LEO disarm during traffic stop

[cschwanz]

Interesting thread. Happened to me a few months back. Got pulled over for speeding (I saw him sitting off the road and knew i was toast instantly on the speeding issue). I was on my way to a buddy's house to do some plinking with our ARs at some longer distance steel. County deputy walked up to the car and saw my rifle case in the back seat. He asked what it was and I told him it was a competion rifle and I was going to a practice session with it. he then asked if i had any other weapons in the car and I said yes, a loaded handgun in the center console (my hands both on the steering wheel far away from the console latch). He asked if I had my LTCH with me but never actually asked to see it, just if i had one. He asked me to step out of the vehicle (that was a first for me) and then proceeded to get my handgun out of the console. He took my rifle case and the handgun back to his car while he printed my speeding ticket. He gave me the rifle back but wouldnt hand me the pistol. I popped my trunk and he put it there for me to retrieve if i wanted to down the road (i was 5 min from my destination so i just drove there).

 

[ATM]

^ Answering irrelevant questions is the quickest way to get your firearms seized.

 

[BillD]

Interesting thread. Happened to me a few months back. Got pulled over for speeding (I saw him sitting off the road and knew i was toast instantly on the speeding issue). I was on my way to a buddy's house to do some plinking with our ARs at some longer distance steel. County deputy walked up to the car and saw my rifle case in the back seat. He asked what it was and I told him it was a competion rifle and I was going to a practice session with it. he then asked if i had any other weapons in the car and I said yes, a loaded handgun in the center console (my hands both on the steering wheel far away from the console latch). He asked if I had my LTCH with me but never actually asked to see it, just if i had one. He asked me to step out of the vehicle (that was a first for me) and then proceeded to get my handgun out of the console. He took my rifle case and the handgun back to his car while he printed my speeding ticket. He gave me the rifle back but wouldnt hand me the pistol. I popped my trunk and he put it there for me to retrieve if i wanted to down the road (i was 5 min from my destination so i just drove there).

That's the crap that pisses me off. Put the handgun in the trunk because God knows, after informing him that you have one, he thinks you're going to shoot him with it.

I think LEO's should hand over their weapons to me in a traffic stop. I've seen them shoot.

I keep guns and cases in out of sight in my vehicle.

 

[Rookie]

Simply ask if the officer thinks you are a dangerous person. If he says no followed by an excuse (officer safety), explain to him that he cannot seize your weapon without a warrant.

 

[cschwanz]

All ended well, but lessoned learned for sure. All shooting related stuff goes in the trunk now. Out of sight, out of mind for anyone else.

I wanted to say something to him, but I honestly didnt feel like debating for 15 minutes about this or that, especially knowing i was already getting a ticket for quite a bit over the speed limit. Just got my fine and went on my way.