Posted on 01/14/2014 5:49:44 PM PST by servo1969
John Filippidis, silver-haired family man, business owner, employer and taxpayer, is also licensed to carry a concealed firearm.
Hed rather he didnt feel the need, but things arent like they used to be. The break-ins, the burglaries, all the crime. And I carry cash a lot of the time. Im constantly going to the bank.
I wanted to be able to defend my family, my household and the ground Im standing on. But Im not looking for any trouble.
Filippidis keeps his gun a palm-sized Kel-Tec .38 semiautomatic, barely larger than a smartphone in a protective case in one of two places, always: in the right-hand pocket of his jeans, or in the safe at home.
There are kids in the house, Filippidis says, and I dont think theyd ever bother with it, but I dont want to take any chances.
Hes not looking for any trouble, after all.
Trouble, in fact, was the last thing on his mind a few weeks back as the Filippidises packed for Christmas and a family wedding in Woodridge, N.J., so he left the pistol locked in the safe. The state of Florida might have codified his Second Amendment rights, but he knew hed be passing through states where recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affirming the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms have been met by hostile legislatures and local officials.
I know the laws and I know the rules, Filippidis says. There are, after all, ways gun owners can travel legally with firearms through hostile states. But I just think its a better idea to leave it home.
So there the Filippidises were on New Years Eve eve, southbound on Interstate 95 John; wife Kally (his Gulf High sweetheart); the 17-year-old twins Nasia and Yianni; and 13-year-old Gina in their 2012 Ford Expedition just barely out of the Fort McHenry Tunnel into Maryland, blissfully unarmed and minding their own business when they noticed they were being bird-dogged by an unmarked patrol car. It flanked them a while, then pulled ahead of them, then fell in behind them.
Ten minutes hes behind us, John says. We werent speeding. In fact, lots of other cars were whizzing past.
You know you have a police car behind you, you dont speed, right? Kally adds.
Says John, We keep wondering, is he going to do something?
Finally the patrol cars emergency lights come on, and its almost a relief. Whatever was going on, theyd be able to get it over with now. The officer from the Transportation Authority Police, as it turns out, Marylands version of the New York-New Jersey Port Authority strolls up, does the license and registration bit, and returns to his car.
According to Kally and John (but not MTAP, which, pending investigation, could not comment), what happened next went like this:
Ten minutes later hes back, and he wants John out of the Expedition. Retreating to the space between the SUV and the unmarked car, the officer orders John to hook his thumbs behind his back and spread his feet. You own a gun, the officer says. Where is it?
At home in my safe, John answers.
Dont move, says the officer.
Now hes at the passengers window. Your husband owns a gun, he says. Where is it?
First Kally says, I dont know. Retelling it later she says, And thats all I should have said. Instead, attempting to be helpful, she added, Maybe in the glove [box]. Maybe in the console. Im scared of it. I dont want to have anything to do with it. I might shoot right through my foot.
The officer came back to John. Youre a liar. Youre lying to me. Your family says you have it. Where is the gun? Tell me where it is and we can resolve this right now.
Of course, John couldnt show him what didnt exist, but Kallys failure to corroborate Johns account, the officer would tell them later, was the probable cause that allowed him to summon backup three marked cars joined the lineup along the I-95 shoulder and empty the Expedition of riders, luggage, Christmas gifts, laundry bags; to pat down Kally and Yianni; to explore the engine compartment and probe inside door panels; and to separate and isolate the Filippidises in the back seats of the patrol cars.
Ninety minutes later, or maybe it was two hours It felt like forever, Kally says no weapon found and their possessions repacked, the episode ended ... with the officer writing out a warning.
All that time, hes humiliating me in front of my family, making me feel like a criminal, John says. Ive never been to prison, never declared bankruptcy, I pay my taxes, support my 20 employees families; Ive never been in any kind of trouble.
Face red, eyes shining, John pounds his knees. And he wants to put me in jail. He wants to put me in jail. For no reason. He wants to take my wife and children away and put me in jail. In America, how does such a thing happen? ... And after all that, he didnt even write me a ticket.
Now, despite having fielded apologies from the officers captain as well as from a Maryland Transportation Authority Police internal affairs captain, John is wondering if he shouldnt just cancel his CCW license.
For a guy whos not looking for trouble, thats not an unreasonable conclusion. And it would please fans of gun control by any means. But lets hope John Filippidis, American family man, taxpayer and good guy, doesnt cave, because it would be a sad statement about the brittleness of our guarantees some would call them sacred under the Constitution.
I’m sure they are when they’re around you. The trouble starts when they strap on the badge and gun and hit the streets.
Having recently had all my belongings dumped on the side of the road by cops searching for drugs (which I did not have and did not consent to search -— also got a “warning”), I feel for the guy.
I’m curious how he knew he had a pistol license.
With some, it is true. However you said ALL and on that you are DEAD WRONG.
But since you have such an attitude, I suggest you never bother calling 911 when you have a problem, as I'm sure you wouldn't want such "scum" coming to your aid.
Maryland Transportation Tunnel cops are worthy only of scorn. I saw one in that general area with full lights and sirens drive south, get off, turn north and speed over to about where I was at the time. He was going to stop a vagrant walking along the freeway. Lights and sirens for several minutes to stop a guy walking? Idiocy.
Good answer.
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