Westfield PD disarms me during traffic stop

[STEEL CORE]

Yes, for "Officers safety", no harm done.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I hate to say this, but I would pass on a complaint. Pretty small world up here.

And what if that search yielded a hit on the gun from 7 years and four owners ago? Slippery slope stuff. You can meet with the chief to discuss how something was handled without lodging a formal "complaint". They work for you.

Yes, for "Officers safety", no harm done.

But he made himself less safe by those actions. You realize that, right? I am more safe not touching your gun than I am touching it.

a bad guy bent on harming the officer would say "no", at which point this officer probably would have believed him and then been in a seriously bad tactical situation.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Along the side of the road, an officer can do what he wants. Not much you can do about it at the time. Filing a complaint probably won't do any good either. My son had a similar experience with Purdue Police. Officer saw pink card, ordered son out of car, entered car and retrieved firearm from center console. Shift supervisor was there, and said it was sop.

Something about Washington v. Indiana comes to mind with this. NOT kosher unless your son was being stopped for something fairly important.

 

[Mark 1911]

Mark, the officer in your case was JUST as intrusive as the o.p's! How is his situation any different than yours?

The only difference being that he didn't reach into my holster and take it off my person. In my case the pistol was in a soft zippered case in the door pocket. He didn't intrude into my personal space, but other than that minor difference, very similar. There was no justification for him to take possession of it.

 

[Birds Away]

Along the side of the road, an officer can do what he wants. Not much you can do about it at the time. Filing a complaint probably won't do any good either. My son had a similar experience with Purdue Police. Officer saw pink card, ordered son out of car, entered car and retrieved firearm from center console. Shift supervisor was there, and said it was sop. Email to Chief received no reply. Unless you have the disposable income to retain an attorney, complaints fall on deaf ears. Chiefs set sop. If the chief encourages the disarming of all people encountered, not much you can do.

They will do whatever they want to do. If this is their policy then nothing a citizen says will change that.

 

[SteveM4A1]

They will do whatever they want to do. If this is their policy then nothing a citizen says will change that.

Then it would be time to lawyer up and file a lawsuit.

 

[churchmouse]

I have had issue with LEO wanting to enter my car and take my gun. It did not end well for either of us. Long time ago and a life time far away but things have not changed much. Some people just need to be in control and push their authority. Some do not.

 

[Sgtusmc]

Roadside lawyering never seems to work out for the common citizen.

 

[SkullDaddy.45]

I've said this many times. Do not give up any information, period! If your caught speeding , hand over your DL, insurance card, registration. Everything he needs to know are on those documents. Anything else just isn't his business.

 

[Miles42]

It is clear in many of these reports the officer in question lacks knowledge of the law. That fault is due to poor training IMHO. That being said it is also clear you are at their mercy. The only recourse to go along and deal with the legal aspects later in court. The problem with that is the officer does not incur any cost. I think if found they acted improperly the entire court cost should be on the officer in question.

 

[Birds Away]

Everyone keeps saying to take it to court but no one can show a statute or court case that says it is illegal. So, if you take it to court it would seem that you would be wasting your money. Lawyers ain't cheap.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I have had issue with LEO wanting to enter my car and take my gun. It did not end well for either of us. Long time ago and a life time far away but things have not changed much. Some people just need to be in control and push their authority. Some do not.

I backed up a rookie who had called for another officer because a guy had a gun in his glovebox. When I arrived, the driver was standing outside the car, and the rook asked me to watch him. He then walked over to the car, and opened the door. I then yelled to him "hey, what the heck are you doing?!?" And he told me "getting the gun." Now typically, it's bad form to argue with another officer, during a traffic stop, but I called the rook back over, had him give the guy back his info, and allowed him to leave. Me and the rookie had a pretty in-depth talk about officer safety, and the 4th Amendment.

 

[Bang-bang]

Roadside lawyering never seems to work out for the common citizen.

So true, any problems and they call call for back up, (you cant)

Please ppost LEO's name for others to know!

 

[Bang-bang]

I backed up a rookie who had called for another officer because a guy had a gun in his glovebox. When I arrived, the driver was standing outside the car, and the rook asked me to watch him. He then walked over to the car, and opened the door. I then yelled to him "hey, what the heck are you doing?!?" And he told me "getting the gun." Now typically, it's bad form to argue with another officer, during a traffic stop, but I called the rook back over, had him give the guy back his info, and allowed him to leave. Me and the rookie had a pretty in-depth talk about officer safety, and the 4th Amendment.

Thank you!!
+100

 

[Kutnupe14]

Along the side of the road, an officer can do what he wants. Not much you can do about it at the time. Filing a complaint probably won't do any good either. My son had a similar experience with Purdue Police. Officer saw pink card, ordered son out of car, entered car and retrieved firearm from center console. Shift supervisor was there, and said it was sop. Email to Chief received no reply. Unless you have the disposable income to retain an attorney, complaints fall on deaf ears. Chiefs set sop. If the chief encourages the disarming of all people encountered, not much you can do.

Now THIS, is clearly illegal. That officer had no right to enter the vehicle without consent. If there was something illegal discovered in your son's vehicle, there'd be no way he'd be convicted for having it.

 

[Whosyer]

Something about Washington v. Indiana comes to mind with this. NOT kosher unless your son was being stopped for something fairly important.

Definitely not kosher, but expensive to prove the point. His offense was speeding. Or, more importantly, speeding at 0030. Another benefit of working night shift. It seems that PUPD and WLPD suspect something nefarious, if you are on the roads "at that time in the morning". I have a friend that works second shift at SIA. He was recently pulled over by WLPD for suspicion of DUI. ( he had his window down when it was 27°, and was observed singing) He was then proned out and cuffed, due to the officer observing a firearm, and a container of marijuana on the front seat. The firearm was actually a claw hammer. And the weed was actually a loaf of banana nut bread. The prevalent question was " where are you headed at this time of the morning ?". My friend got to lay in the snow, but society was saved from a loaf of banana nut bread. And more importantly, officer "Magoo" ensured his own safety.

 

[churchmouse]

I backed up a rookie who had called for another officer because a guy had a gun in his glovebox. When I arrived, the driver was standing outside the car, and the rook asked me to watch him. He then walked over to the car, and opened the door. I then yelled to him "hey, what the heck are you doing?!?" And he told me "getting the gun." Now typically, it's bad form to argue with another officer, during a traffic stop, but I called the rook back over, had him give the guy back his info, and allowed him to leave. Me and the rookie had a pretty in-depth talk about officer safety, and the 4th Amendment.

Rep inbound.

 

[printcraft]

Rep inbound.

Got him.

 

[Birds Away]

Definitely not kosher, but expensive to prove the point. His offense was speeding. Or, more importantly, speeding at 0030. Another benefit of working night shift. It seems that PUPD and WLPD suspect something nefarious, if you are on the roads "at that time in the morning". I have a friend that works second shift at SIA. He was recently pulled over by WLPD for suspicion of DUI. ( he had his window down when it was 27°, and was observed singing) He was then proned out and cuffed, due to the officer observing a firearm, and a container of marijuana on the front seat. The firearm was actually a claw hammer. And the weed was actually a loaf of banana nut bread. The prevalent question was " where are you headed at this time of the morning ?". My friend got to lay in the snow, but society was saved from a loaf of banana nut bread. And more importantly, officer "Magoo" ensured his own safety.

...and there will be no repercussions for Officer Magoo.

 

[jsharmon7]

My last interaction with an armed citizen went smooth as silk. He had his hands on the wheel when I walked up and told me "sir, I just want to let you know I have a Kentucky concealed carry permit and the gun is with me." I asked where it was and then told him just to leave it there. When I asked for his license and registration he told me where they were before he reached for them. When I walked back up to his car the second time he seemed a lot more relaxed. I gave him a warning for speeding and told him I was glad to see responsible citizens carrying and I appreciated him letting me know.

I'm not relating this story for a pat on the back, but rather to say that absent other circumstances it doesn't need to be any more of an issue than that. I've always understood the wording in Terry to be "armed and presently dangerous." I assume they put the "and" in there because they felt that "armed" doesn't always mean "dangerous."