Armed Citizen from AR Interacts with Police Officer in AL

Gun Watch ^ | 17 September, 2013 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

On a road trip from Arkansas through Alabama, an armed citizen, on vacation with his wife, had an encounter with a police officer.

Officers on the street have always been more supportive of armed citizens than police administrators.   As state after state made it easier for ever increasing  numbers of citizens to be legally armed in public, the attitude of police became more positive as they gained experience with armed citizens.

In the words of Kopis, a contributor to opencarry.org, here is what happened on the road in Alabama:

So i rolled the windows down, took the key out and put my hands on the wheel, the trooper walks up and i stuck my hand out and introduced myself and said also, "i do have a CCW permit out of AR and my GLOCK is on my right side, do you want to disarm me?" and in a country twang, he responds "well, ill make ya a deal son, you dont draw yours and i wont draw mine" LMAO! i said that's a fair deal officer! He got my at 75 in a 55 and wrote me a warning, how awesome is that?

This sort of encounter is much more common than the negative ones that I usually write about.  Most police officers see armed citizens as an asset rather than a threat.  You do not hear these stories because they are not news.

They are less common in those areas that are still working hard at suppressing second amendment rights.  I would not expect this treatment in New York City, New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Chicago.

Police attitudes are changing.  Police communicate with each other, and every positive encounter with armed citizens, every incident where an armed citizen assists a police officer, adds to the momentum of changing police attitudes.  

The common experience of police officers is that legally armed citizens are the good guys and gals.  They are not the problem, they are part of the solution.  It starts with the police on the street, but more and more police chiefs and sheriffs are echoing that message as well.


 ©2013 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

[SwankyC]

Officers on the street have always been more supportive of armed citizens than police administrators.

A complete idiot wrote this line?

[bamahead]

Bama ping.

[Tupelo]

“A complete idiot wrote this line? “

No, This seems to be fact. Especially outside of the major metropolitan areas.
Especially in the south, west and southwest.

[marktwain]

I suspect this trooper read the motto on his patch, and took it to heart.

[Resolute Conservative]

How so?

[BitWielder1]

Officers on the street have always been more supportive of armed citizens than police administrators.

An ambiguous sentence indeed but both interpretations are probably correct.

[xrmusn]

That definitely is NOT a very intelligent way to handle it.
There are a couple of states that REQUIRE you to give the ‘heads up’ upon contact -without him/her asking (NC is one) but the ONLY state I would voluntarily give that info to is my home state (VA) as I am properly licensed and they probably have that data anyway.
If an officer starts asking ‘leading’ questions (we know that most of the time they ask a question they are reasonably sure they know the answer)and it is a VA ‘friendly’ state, I may volunteer that I am armed but in a NON friendly state (virtually entire NE and Left Coast) no voluntary info as you will more than likely become their ‘guest’ for a while.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The long term view of this is police become so blasé to citizen carry that mentioning it is just a social nicety, a way of identifying yourself as a “law abiding, polite person”, not a ruffian, blackguard, scoundrel or inebriate.

Guns and etiquette, the two things go together. In Arizona, pretty soon men will tip their hats to ladies, and children will address adults as “Ma’am” and “Sir”.

[John S Mosby]

Seriously cool AL State Trooper Heraldry on the patch— look at the various parts-inside the Large Shield are: Lions Rampant (the old English empire), the Union Jack (again later UK), the Fleur de Lis of the French Louisiana (of which Alabama was a part) and the Stars and Bars battle flag of the CSA-— all these joined in the middle by the Shield of the United States (similar to the US Senate shield and other US shield applications). This setting has paired Bald Eagles who clutch a banner that says “We Dare Defend Our Rights”.

That is exceptional. Worth looking into the State police patches and emblems in our other States.

[TEXOKIE]

Oklahoma is a state that requires notification of carry license upon first contact asap without the officer asking.

[Wildbill22]

I had a similar experience. Pulled over on a lonely backwoods road, Sherrif dept car, I wasn’t paying attention to my speed, 65 in a 55.

He asks for the usual, license, registration and insurance. I say “sure, but first I’m suppose to show you this (handing him CCW permit), and the handgun is in the computer bag (pointing to drivers side floor), just tell me what you need.”
He then chews on me a little “... Do you know how much a 65 in a 55 zone is? $200, so slow it down”. He then hands me back my permit and turns to go, never even seeing the insurance and registration, I ask if there is anything else he needs, and he says I’m good to go, “...by the way, I like your bumper sticker (’Save A Cow, eat a vegetarian’)”. I say “THANKYOU!”
I’m not saying having a permit saved me from a ticket, (maybe it was the bumper sticker? LOL) but I do think that in these parts anyway that from all the background checking required it does possibly change the tone of an encounter with a LEO.

[John S Mosby]

Quite true. See my comments about the AL troopers patch emblem. Worth looking into to the political extent of what a patrolman might value vs. a desk jockey politician administrator who has forgotten his/her place in the scheme of things.

It is also very true that one must know the laws of each state that does not have reciprocity in the CCW or other firearms laws. Safe to say that a NC CCW has zero value in CT these days.
Heck, you can’t drive a camper with propane tanks through the Holland Tunnel (not that anyone sane would ever want to go somewhere by that route LOL).

[Vigilantcitizen]

The wife and I were returning from the gulf with a cooler full of snapper and grouper in the trunk....headed up 431 north toward Columbus. I had just bought a highpoint 9mm that looked like a mac -10...30 round clip and all..and it was sitting trapped between my seat and the console after having ran a 500 round box of ammo through it at sea testing it out(Flawless btw).

We were coming up a long hill just south of Opelika and I pushed the car up to 80 for the first time on the 65 mph road...just as an ASP topped the hill from the other direction. He passed me and bootlegged....very skillfully...and caught me quick.

“How fast you going son?”

“About 82 or so sir...and btw...I got this right here.”

“Just take the magazine out of it and clear the bolt...then set it up on the dash. Since you were honest...and you’re giving me some them fillets...I’m dropping your ticket to 75 in a 65(150 bucks less). Have a nice day.”

Well...we actually bs’d long enough to piss off the wife....about the fishing...the firearm....the famous former sheriff of my home county Earl Lee...God...football. Nice dude.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Thanks for posting this.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

Not the entire Northeast, I’m happy to say.

Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are still gun-friendly.

Here in Maine, firearms are part of the culture.

[snoringbear]

Wonder if Obama will hold a press conference later today and state “that shooter could have been me”......

[deoetdoctrinae]

A complete idiot wrote this line?

Just my two cents worth, but I don't think Dean is an idiot, complete or otherwise. I think very highly of him, and appreciate all he does to spread the word about 2nd Amendment issues. Your mileage may vary.

[Defiant]

Part of it may be whether you are in an area where the police are heavily unionized and thus political. In those places, they become attached to their benefits and their pay scale and they do what their union tells them, which is what the leftist politicians tell the union, which is that guns are bad.

[xrmusn]

Not the entire Northeast
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

From the Virginia State police website...I did think NH recognized VA but apparently not at this time...
Don’t think this is up to date either, AL now recognizes VA
(I had been informed).
Listing of states with which Virginia has Reciprocity Agreements (A formal written agreement exists between the two jurisdictions):

Alaska
Florida
Kentucky
Mississippi
New Mexico
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
West Virginia

Listing of states with which Virginia has mutual recognition (Jurisdictions have informally agreed to honor permits issued by the other):

Arizona
Arkansas
Indiana
Louisiana
Michigan
Montana
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Utah
Wyoming

Listing of states of which Virginia will grant recognition to valid permit holders:

Delaware
Minnesota
Washington
Wisconsin