dac1842 wrote:The law permits the officer to disarm the CHL holder. He does not have to have probable cause to disarm, a warrant is not required for him to run the serial number just as he does not require a warrant to run a drivers license check on you once you hand him your DL.
So until someone wants to challenge the law permitting the officer to disarm you, you have two choices, comply with te law or challenge it and be prepared to suffer consequnces.
Let's not mix topics here. There are two distinct legal issues here.
First, the authority to disarm. Second, the right to check the serial number.
I am not going to even argue whether an officer has the right to disarm. The Supreme Court has created numerous precedents and has been very mindful of officer safety in such decisions. It is 't even worth trying to argue this point.
However, running the serial number clearly constitutes a "search". Now, if a person simply hands the firearm over with the serial number in plain sight, the "plain sight" exception clearly allows the search. If a person tapes over the serial number, that would seem to go a long way towards probable cause.
However, handing over a pocket pistol still in the pocket holster creates a different issue altogether. The serial number is covered and thus not in plain sight. Absent other articulable facts creating legal standing for a search, running the serial number in this circumstance is clearly not justified.