OC carry caused some problems for me today

[Wwwildthing]

So... you need a gun to mow the lawn in Fort Wayne?

Sounds like that other guy that needed a gun to go to the Doctor's office.

That's just unbelievable... Indiana use to be a really safe place.

Still glad I live in Arizona most of the year. Four tons of gravel eliminates that whole 'mowing the yard' thing.

 

[RoyalTenenbaum]

Sorry to hear that you were treated this way in your own yard. We should all work to make the public come to the same conclusion we do when seeing OC. "Thats a nice holster, wonder who made it." Each visible holstered weapon acts as a deterrent against crime in the same way a conspicuously placed police car slows down that pack of speedy drivers on the interstate.

 

[iamaclone45]

If I arrive and see a guy riding a lawnmower with a gun on his hip, I'm immediately going to roll my eyes, and think about how ridiculous the situation I've been dispatched to is.

I'm not LEO but I agree with what you are saying, just thought I would bring it up since it popped into my head.

Lawnmower driver sparks Purdue shooting | WLFI - West Lafayette, Indiana

Granted the suspect was nuts and the gun was fake.

 

[Bunnykid68]

I would have told the chicken suckers to to ticket me, arrest me, or get the hell off my lawn, your smashing my pretty grass.

With the shootings and the murder here yesterday just 12 blocks away, maybe carrying while mowing isn't a bad idea.

 

[cobber]

I'm not LEO but I agree with what you are saying, just thought I would bring it up since it popped into my head.

Lawnmower driver sparks Purdue shooting | WLFI - West Lafayette, Indiana

Granted the suspect was nuts and the gun was fake.

So maybe the problem is people mowing their lawns, or riding their mowers? Gotta check the IC on this one!

 

[goinggreyfast]

Wait a minute....are you saying that it's illegal to OC while wearing a Speedo?? Boy am I in trouble!

The wife won't let me mow in my speedo anymore. Said I look like a marshmallow with a rubber band wrapped around it. Just sayin...

 

[Smokepole]

File a complaint. I am a former LEO and have filed complaints about LEO's and have LEO's in the family. However, the bad LEO's give everyone a bad name. I would bet that this will not be the first complaint about that particular LEO. If it is, there will probably be a ton to follow. I was the first person to complain about one young LEO who now leads his post in number of complaints filed. It helps when everyone knows which are the bad apples.

That's a shame. But he may one of those with the attitude of: "If I am getting complaints then I MUST be doing my job."

Have run into those before and they are REALLY irritating. They seem to forget that a certain percentage of the job is PUBLIC RELATIONS. It is hard to promote your department as serving the people when they see your officers as having a Gestapo like approach.

 

[jgreiner]

So, today I am mowing my yard, cleaning up leaves, etc. I am carrying a G19 in a holster on my belt, like I usually do. Well, I got this feeling that I was being watched. I was. A FW police officer had pulled up to my yard and was exiting his vehicle. I shut off the mower and gave the officer a big smile, said hello, and approached him. He asked to see my LTCH. I complied but asked why in a friendly tone. He looked at me and said, "because I said so". I let a laugh escape me bc I was so shocked. He asked me what was so funny. I told him that there was nothing funny about what was happening. Again, I asked him what the problem was, again in a very friendly manner. He said to chill out and wait until I was spoken to.

Can you feel what I was feeling right now? I was getting scared.

It turns out my neighbor called it in bc he thought that carrying a gun was illegal. I nicely informed the officer that I do not even need a LTCH to carry on my own property and my LTCH allows me to carry openly or concealed. It didn't go well after that.

In the end it took a supervisor and two neighbors standing by as witnesses to stop this jerk off from railroading me.

I am STILL angry. To try to calm this moron down I told him I am a former po and my brother is still a po. To that he replied, "I am duly impressed". so insulting and humiliating. When it was all over I asked the officer in front of his supervisor for an apology for the way I was treated. That didn't go over well either.

I am so pissed still I can hardly see straight. This is why I tend to conceal carry. Too many uneducated, misinformed idiots in blue.

Get his name...and get one of our attorney's to "re-edumicate him.

 

[Gun Bunny]

This kind of reminds me of the guy in WI that got arrested for "disturbing the peace" when he was planting some trees in his yard. LEO's couldn't get him for OCing so they got him on some trumped up charges.

Glad they didn't have guns drawn on you in your own yard!

 

[jgreiner]

OC an AK or AR in your yard. See how your nosey neighbor and clueless LEOs like that!

ROFLMAO...amen to that.........

 

[jgreiner]

Wait a minute....are you saying that it's illegal to OC while wearing a Speedo?? Boy am I in trouble!

Only if you are carrying a Glock...

 

[Bang-bang]

File a complaint, have a gun cleaning party in your front yard, get a glock flag for your pole. This is VERY bad a LEO is rude /unprofessionall at your house! This LEo needs at least time off for the attiude.

 

[greyhound47]

I appreciate all the responses. I am scheduled to talk with a commander today. The impression I am getting is that the officer got a dressing down and it is being handled but I want to be sure.

 

[melensdad]

I appreciate all the responses. I am scheduled to talk with a commander today. The impression I am getting is that the officer got a dressing down and it is being handled but I want to be sure.

Please request that the ENTIRE DEPARTMENT be educated on the concept of 1) Carry on your OWN PROPERTY and also on 2) Open Carry OFF your property with a LTCH. Ask for follow up (copy of the memos, video of the instructional meeting, etc)

The way I see it, the supervisor who came to your property is JUST AS GUILTY as the young officer. He should have resolved the situation right on the spot. The fact that you didn't get your apology from both of them is a sign that neither was well informed.

Save the rest of the residents a lot of hassle and get the commander to retrain his officers.

 

[dice dealer]

"..he wants to get home to his family blah blah" implies he was responding to a threat. Pray tell, how is a man mowing his lawn with a gun on his hip on private property, a threat?

Hey you never know He could have been a lawn terrorist ...out destroying america's Lawns by mowing them to low ..

 

[Bunnykid68]

I appreciate all the responses. I am scheduled to talk with a commander today. The impression I am getting is that the officer got a dressing down and it is being handled but I want to be sure.

Hope the meeting goes well. Of course we will be eagerly waiting for the update.

 

[JetGirl]

Hope the meeting goes well. Of course we will be eagerly waiting for the update.

Yeah, that ^.

 

[Bang-bang]

No one with an attitude like that should be wearing a badge.
I hope you file the complaint.

Agreed, It is how you handle the bad guy (LEO). The paper work (complaint) must be done on ANY bad apple, in this job or ANY other. Dont make things any uglier , make it problem solved.

 

[CarmelHP]

There are too many of these types of posts. We need to start naming names of officers involved. Embarrass them, embarrass their command, their departments, and barrage mayors and chiefs with complaints. Maybe then some will think twice about abusing their positions.

 

[melensdad]

There are too many of these types of posts. We need to start naming names of officers involved. Embarrass them, embarrass their command, their departments, and barrage mayors and chiefs with complaints. Maybe then some will think twice about abusing their positions.

They won't be embarrassed by having their names posted here. It will only make them mad.

Personally I like to build a bridge of civility and understanding between civilians and the police. It would be better if we all shared common goals and worked together rather than try to embarrass them.

Sure there are some bad cops. There are some bad civilians too. I strongly believe that the OP needs to take this to a logical conclusion and insure that ALL officers are trained in the simple laws of OC in our Hoosier state, but we should not be out to embarrass officers. Yes, from the description the officer played the role of 'bad cop' and likely was a total douchebag, yes, the officer needs to get smacked. But that is for his command to do.

But so does the supervisor who came to the rescue. The supervisor should have apologized for his officer and should have required the officer to apologize too. Clearly BOTH are at fault but only 1 has the focus of most of the posts in this thread.

JMO