What To Do If The Police Stop You

We at NCRF were lucky enough to meet Evan F. Nappen, who is most likely, the greatest personal firearms attorney in the country. It was refreshing to find a lawyer who did not believe in giving away our rights & who deeply believed in our Second Amendment right to bear arms. He gave advice for all gun owners on what to do if the police stop you.

First, remain silent. You are only required to give your name, address, & drivers license (only if driving) to the police. Do not volunteer information or answer any questions. Mr. Nappen's advice when asked if you have guns in the car is to reply by saying, "Why are you asking me that question?" You see the police can only search if there is something in plain sight or if they have probable cause. If there is nothing in plain sight & you refuse to answer any question, the police will lack the cause to search you or your car. The only way of giving police probable cause is to answer their questions, which are designed to trap you. Do not consent to a search! As Mr. Nappen puts it, "Men & women died for our rights, the least I can do is to exercise my rights." Second, ask for your attorney. You have a right to have an attorney present during any questioning. By asking for your attorney, you may not be interrogated. Third, do not consent to giving up your rights. Do not consent to a search without a warrant or sign statements without an attorney's advice. A right given up is a right lost. If the police stop you; do not resist physically, give your name & address only (license if driving), you do not have to answer questions or consent to a search without a warrant. If arrested say, "I want my attorney." Do not be tricked, threatened, or persuaded into giving up you rights.

Without a warrant or probable cause, evidence against you will most likely be thrown out in a criminal court case. For the many who are wrongly arrested for not consenting to police searches, Mr.Nappen will sue the police because they have violated your civil rights. Police departments who wish to settle civil rights cases need to pay up $3,000 per hour that you were wrongly in jail or risk a federal suit $!

I thought this might be of interest to those of you who travel with a gun in your car. I can't vouch for the worth of this guy's advice, but it sounds reasonable to me. I wonder if this advice should be followed even if you have a valid CCW for the state you are stopped in, or if your state has CCW recipricocity with that state. Maybe some FR who is also an Atty could answer that.

I wonder if this advice should be followed even if you have a valid CCW for the state you are stopped in, or if your state has CCW recipricocity with that state.

Not a lawyer, but some states (like Texas) require you to notify the officer if you are carrying with a CCW. Other states have no such requirement, but if an officer runs your tag, it will come back if you have a CCW permit. I believe that is the case here in Florida.

If I'm stopped here in Florida, I would probably present my CCW permit with my DL to the officer, even though not required by law.

I would probably do the same while traveling in a state that recognizes my Florida CCW. I'd also have a copy of the reciprocity law, just in case the officer is an idiot.

If I ever have to drive through communist states like Massachusetts, or New Jersey; I would do the speed limit and NOT volunteer a damn thing to then. I would follow the advice in this article and keep my mouth shut. The 5th amendment is a great thing; don't give it up to s**tbag traitors in communist states.

In theory, I agree with the suggestions offered in hte article, however, I don't think that the real world bubbafied-factor has been included.

For instance, let's play this one out...
OFFICER: "do you have any firearms in the vehicle?"
CITIZEN; "Why do you ask that question officer?"
OFFICER; "It's SOP. Do you have any firearms?"
CITIZEN; "Well, with all due respect officer, I'd prefer not to answer that question because you have failed to demonstrate any probable cause for asking it."
OFFICER; "please remain in your vehicle. I'll be right back."
Officer returns to patrol car, calls for a canine unit and does a walk around. These dogs are trained to key on the scent of firearms. Busted!

I just don't see that the real world plays out as this article suggests.

"If I'm stopped here in Florida, I would probably present my CCW permit with my DL to the officer, even though not required by law."

Here in Florida, I do the same thing...even when I'm not carryng. The CCW is a clear statement to the officer that I am a law abiding citizen. I have yet to receive a citation, even when I deserved to get one, in over 8 years. I think that most officers agree with our rights to CCW and enjoy that the CCW has brought down crime that they have to fight. Also, most of them are shooting enthusiasts also and factor in a degree of empathy.

As far as other states that don't honor FL's CCW, I don't go to those states. And when I have to drive through them, I transport in a locked case in the trunk, unloaded, until I reach the state line, then immediately re-arm the passenger compartment.

Although I don't agree with boot licking, I think that when we're from out of town, it's not a great idea to piss off a cop when we're illegal. Just my opinion.

In Texas, you are encouraged to notify the officer that you are packing and present your CHL with your DL. Taught in class that by presenting the license to the officer at the on-set of the contact, in most cases, it relieves the officer, because you have passed a rigorous background investigation and you’re not a criminal.

OFFICER; "please remain in your vehicle. I'll be right back."

Based on previous threads on this subject, I belive the author left out one important point: Without probable cause, the officer isn't allowed to detain you until the canine unit arrives. Thus, your immediate response should be:

"Am I free to go?"(and if not, then why?)

This forces the officer to either state a specific reason for detaining you, or let you go.

OFFICER: "do you have any firearms in the vehicle?"

CITIZEN; "Why do you ask that question officer?"

OFFICER; "It's SOP. Do you have any firearms?"

CITIZEN; "Well, with all due respect officer, I've been advised that if I was ever qeustioned like this, that I should ask for my attorney.

OFFICER; "please remain in your vehicle. I'll be right back."

Officer returns to patrol car, - You call, or pretend to call your lawyer on your cell phone.

Stalemate, and the cop gives you a traffic ticket.

Yeah, right. Obviously you have never been to my county. I don't know our county law enforcement's record with CCW, but they target our teenagers, pulling them over for any trumped up charge, and they will always search the vehicle. Teenagers are the easiest targets, because it is almost a certainty that they won't know their rights. If the officer finds even the smallest amount of marijuana, they will always claim, in court, under oath, that the driver gave them permission to search, and his fellow officers will back him up. If the driver was smart enough to refuse the search, then he will be held on the scene while drug dogs are called in. And it would take up too much space to tell how they go about arresting passengers for public intoxication, then allow these arrestees to 'contribute' to the sheriff's drug fund to 'keep this off their records'. Our sheriff is now one of the richest men in the county. It is a shame that most of us don't know the laws and our rights, which allows the law enforcement in Smalltown, USA, to take advantage of us.

Although I don't agree with boot licking, I think that when we're from out of town, it's not a great idea to piss off a cop when we're illegal. Just my opinion.

My GA CCW is supposed to be honored in enough states that in theory I could drive from Key West to the MI UP with my gun in it's holster and be completely legal. But having heard that the IN and MI state cops don't take kindly to out of state CCWs I don't think I want to try it. A cop can write an undeserved traffic ticket to an out of state driver and be pretty sure he'll just pay it instead of taking the time and expense to come back and fight it in court. It's happened to me, and I'll bet it happens to lots of people.

I don't have any reason to want to go north of the Ohio river anyway. They don't know what to feed you for breakfast up there.

I wish that it were really that easy. Personally, I don't carry a cell phone, so the lawyer call wouldn't work. In most cases I just can't see it going down that way.

The liberals love to cite their "if you don't have anything to hide...(fill in the blank)" mantra and it is my experience that most officers have a view toward citizens that is very similar. Suspicious activity leads to suspicious officers. I'm not saying that cops are liberals, because most that I know are not, but they are trained to look for abnormalities. If I was driving an expensive car and wearing pricey clothes, maybe he would buy into the approaches mentioned here, but I'm sorry, I just don't see it going down that easy in real life.

I've never been in such circumstances. I keep my snoot clean and am mostly (except to some of the leftists that pop up at FR) respectful so I haven't had these types of problems. I also don't much carry in tough regions out of state, so my experience is limited. Maybe someone will come into this thread with more real life experience that will convince me that these tactics are effective, but I know too many people that have been railroaded by overly zealous cops. Kepp this thread bumped.

Actually, I've never been asked, in 50 years of driving, [most in Ca.] & probably over a hundred traffic stops or so, any questions about guns or searches.

[Well, there was one time the beer cans rolled out the door, and they 'looked around'. Still, no ticket.]

NEVER EVER, if asked to step out of your car, turn your back on it or fail to observe what's going on.

If they're less than honorable, and think you are causing trouble, they can easily "drop" a baggie of drugs in it and suddenly "discover" it while searching. You, then, are "up the proverbial creek" in proving it's not yours. By watching, you can say something out loud if someone's actions look suspicious and may have a chance in court.

Well, I guess I'm becoming out of step with the rest of Free Republic. I still think the cops are the good guys.

This post appears to take the attitude that if you are stopped by the police, the police are the ones who are endangering your rights. Yes, certainly we should know our rights and exercise them at our discretion. However, I believe most LEOs are just good folks trying to do a thankless job. Lighten up.

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