ThrottleJockey
Shooter
Johnson County attempts to restrict and deny my rights....
Well, there really isn't a short version of this story so here it goes. The wife sent me out for lottery tickets, I went and got them along with a gallon of gas for the chainsaw. On my way back to her house a Johnson County Sheriffs Deputy decided to pull me over because one of the tail lights on her truck is taped. He came to the window and asked for my papers (license and registration) so I gave them to him. He came back to the window and handed them to me and then told me why he pulled me over, I told him I figured.....Then he started to turn and walk away, paused, and asked if I had anything illegal in the truck. I told him no and he began to list things like: illegal weapons, illegal knives, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, meth amphetamines....somewhat pausing between each just long enough for me to say no. THEN he asked me if I had ANY weapons at all in the truck, to this I said well since you put it that way I have a permit to carry and I have a pistol in my waist band but I know Indiana has reciprocity with Minnesota and that I am NOT required to inform him. Now I've got his undivided attention, hands both on the wheel and the whole routine. He had me remove the pistol and place it on the dash, and asked me if there were any more guns in the vehicle, since it was a quick trip to the store I didn't have thank God! He asked if he could search the vehicle I'm not certain if this was before or after he found out I had a gun, I told him I would rather he didn't but if he felt the need to go right ahead as there's nothing there. Well, he asked me to get out and stand in front of the truck, took my pistol to his car, unloaded it and returned with my holster and cartridges handing them to me. I stood in front of the truck for nearly 45 minutes while he searched to no avail. then he told me to get back in and get warm. At this point he took my permit and DL back to his car and made every attempt he could to find a reason to harass me further. When he finally realized there was no wrong doing on MY part he came back, handed me my pistol and began to lecture me about courtesy to LEOs blah blah blah. I told him that I appreciated his need to feel safe but I also had a right to be safe and feel safe and that I am NOT required to inform him. He interrupted going on about courtesy to officers of the law again and I told him I was NOT going to debate the issue and would try to consider this in the future (basically just so I could go as I have already given it all the consideration it is worth, that's why I handled it the way I did). He told me not to reload until I was clear of the area and began to walk back to his car at which point I hollered back to him "am I free to go now officer?" he said yes you can leave and I did. Now I realize I didn't have to let him search or disarm me, but my previous experience with Johnson County has made me understand that it would only mean a few more hours of standing in the cold while they made it a capital offense bringing in multiple more squad cars, etc....I believe I asserted my rights effectively to the point that he may think about them a bit more, while also giving him no reason to think badly of legally armed persons. I also got back home in a SOMEWHAT reasonable amount of time. I'm more than ticked off about the experience, but what more could I really have done? I mean without being further inconvenienced without any real reason. I think it was sort of a compromise on my part but seriously who wants to stand in the cold with no more than a sweatshirt on any longer than I did? What says you?
Well, there really isn't a short version of this story so here it goes. The wife sent me out for lottery tickets, I went and got them along with a gallon of gas for the chainsaw. On my way back to her house a Johnson County Sheriffs Deputy decided to pull me over because one of the tail lights on her truck is taped. He came to the window and asked for my papers (license and registration) so I gave them to him. He came back to the window and handed them to me and then told me why he pulled me over, I told him I figured.....Then he started to turn and walk away, paused, and asked if I had anything illegal in the truck. I told him no and he began to list things like: illegal weapons, illegal knives, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, meth amphetamines....somewhat pausing between each just long enough for me to say no. THEN he asked me if I had ANY weapons at all in the truck, to this I said well since you put it that way I have a permit to carry and I have a pistol in my waist band but I know Indiana has reciprocity with Minnesota and that I am NOT required to inform him. Now I've got his undivided attention, hands both on the wheel and the whole routine. He had me remove the pistol and place it on the dash, and asked me if there were any more guns in the vehicle, since it was a quick trip to the store I didn't have thank God! He asked if he could search the vehicle I'm not certain if this was before or after he found out I had a gun, I told him I would rather he didn't but if he felt the need to go right ahead as there's nothing there. Well, he asked me to get out and stand in front of the truck, took my pistol to his car, unloaded it and returned with my holster and cartridges handing them to me. I stood in front of the truck for nearly 45 minutes while he searched to no avail. then he told me to get back in and get warm. At this point he took my permit and DL back to his car and made every attempt he could to find a reason to harass me further. When he finally realized there was no wrong doing on MY part he came back, handed me my pistol and began to lecture me about courtesy to LEOs blah blah blah. I told him that I appreciated his need to feel safe but I also had a right to be safe and feel safe and that I am NOT required to inform him. He interrupted going on about courtesy to officers of the law again and I told him I was NOT going to debate the issue and would try to consider this in the future (basically just so I could go as I have already given it all the consideration it is worth, that's why I handled it the way I did). He told me not to reload until I was clear of the area and began to walk back to his car at which point I hollered back to him "am I free to go now officer?" he said yes you can leave and I did. Now I realize I didn't have to let him search or disarm me, but my previous experience with Johnson County has made me understand that it would only mean a few more hours of standing in the cold while they made it a capital offense bringing in multiple more squad cars, etc....I believe I asserted my rights effectively to the point that he may think about them a bit more, while also giving him no reason to think badly of legally armed persons. I also got back home in a SOMEWHAT reasonable amount of time. I'm more than ticked off about the experience, but what more could I really have done? I mean without being further inconvenienced without any real reason. I think it was sort of a compromise on my part but seriously who wants to stand in the cold with no more than a sweatshirt on any longer than I did? What says you?
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