-
Be sure to read this post! Beware of scammers. https://www.indianagunowners.com/threads/classifieds-new-online-payment-guidelines-rules-paypal-venmo-zelle-etc.511734/
Question about traffic stop
- Thread starter whipfinish
- Start date
-
- Tags
- police interactions
The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana
Member Benefits:
Fewer Ads! Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership Discuss anti-gun legislation Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses Discover free outdoor shooting areas View up to date on firearm-related events Share photos & video with other members ...and so much more!
Member Benefits:
Walter Zoomie
Shooter
How do we know the folks on here who say they're police really are?
Are they somehow vetted?
Could be anybody bumping their gums...
Are they somehow vetted?
Could be anybody bumping their gums...
Okay, I'm going to throw my "plans" for an LEO traffic stop encounter out there. I THINK it is a good middle ground that doesn't require lying at all and hopefully won't make the LEO mad at you. I'd really appreciate the LEOs that have responded so far to let me know how you would likely respond to such an encounter.
1) I always drive as legally as possible (yes, this means driving below the speed limit which bothers my wife and other drivers to no end). As such, I don't expect to have many encounters with LEO in my lifetime.
2) Should I get pulled over, I will be very polite with the officer.
3) When the officer pulls me over, I will stop my car, take the keys out of the ignition and place them on the dashboard in front of my steering wheel and keep my hands clearly visible on the steering wheel until the officer comes to my window.
4) When the officer arrives at my window I will greet him cordially ("Good afternoon officer") immediately followed with, "Before I answer any questions I would like my lawyer present." I will respond the same to any questions asked after that (at which point I'm pretty darn sure is illegal for the officer to continue questioning me Miranda v. Arizona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia except perhaps "Name and address" which can be answered by handing him my driver's license)
5) Should the officer ask me to do something out-of-the-ordinary (such as step out of the vehicle or request to search my vehicle) or somehow discover I have a sidearm and request I hand it to him, I will say "I do not consent to that but if that is an order I will obviously obey. Is that an order?" Again I will do my best to make sure this is not said in a confrontational manner, but a sincere matter-of-fact way. This part would be skipped if it was quite obvious that it was an order, for example if for some crazy reason he had his gun drawn on me or was yelling out commands.
6) If he says it is an order I hand him my gun I will ask "Okay, in that case, how would you like me to hand it to you?" and then hand it to him in the manner he requests.
The side of the road is not the time I would try to argue about any of this. I would file complaints (likely in some scenarios) or seek legal action (highly unlikely unless something absolutely ridiculous happened... I'm not even close to rich) only after the fact.
I'm quite aware that this strategy means there's about zero percent chance I will "get out of" a ticket, but I hope to prevent that by doing #1 above. I do hope however, that this strategy makes the officer comfortable enough not to go crazy trying to find every little last violation possible that he can ticket (arrest?) me for.... What says ye?
1) I always drive as legally as possible (yes, this means driving below the speed limit which bothers my wife and other drivers to no end). As such, I don't expect to have many encounters with LEO in my lifetime.
2) Should I get pulled over, I will be very polite with the officer.
3) When the officer pulls me over, I will stop my car, take the keys out of the ignition and place them on the dashboard in front of my steering wheel and keep my hands clearly visible on the steering wheel until the officer comes to my window.
4) When the officer arrives at my window I will greet him cordially ("Good afternoon officer") immediately followed with, "Before I answer any questions I would like my lawyer present." I will respond the same to any questions asked after that (at which point I'm pretty darn sure is illegal for the officer to continue questioning me Miranda v. Arizona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia except perhaps "Name and address" which can be answered by handing him my driver's license)
5) Should the officer ask me to do something out-of-the-ordinary (such as step out of the vehicle or request to search my vehicle) or somehow discover I have a sidearm and request I hand it to him, I will say "I do not consent to that but if that is an order I will obviously obey. Is that an order?" Again I will do my best to make sure this is not said in a confrontational manner, but a sincere matter-of-fact way. This part would be skipped if it was quite obvious that it was an order, for example if for some crazy reason he had his gun drawn on me or was yelling out commands.
6) If he says it is an order I hand him my gun I will ask "Okay, in that case, how would you like me to hand it to you?" and then hand it to him in the manner he requests.
The side of the road is not the time I would try to argue about any of this. I would file complaints (likely in some scenarios) or seek legal action (highly unlikely unless something absolutely ridiculous happened... I'm not even close to rich) only after the fact.
I'm quite aware that this strategy means there's about zero percent chance I will "get out of" a ticket, but I hope to prevent that by doing #1 above. I do hope however, that this strategy makes the officer comfortable enough not to go crazy trying to find every little last violation possible that he can ticket (arrest?) me for.... What says ye?
Last edited:
Waynetucky10
Marksman
I am in allen co and was told when they run your plate it comes up to keep your hands on the wheel as they approach because they have already been alerted and are on edge . I was stopped about a year ago as soon as he(county sheriff) came to the window I told him I had a gun he replied he already knew that and just asked where it was. never asked to see it.I did get a ticket which I deserved.
That is just really going to **** them off. Besides, your Miranda rights only apply when you are in police custody, and even then they may still ask you questions. It is your choice to not answer them. If you do answer them, it is possible that your responses will not be allowed in court, however, by answering you would be waving your rights.
IANAL, someone correct me if I am wrong.
In that case, what would be the best way to not raise suspicion (or at least raise the least amount of suspicion) but still retain my rights to not answer any questions I'm not legally required to? Is there really no way for a citizen to uphold their rights without being suspicious? That is really disappointing...
I've been pulled over a couple times in Avon, and they have never asked me that kind of question. I suppose though, if it comes up when they run your DL, then I wouldn't try to risk getting asked to step out of the car and patted down, and have my car searched. I would feel more comfortable just saying "yes, I do have a handgun, it is in my glovebox, you're more than welcome to look at it, how would you like it handed to you?" and just moving on.
I keep seeing people say that their handguns are brought back to them empty???
What are the rules on keeping it loaded in a vehicle? Last I checked, you had to keep the magazine separate from the hand gun?
I keep seeing people say that their handguns are brought back to them empty???
What are the rules on keeping it loaded in a vehicle? Last I checked, you had to keep the magazine separate from the hand gun?
Loaded is fine. I never recall anything about keeping them unloaded or separated.
*after you get the LTCH and can legally transport in any manner, of course*
Last edited:
If you have nothing to hide I suggest just playing the game. If you have something to hide than by all means do all that lawyer stuff
Are there any other opinions from other LEOs here? Is POLITELY informing an officer you would not like to answer any questions really going to cause a huge issue if there are no other red flags? Would you really remove all the passengers from the vehicle and search the vehicle simply because someone desired not to answer questions? What if they said, "Sir, I've had a really long day and I'd really rather not talk about anything right now." Even then?
Feel free. SOME of us DO have an attorney (he hates when I call him a lawyer) already. And though I may not have the right to have him present at a traffic stop, which you seem to think we have claimed when we haven't (typical, I suppose), I do have the right to not answer questions without him present. In fact, I have the right to not answer questions at all.
And EVERYTHING that happens WILL be scrutinized later. So go ahead. Take one step over the line.
Just one tiny step.
Do it.
Teach me a lesson for invoking my rights.
I can use the
You see, I learned my lesson the hard way about having nothing to hide and playing the game, 21 years ago, when I encountered a dumba@@ LEO who was either 1) a retard, or 2) intentionally putting me in the system, knowing the charge wouldn't possibly stick because it was BS.
So you can peddle your "just play the game" somewhere else.
According to many LEO's on this board, no.
If you have nothing to hide I suggest just playing the game. If you have something to hide than by all means do all that lawyer stuff
I get so frickin' tired of hearing from cops & others in the (so-called) justice system that you shouldn't mind them infringing on your rights if you have nothing to hide.
I have nothing to hide...THAT I KNOW OF.
Therein lies the problem. The traffic law section is huge (so we've been told) & so is the criminal code. There is not one single person, anywhere, ever, who has not done something that they could get in legal trouble over, even if they didn't know it was illegal at the time.
Sorry, I'm not going to kiss anybody's a$$. I will be polite & courteous as I would be in any encounter with anyone else, but the police also have to understand that these encounters are adversarial at best. You are in the position to take away a person's freedom or finances. HOW DARE YOU GET PI$$Y if WE don't want to take a chance on giving some a$$ of a cop a reason to make our lives harder by answering irrelevent questions that we don't LEGALLY have to answer in the first place.
You justify your (IMHO, stupid) question about firearms by saying you don't know who we are or what we'll do when it won't make A LICK of difference anyway. Well, WE don't know the cop that stops us to ask these questions either. They could have just found their wife with another guy who just happened to be wearing the same type of cologne as me. Or just got chewed out by his boss for not writing enough tickets or whatever. Now he wants to make ME the example & will use an incriminating answer to do so.
You have extraordinary powers granted to you to make peoples lives miserable. I have rights ensured to me to protect against the abuse of those powers granted to you. YOU have no right to be upset if I excercise my rights.
I ask again - What the hell is the purpose of the 4th & 5th Amendments if invoking those rights will get you pulled out of your car & patted down & your vehicle searched anyway BECAUSE INVOKING YOUR RIGHTS IS WIERD BEHAVIOR?
According to many LEO's here at least, yes.
If no one minds my pointing out, I think the initial question has been answered multiple times now. We're pretty much down to people fighting over whether it's wrong for LEO's to ask us to get out of a car because we didn't answer a question... And that's been going on for a little while now. I'm seeing a lot of heat going back and forth, yet I see no real point to it now.
You're new here, ain't ya
You just described many, many (did I mention many) threads here.
BTW, welcome to
Site Supporter
Staff online
-
d.kaufmanStill Here -
KellyinAvonBlue-ID Mafia Consigliere
Members online
- bacon#1
- bgcatty
- Creedmoor
- gpasp101
- dan1856
- Jmtbug21
- printcraft
- purple72
- Scott58
- dwain
- d.kaufman
- XDdreams
- carsgunsandgirls
- El Conquistador
- joe138
- Juday
- macolesby
- Reece'sPieces
- jwamplerusa
- Robert B.
- crookcountygo
- indyartisan
- BR8818
- matt4shadow
- yotehunt
- billybob44
- Dlawson28
- DragonGunner
- MCgrease08
- Ltrain37
- KRN123060
- dnurk
- US1882
- TheSpookyCat
- tonto
- cosermann
- Onebad06vtx
- pokersamurai
- bloodandgutsmurphy
- Mr.Softball
- 223 Gunner
- Living
- Joniki
- bulldogs42
- KellyinAvon
- indyblue
- rlp1776
- Demoderb1989
- Cozy439
- bulldog242