Cops dont necessarily know jack about guns.

[Cameramonkey]

Sitting here listening to the scanner feed. Im shaking my head.

Officer called in a serial that was conveyed to him by the lady in front of him. He apparently didnt have the actual gun in his hand, as the gun was allegedly in posession of her boyfriend, but was owned by the lady who told the officer what said serial number was. (presumably from a bill of sale, etc.)

Dispatch ran it, no hits.
He protested a bit and dispatch reminded him that they only get hits on stolen guns and nothing else.
He asked for more info and conveyed that "the gun was registered to her".
Dispatch proceeded to educate him on the fact that guns are not registered in this state and he was barking up the wrong tree. (and presumably wasting her time as well as airtime by her tone)


Pretty sad when a police officer doesnt understand the basics of handgun laws seeing as how he carries one and is presumably expected to enforce said laws.

Thanks to BBI, Frank, VUPD and others who "get it".

 

[Sylvain]

Well to be fair they have to enforce every laws and can't know them all off hand.

They deal with every kind of laws, not just firearms laws I would imagine (unless they are ATF or something).
I wouldn't expect them to be experts on environmental laws, or copyright laws either.

 

[Leo]

When legislatures write 10,000 pages of laws a year and most of the training is for "diversity" and how to handle selected classes of criminals without hurting their feelings, it is pretty hard to be an expert on every topic. People learn as they go, my cardiologist is nearing retirement and he is still practicing at his trade. I am glad the officer was able to learn through this experience.

 

[rob63]

I have a friend who inherited a Luger when his grandfather passed away. In spite of my assertions that it was neither necessary or even possible, he insisted on taking it to the local police station to get it properly registered. He later admitted that the police were most confused by what he was trying to do. At first they thought he wanted a carry license, then they thought maybe he was trying to turn it in, eventually they just sent him home with his gun.

 

[Snipercop]

Not making excuses, but IMPD is currently training several brand new and very young recruits as well. As a matter of fact, they just had a class graduate as early as last week. Now, that may not be the case here, but trust me... When you're riding around with your FTO, you can get rattled easily when you're new

 

[Nacelle]

I don't care how new you are, If you don't know the basic gun laws in that state, you need to go back to the academy and take more classes. Dealing with citizens and their guns is going to be something that happens all the time. It's not like when you're in school and you take a trigonometry class and never have a use for it.

 

[Titanium_Frost]

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

What do you know about..... Oh. Wait. Never mind.

 

[Leo]

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Your statement has a valid point. Thankfully the department has radios, computer terminals and supervisors to help insure the proper application of law for the citizens.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Your statement has a valid point. Thankfully the department has radios, computer terminals and supervisors to help insure the proper application of law for the citizens.

if Only citizens had those same real time assets

 

[Cameramonkey]

Well to be fair they have to enforce every laws and can't know them all off hand.

They deal with every kind of laws, not just firearms laws I would imagine (unless they are ATF or something).
I wouldn't expect them to be experts on environmental laws, or copyright laws either.

Not understanding the laws you are enforcing could get VERY messy. I was nearly arrested improperly several years ago for "failing to have the correct address printed on my LTCH". The only thing that saved me was the fact I got my lifetime after I bought my house. (you dont have to reprint the LTCH if you move, just have the correct address in the database) During a traffic stop in which the officer confiscated my sidearm "for officer safety" he asked sternly if the address on the paper was correct because "If I find out it is not correct, you are going to jail today." So his ignorance could have ruined my day. (note my signature) With any luck a supervisor would have stepped in had I moved and not updated the paper copy.

 

[russc2542]

I agree with them needing to know the laws they're supposed to enforce but having some passing knowledge would be nice (ie lack of gun registration). It's also ridiculous that we have 10k pages of new legalese every year.

That being said, it's hardly unique. You'd be horrified how ignorant many auto mechanics are about cars (not to mention that how the physics involved work might as well be witchcraft to most). Car salesmen are the worst! We have regular threads pop up about how bad a particular gun store or salesman is.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Well to be fair they have to enforce every laws and can't know them all off hand.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Here we are building toward one of my major problems with law enforcement. Regardless of how far off the beaten path a law may be, I get 'Ignorance of the law is no excuse'. That may have held water back when so long as you followed the Ten Commandments and paid your taxes, you would never run afoul of the law. It just isn't that way now. The big problem is that for me there is no such thing as an honest mistake. If a cop f**ks up, he gets to say 'oopsie' and walk away.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Here we are building toward one of my major problems with law enforcement. Regardless of how far off the beaten path a law may be, I get 'Ignorance of the law is no excuse'. That may have held water back when so long as you followed the Ten Commandments and paid your taxes, you would never run afoul of the law. It just isn't that way now. The big problem is that for me there is no such thing as an honest mistake. If a cop f**ks up, he gets to say 'oopsie' and walk away.

Exactly. And in my case I'm sure I would have had to explain to my boss why I never showed up to the jobsite that day. Even if I had been released an hour or two later I still would have missed my appointment in the city I was headed to. Luckily my boss would have been understanding. (Imagine if she wasnt)

Im also sure the impound folks wouldnt say "sorry, our bad" and hand me my keys. Its not their fault. They were called and they did their job per the contract. I would have had to pay outrageous fees to get my car back and then sue the city for reimbursement.

Dont get me wrong, I have no ill feelings about LEOs. I'm no cop basher and have utmost respect for them. I just have a general hatred toward incompetence, ignorance, and malpractice in any profession. Especially when it can impact somebody's life so much.


And we do get some leniency... provided the prosecutor decides its an honest mistake and doesnt charge you. But that is still a far cry from the LEO's "oopsie".

 

[phylodog]

I just have a general hatred toward incompetence, ignorance, and malpractice in any profession. Especially when it can impact somebody's life so much.

I get it. I would like for someone to find one, just one police officer in this country who is capable of meeting the expectations of any ten citizens fully and completely. Here on INGO, our priority is on firearms.
For others it's mental health issue recognition, diagnosis and treatment,
For others it's grief counseling,
For others it's expert crash reconstruction,
For others it's chemical addiction treatment,
For others it's domestic violence prevention and marriage counseling,
For others it's first aid and emergency medicine,
For others it's dog behavioral expertise,
For others it's juvenile counseling expertise,
For others it's cultural difference recognition and expertise,
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on....

I just went through training on how I should treat gays, lesbians, transgendered and queer people. This is of course on top of the training I've already had on how we should treat Sikh's, Muslims, Hispanics and Burmese.

There is quite literally no one on this planet capable of meeting the expectations people have (of everyone but themselves) today. Not just of the police but pretty much of anyone who holds a job. We're all just one slight misstep away from being at the bottom of the next dogpile of social justice warriors.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

Oh look, the usuals are getting riled up about something trivial. Where are all the posts about INGO members that don't know dick about guns or gun laws?

 

[Slawburger]

You just need to hire more Leonardo DaVinci's. Renaissance LEO that can do it all. With the unemployment rate this high there are bound to be lots of unemployed geniuses.

 

[shootersix]

I give the police their credit, they have to know a little about all laws, but every law in Indiana? that's what prosecutors are for! (in fact I got into an argument on ar15.com with someone who said that an Indiana officer could arrest an ohio resident for carrying a handgun into a bar, my comment was "are you saying that you expect an Indiana leo to know every gun law in every state?")

but do I expect them to get clarification on something they don't know? hell yes I do!

if fact, I hate to say it, but I know more about gun laws than most police officers do! why...because I immerse myself in my hobby!

now what I hate more than anything are gun store employees who don't know gun laws, i'll give you 2 examples I ran into on sunday, first at one "chain" store that sells guns, the employee said he was looking to put a full auto hammer in one of his ar15's, at the second "chain" store i hear a customer say I'm buying this for him, can he register it in his name later? and the "manager" said "yes just take it to the sheriff's office later, that's what i did"

(I'm still not certain that the second wasn't a straw purchase)

 

[yeahbaby]

I get it. I would like for someone to find one, just one police officer in this country who is capable of meeting the expectations of any ten citizens fully and completely. Here on INGO, our priority is on firearms.
For others it's mental health issue recognition, diagnosis and treatment,
For others it's grief counseling,
For others it's expert crash reconstruction,
For others it's chemical addiction treatment,
For others it's domestic violence prevention and marriage counseling,
For others it's first aid and emergency medicine,
For others it's dog behavioral expertise,
For others it's juvenile counseling expertise,
For others it's cultural difference recognition and expertise,
And on, and on, and on, and on, and on....

I just went through training on how I should treat gays, lesbians, transgendered and queer people. This is of course on top of the training I've already had on how we should treat Sikh's, Muslims, Hispanics and Burmese.

There is quite literally no one on this planet capable of meeting the expectations people have (of everyone but themselves) today. Not just of the police but pretty much of anyone who holds a job. We're all just one slight misstep away from being at the bottom of the next dogpile of social justice warriors.

Right on! At the University I work at they created a position titled "assistant provost for inclusion". They are here to ensure we have diversity and inclusion. Oh have times changed.

 

[Birds Away]

Does this thread offer t-shirts?