Traffic Stops while Armed.

[Daveygravey89]

I've been pulled over twice while carrying and all I do is give him my cpl with the rest of my info and politely tell him I have a loaded weapon on my person . One time he told me thanks for letting him know and to please keep my hands on the wheel and then let me go. Other time he had me place it on the seat he grabbed it dropped the mag racked the slide to discard loaded round and took it back to his cruiser . After he was done he brought it back placed it on my hood and told me not to retrieve it until he is gone .

[joao01]

Very little needs to be added, but I'll attempt to add something of value:

1. Your insurance does not have to be physical. You can show proof on insurance on a smart phone app. That may be easier to get to than a paper copy elsewhere.

2. In my experience (very limited, twice in the past 15 years), if you start off with something like "officer you're absolutely correct, I wasn't paying attention at the moment and was speeding" or something to that effect (if it is very obvious of course that it is for that and not a headlight), the officer tends to be more lenient. In the end, I think their goal is to keep people safe. Sure they could and may still give you a ticket, but if it appears you're remorseful and won't speed or whatever for a long time, then that has the same impact on safety as if they give you a ticket (which is often more paperwork and takes longer).

[golddigger14s]

I've been pulled over twice while carrying and all I do is give him my cpl with the rest of my info and politely tell him I have a loaded weapon on my person . One time he told me thanks for letting him know and to please keep my hands on the wheel and then let me go. Other time he had me place it on the seat he grabbed it dropped the mag racked the slide to discard loaded round and took it back to his cruiser . After he was done he brought it back placed it on my hood and told me not to retrieve it until he is gone .

Nothing like submitting to an illegal search, and seizure. As I've said you are not required to tell an officer you have a legally carried gun in WA state unless asked. Were you stopped for a gun crime/infraction? No? Then it is not part of the traffic stop, and leave it out of the conversation.

[Powderman]

I've been pulled over twice while carrying and all I do is give him my cpl with the rest of my info and politely tell him I have a loaded weapon on my person . One time he told me thanks for letting him know and to please keep my hands on the wheel and then let me go. Other time he had me place it on the seat he grabbed it dropped the mag racked the slide to discard loaded round and took it back to his cruiser . After he was done he brought it back placed it on my hood and told me not to retrieve it until he is gone .

Nothing like submitting to an illegal search, and seizure. As I've said you are not required to tell an officer you have a legally carried gun in WA state unless asked. Were you stopped for a gun crime/infraction? No? Then it is not part of the traffic stop, and leave it out of the conversation.

First thing...Davey....if you run into an officer that tells you to "just put the gun on the seat", DON'T. You do NOT, EVER, want to have a gun in your hand during a traffic stop. If an officer asks you to do this, tell them, "I'm sorry, but I do not feel comfortable handling a firearm in your presence, and I'd feel better if you got it. What do you want me to do?"

Golddigger...no, you do NOT have to inform about your CPL. However, it can help to avoid unpleasantness. And by that, I mean this:

If I catch sight of your firearm AND you have told me about it beforehand, kewl beanz. We'll probably talk about guns, if you have the time.

If I catch sight of your firearm and you HAVEN'T told me about it, then it might not end well. There might be a simple stern warning--all the way up to loud voices, exiting of vehicles and possibly being proned out in a mud puddle. Handcuffs might be applied, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Seriously, I would probably ask you why you chose not to tell me about your firearm. And the tension level would definitely increase.

[Selador]

Seriously, I would probably ask you why you chose not to tell me about your firearm. And the tension level would definitely increase.

My answer probably wouldn't help.

"I didn't think you stopped me because I had a firearm"...

[Guns4Liberty]

If I catch sight of your firearm and you HAVEN'T told me about it, then it might not end well. There might be a simple stern warning--all the way up to loud voices, exiting of vehicles and possibly being proned out in a mud puddle. Handcuffs might be applied, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Seriously, I would probably ask you why you chose not to tell me about your firearm. And the tension level would definitely increase.

In your scenario, did you ask about the firearm first? I can understand your reaction if you did ask and were lied to, but if you didn't ask, then that's an overreaction in my book.

[BadKarma]

Each persons situation will be different. Why be critical on how each person handled their situation when the results will only impact them? Not every situation needs to be a "training" experience for a legal gun owner to give to an officer.

[mislabeled]

<snip>

Golddigger...no, you do NOT have to inform about your CPL. However, it can help to avoid unpleasantness. And by that, I mean this:

If I catch sight of your firearm AND you have told me about it beforehand, kewl beanz. We'll probably talk about guns, if you have the time.

If I catch sight of your firearm and you HAVEN'T told me about it, then it might not end well. There might be a simple stern warning--all the way up to loud voices, exiting of vehicles and possibly being proned out in a mud puddle. Handcuffs might be applied, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Seriously, I would probably ask you why you chose not to tell me about your firearm. And the tension level would definitely increase.

What would be the purpose or content of that warning? Personally, I hand over my CPL along with my license, but if an officer feels every driver owes them full disclosure about their firearms without being asked, then it seems to me a better tactic would be for LEOs to try to change the regs rather than to hand out warnings for lawful actions.

If the little sign says, "Free right turn on red," I don't expect to be pulled over and lectured because an officer thinks turning without stopping is a bad idea. Either it's legal or it isn't.

[Shonmow]

This comes up in almost every weapon's training class I attend it does not matter if I am here Washington or out of state training in Oregon, Texas or Las Vegas and the overwhelming consensus through out every class is hand the officer your Driver's License and your CPL at the same time, allow them to ask their questions and comply with their requests.

I have been stopped more times that I care to admit and each time I have followed this advice and save for 1 instance in Eastern Washington with a very young male Washington State Patrolman all of the stops have gone on in less that 5 minutes whether I was issued a citation or not. The aforementioned stop the Patrolman asked to collect my weapon for the duration of the stop. While I have a massive issue with this practice and did file a formal complaint, I most certainly did not give the contacting officers any reason to believe I was anything other than cooperative. Which, I believe resulted in my being let off with a warring for my excessive speed.

One thing is for certain, in the past 5 years or so, the Officers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Nevada have all started to ask if their are any weapons in the vehicle, to which I always reply clearly and concisely YES, but this is also AFTER I hand over my "papers".

Knowing that everyone has an opinion on this I would suggest to error on the side of caution, and work as diligently as possible not to become the next case study.


~John

[Guntrader]

The only time I have ever been asked if there were any firearms in the vehicle was
1) By a Game Warden while on hunting trips
2) And when traveling to and from Canada by Customs officials.

Never volunteered or been asked during a traffic stop.
Been pulled over by a trooper for speeding, he saw that I had several handguns and ammo on the front passenger seat.
He didn't say anything about it, and neither did I.

[xr650r]

A couple things to be aware of. If you leave your insurance and registration out and not locked up if your vehicle is broken into they will use the info to steal your identity.

I never leave my loaded gun anywhere but on me its a good way to go to jail.
A friend of mine spent a weekend in jail for having his gun under his front seat. He was pulled over one night late on his way home from work. He mentioned he had a loaded gun and that he forgot to put it on after work. Officer wasnt amuzed and took him to jail. He spent some time with a good lawyer but it was spendy to get it straightend out.

[MadPick]

I never leave my loaded gun anywhere but on me its a good way to go to jail.
A friend of mine spent a weekend in jail for having his gun under his front seat. He was pulled over one night late on his way home from work. He mentioned he had a loaded gun and that he forgot to put it on after work. Officer wasnt amuzed and took him to jail. He spent some time with a good lawyer but it was spendy to get it straightend out.

^ This confuses me. I’m Washington, you can have that loaded pistol anywhere in the vehicle. It doesn’t need to be on your person.

Why was your friend detained?

[beckdw]

I never leave my loaded gun anywhere but on me its a good way to go to jail.
A friend of mine spent a weekend in jail for having his gun under his front seat. He was pulled over one night late on his way home from work. He mentioned he had a loaded gun and that he forgot to put it on after work. Officer wasnt amuzed and took him to jail. He spent some time with a good lawyer but it was spendy to get it straightend out.

^ This confuses me. I’m Washington, you can have that loaded pistol anywhere in the vehicle. It doesn’t need to be on your person.

Why was your friend detained?

Because grammar is hard, and even cops have trouble some times. My SGM is a Pierce Co Deputy and has told me if you don't have it on you he will be giving you a warning. I tried to explain it, but...

[steveo_1704]

I never leave my loaded gun anywhere but on me its a good way to go to jail.
A friend of mine spent a weekend in jail for having his gun under his front seat. He was pulled over one night late on his way home from work. He mentioned he had a loaded gun and that he forgot to put it on after work. Officer wasnt amuzed and took him to jail. He spent some time with a good lawyer but it was spendy to get it straightend out.

^ This confuses me. I’m Washington, you can have that loaded pistol anywhere in the vehicle. It doesn’t need to be on your person.

Why was your friend detained?

Because grammar is hard, and even cops have trouble some times. My SGM is a Pierce Co Deputy and has told me if you don't have it on you he will be giving you a warning. I tried to explain it, but...

cop needs to read the law at least once.

[golddigger14s]

A couple things to be aware of. If you leave your insurance and registration out and not locked up if your vehicle is broken into they will use the info to steal your identity.

I never leave my loaded gun anywhere but on me its a good way to go to jail.
A friend of mine spent a weekend in jail for having his gun under his front seat. He was pulled over one night late on his way home from work. He mentioned he had a loaded gun and that he forgot to put it on after work. Officer wasnt amuzed and took him to jail. He spent some time with a good lawyer but it was spendy to get it straightend out.

? Did your friend have a CPL? No?, gun loaded?=cuff & stuff. Yes? anywhere in car loaded is fine. I got pulled over by WSP, and he asked if I had any weapons. I said yes, and he asked where (glove box). He didn't ask for my CPL, just asked that I not touch the gun. Got my ticket, and went on my merry way.

RCW 9.41.050
Carrying firearms.
(1)(a) Except in the person's place of abode or fixed place of business, a person shall not carry a pistol concealed on his or her person without a license to carry a concealed pistol.
(b) Every licensee shall have his or her concealed pistol license in his or her immediate possession at all times that he or she is required by this section to have a concealed pistol license and shall display the same upon demand to any police officer or to any other person when and if required by law to do so. Any violation of this subsection (1)(b) shall be a class 1 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW and shall be punished accordingly pursuant to chapter 7.80 RCW and the infraction rules for courts of limited jurisdiction.
(2)(a) A person shall not carry or place a loaded pistol in any vehicle unless the person has a license to carry a concealed pistol and: (i) The pistol is on the licensee's person, (ii) the licensee is within the vehicle at all times that the pistol is there, or (iii) the licensee is away from the vehicle and the pistol is locked within the vehicle and concealed from view from outside the vehicle.

Basically says the CPL holder is in the vehicle that has a loaded gun. Your friend should get a better lawyer, and sue.