Thread: Police confront man for lawful open carry -- man stands his ground.

The law also says they can detain you for 24 hours without any reason and on suspicion alone. The fact he approached them, placed him in the offensive. In some cases they could have gotten away with detaining him, claiming to assume the worst. Then it would have been up to him to prove otherwise.


If he would have been rude about it or a minority he probably wouldn't have faired well.

Originally Posted by MisLed

No. The guy was brave. These cops could have shot him and then lied. The fact he taped probably saved his life. People have to stand up to this type of tyranny. New Mexico for crying out loud. You'd think American individualism would be alive and well out west. Pennsylvania cops pull this stuff all the time and then laugh behind your back when you voluntarily give up your constitutional rights. I'm sick of it.

I'm not going to believe cops are going to shoot a guy for videotaping them.

Originally Posted by JoeSixpack

The law also says they can detain you for 24 hours without any reason and on suspicion alone. The fact he approached them, placed him in the offensive. In some cases they could have gotten away with detaining him, claiming to assume the worst. Then it would have been up to him to prove otherwise.

Please cite the law to which you refer.

If he would have been rude about it or a minority he probably wouldn't have faired well.

The first cop was Hispanic.

Originally Posted by Bow To The Robots

I'm not going to believe cops are going to shoot a guy for videotaping them.

Videotaping cops and other government officials during their official duties is becoming illegal in more and more states.

Originally Posted by GeddonM3

dude reminds me of a buddy when he first got his carry license, always making sure people could see it and acting like a (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)bag because he now has a gun. always talking about it, trying to get people to notice it and just thinking its the coolest thing on this side of the earth. that is until we finally told him his lil attention seeking methods were humiliating and making himself look like a jerk. once we got it through his head that he looked stupid he finally started acting like an adult about it.

^This.

The guy in the OP is an idiot.

Originally Posted by Bow To The Robots

Here's a guy who knows his rights and is not afraid to stand up for them.

Just because you have a "right" to do something doesn't mean it is a wise thing to do. Cops have enough to deal with in the course of the day the last thing they need is trolls with deadly weapons harassing them.

Why does the guy keep saying "I want to hold everybody accountable?" Seriously it is bizarre behavior.

Also if a police officer asks you to identify yourself my advice is to do it unless you are a very good lawyer who knows ALL the laws in whatever town you are choosing to be a jerk in. My understanding is it is a criminal offense not to id yourself to a police officer.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia.com

Seven states (Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, and Vermont) explicitly impose a criminal penalty for noncompliance with the obligation to identify oneself.

I'm not a lawyer but I would not want to test this law out... particularly while carrying a hand gun and videotaping a cop.

Originally Posted by fiddlerdave

Videotaping cops and other government officials during their official duties is becoming illegal in more and more states.

Well after watching that tape now I know why. Thanks trolls.

Originally Posted by JoeSixpack

The law also says they can detain you for 24 hours without any reason and on suspicion alone. The fact he approached them, placed him in the offensive. In some cases they could have gotten away with detaining him, claiming to assume the worst. Then it would have been up to him to prove otherwise.


If he would have been rude about it or a minority he probably wouldn't have faired well.

You mean under the Patriot Act which is the antithesis of "patriot" and truly only is only of concern to people like me?

I personally think that cops should have the right to ask for I.D. when that person is bearing a firearm and voluntarily enters into their presence. The reason being that, regardless of the person's disposition towards the cop, the presence of the gun puts the officer in a vulnerable position. In this particular instance, the cop's back was even turned towards him in the process of conducting his traffic stop.

where the cop enters of his own accord into the presence of the gun carrier or any circumstance otherwise, I.D. should not be legally required for lawful activity. This would be one of the rare exceptions in which I'd support the cops asking for I.D. for lawful activity.

Originally Posted by fiddlerdave

Videotaping cops and other government officials during their official duties is becoming illegal in more and more states.

Can you provide any citations?

Originally Posted by Jebediah

^This.

The guy in the OP is an idiot.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion.

Just because you have a "right" to do something doesn't mean it is a wise thing to do.

Agree. Except lose the quotes. A right is a right.

Cops have enough to deal with in the course of the day the last thing they need is trolls with deadly weapons harassing them.

I'm not sure I see how videotaping constitutes harassment. Is it harassment because maybe the cop will have to make sure he remains professional at all times during the citizen contact?

Why does the guy keep saying "I want to hold everybody accountable?" Seriously it is bizarre behavior.

Well, I can't speak for the guy, but my guess is he said that because he wants to hold everybody accountable. We've all seen the cellphone videos of cops doing some pretty bad things--probably not a bad idea to remind them from time-to-time that we are watching, and that they work for us. And I say this as a strong supporter of law enforcement who usually questions those shaky videos because we usually don't see the whole event, just the part that;s edited to make the cops look bad.

Also if a police officer asks you to identify yourself my advice is to do it unless you are a very good lawyer who knows ALL the laws in whatever town you are choosing to be a jerk in.

You only need to know one law: the 4th Amendment.

My understanding is it is a criminal offense not to id yourself to a police officer.

Your understanding is wrong. This is not East Germany or Maoist China. The police must have a valid reason to demand identification from a citizen. Committing a lawful act is not one of them.