DOACS to check the database? In FLA it is legal to possess a weapon in your car with out having a CWFL
all I was doing was "learning" you, so you and your puppet can stop with the obtuse and antagonist comments
 
It's not required to inform a Police Officer here in KY, that you are carrying concealed so I would not answer a question that has not been asked. But if asked I would be polite because that's the way I would want to be treated.
 
With so many threads on this, I almost do not see the point of adding anything. However, a story to put things in perspective, after driving a friends kid across state for visitation, i stopped at a place to clear out the front seat as I needed to pick my wife up and then get home. The place I chose to do this, unknowing to me was a place that routinely gets burglarized, I saw the LEO pull into the lot just as I was departing, the LEO pulled me over about a 1/2 mile later, I handed the LEO my DL, CPL and insurance info all at once and all he did was 1)ask where it was, 2) ask, not tell me, to leave it in the holster. This incident left me with a good feeling that not all LEOs are out to get you. BTW, the LEO was Auburn, WA. PD. So my recommendation is 1)Follow the rules and regs of your state or the state you are traveling in. 2)Don't do anything that would get you stopped in the first place. 3)The DRIVER should be the only person speaking for everyone in the car, unless the question is directed to a passenger. 4)If you are a passenger in the car and are carrying, again follow all rules and regs of the state.
 

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