Got pulled over by DPS Trooper

[NTexCopRetired]

The majority of violator contacts, where the officer has no reason to suspect any issues, is: "Good afternoon (morning), I am Officer X with the Y Police Department. The reason for the contact (stop) is I observed you (radar indicated) you were XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. I need to see your operators license and proof of financial responsibility please". I officially retired in 2005 after 30 years. I was an FTO for a number of those years in a medium sized department surrounded by a metroplex. I only dealt with CHL for about five years and they were few and far between. However, when I came in contact with a CHL, I wanted to know if they were armed and where the weapon was. If they volunteered that information, that was great. The best response for me was "Officer, I have a CHL and my weapon is located ...... How do you want me to proceed?". I basically operated under the assumption that everyone I contacted could potentially harm me. CHL holders, other police officers, federal agents, civilians, relatives, especially relatives.

[flechero]

The 3-4 times I have been stopped in the last 20 years, I have had my wallet out long before the officer got to the window... both hands visible (on top of the wheel, and dome light on at night) with CHL/DL/Ins at the ready, waiting for his instructions. I always let them begin the conversation. When I had over my plastic- the CHL/LTC is on top so they see it first.

All of my encounters have gone smoothly with that procedure.

[RogueUSMC]

We are in Texas...it is reasonable to assume that a person driving a motor vehicle in Texas has a gun. It is legal(license or no license). Why lead out with this?

I talked with a Louisiana Trooper once (not a an 'official discussion'...lol.) He told me when he pulled over a car headed to Shreveport with Texas plates, he just assumes that the likelihood of the driver having a gun in the car is above average. His thoughts were that it is legal in Texas and he saw no issue with a gun that was a situational non-issue on a routine traffic stop. He said most troopers use the reasoning that, if a LTC was given with the DL, they are legal according to Louisiana law to have a gun with them (whether they have one with them or not I irrelevant.) If the driver does not hand them an LTC, whether they have a gun or not is not germane to the routine traffic stop, therefore it is also a non-issue. They made the stop because of speeding. Asking about a gun that may or may not be present is adding an unnecessary complication to a stop where they would just as soon have it go smooth and simple. Kind of the K.I.S.S. process in a nutshell.

[TVGuy]

From my experience (3-4 stops in the last 10 years, some described on this forum), here is what worked for me:

License, CHL, insurance in left hand, both in clear view on top of the wheel. Any passenger's hands on the dash, or in plain sight if in back. Interior lights on if dark out. Politely hand all contents of my left hand to the officer when asked. Respond to the questions asked in a polite way. First one for me has always been, "Thank you, are you carrying today?" then... "Ok, where is it?"

After that, they've always told me it's ok to "relax" or "you can take your hands down, just don't move toward your gun".

I haven't received a ticket on ANY of those encounters. Admittedly, I should have on a couple of them for speeding.

[thetexan]

If you have the time, and usually you do, you should already have the DL and the LTC out and ready to hand to him. Handing him the LTC along with the DL is your announcement that you have a gun. He will ask if you are armed. If not you can announce.

My opinion is that you keep no secrets. The more freely you give the info (along with the plastic) the more at ease everyone will be.

tex

[WTR]

If I have time I have my info at the ready. However, I have rounded a bend and come upon a DL/insrance/seatbelt/DUI check point and immediately had an Officer at my window. In those two cases I have informed the Officer that I had a CHL and that I was armed. I would then ask permission to retrieve my wallet.

[twomillenium]

Good interaction, but I have a few suggestions;
1. Carry your handgun on one side, your wallet on the other. Makes a better balance reduces the chance of accidental exposure when fishing for your wallet and reduces the opportunity for the cop to get stressed or twitchy.

2.Try get your wallet out before the officer gets to your window, only do this if you can do it without a lot of fidgeting. Hold the wallet so the officer can clearly see and identify it.

3. Give the officer an opportunity to ask for your license or ID , When he asks present both your CHL and drivers license at the same time. Let him ask the questions. What we are trying to do is to make him comfortable with him being in charge and not introducing a surprise like an announcing "I gotta gun"

Silly little things, I know, but these little things can help the officer feel a little safer and maybe reduce a little stress in his life.

There is no reason to announce you have a gun until asked.

What he says^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Last time I got pulled over I had both licenses in my left hand and both on the wheel. The only time my carry was discussed was what type i was wearing? Then I got my $200.00 ticket and drove off.

Obviously, Dusty Rivers handled it perfectly, after all, he got a warning and you got a ticket!

[Mxrdad]

WTR brings up a good point. It might be a good idea to have 2 plans. The first being having your DL and LTC (or at least your wallet) in hand with hands on the steering wheel. This makes sense if you have the time. If a LEO is already at your window like WTR mentioned, or approaching the vehicle, would it not be wise to inform him of your LTC at that point? I think telling the LEO at that point is better than digging around, and they possibly see a weapon before you inform them. To me, that would make them a little more uncomfortable. I dunno.

[lildave40]

Good interaction, but I have a few suggestions;
1. Carry your handgun on one side, your wallet on the other. Makes a better balance reduces the chance of accidental exposure when fishing for your wallet and reduces the opportunity for the cop to get stressed or twitchy.

2.Try get your wallet out before the officer gets to your window, only do this if you can do it without a lot of fidgeting. Hold the wallet so the officer can clearly see and identify it.

3. Give the officer an opportunity to ask for your license or ID , When he asks present both your CHL and drivers license at the same time. Let him ask the questions. What we are trying to do is to make him comfortable with him being in charge and not introducing a surprise like an announcing "I gotta gun"

Silly little things, I know, but these little things can help the officer feel a little safer and maybe reduce a little stress in his life.

There is no reason to announce you have a gun until asked.

What he says^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Last time I got pulled over I had both licenses in my left hand and both on the wheel. The only time my carry was discussed was what type i was wearing? Then I got my $200.00 ticket and drove off.

Obviously, Dusty Rivers handled it perfectly, after all, he got a warning and you got a ticket!

HAHAHAHA I agree but I dont think he ever got pulled over by Jacinto City PD. Guaranteed ticket there for the most minor things. Mine was for not using my turn signal in a timely manner.

[Flightmare]

My cousin posted this earlier. I think the young man on the motorcycle gave a textbook example of how to handle the situation. Apologies for the one word on the screen in the video that violates forum rules.

[Dusty Rivers]

The problem with messing around getting your license and registration ready before the officer approaches looks the same as trying to hid something , or looks from behind that you may be getting a gun out. As to taking your wallet out as soon as you get in the car what happens if there is an accident and your wallet or you go flying in different directions?

Hands on the wheel and no movement of any kind until instructed in my opinion is the way to go. I seen no problem with polite verbal interaction as long as it is not accompanied with attitude or movement. Texas is a must notify state. I notified at the first chance the officer gave me to speak. I didn't blurt as someone implied. I did have my gun on one hip and my wallet on the other if people had bothered to read the post.

Everyone has an opinion. The officer seemed happy, I seemed happy, I am very pleased with my conduct, so was the officer as to the way we interacted. For this post I wasn't asking for advice I was relaying a positive interaction with an officer in light of all the negative publicity lately. My point was an atta boy for Texas DPS, no asking for a critique.

[twomillenium]

Good interaction, but I have a few suggestions;
1. Carry your handgun on one side, your wallet on the other. Makes a better balance reduces the chance of accidental exposure when fishing for your wallet and reduces the opportunity for the cop to get stressed or twitchy.

2.Try get your wallet out before the officer gets to your window, only do this if you can do it without a lot of fidgeting. Hold the wallet so the officer can clearly see and identify it.

3. Give the officer an opportunity to ask for your license or ID , When he asks present both your CHL and drivers license at the same time. Let him ask the questions. What we are trying to do is to make him comfortable with him being in charge and not introducing a surprise like an announcing "I gotta gun"

Silly little things, I know, but these little things can help the officer feel a little safer and maybe reduce a little stress in his life.

There is no reason to announce you have a gun until asked.

What he says^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Last time I got pulled over I had both licenses in my left hand and both on the wheel. The only time my carry was discussed was what type i was wearing? Then I got my $200.00 ticket and drove off.

Obviously, Dusty Rivers handled it perfectly, after all, he got a warning and you got a ticket!

HAHAHAHA I agree but I dont think he ever got pulled over by Jacinto City PD. Guaranteed ticket there for the most minor things. Mine was for not using my turn signal in a timely manner.

Now that is funny, the only ticket I have received in the last 20 years (except for click it or ticket) was in JC.

[Abraham]

Dusty,

You did good.

I understood your post from the git go...

[talltex]

Got pulled over by a Texas DPS Trooper. New Car bought at 10 PM late dealer purchase. Took till 10 PM to get the paperwork done. Dealer didn't have a tag.

They should have printed you a tag before you left, that was very negligent on their part to do so. I understand they were most likely ready to get you out of there but still..

I am always glad to hear of positive LEO interactions. I think you three all going home safely is the best thanks you can give. Baked goodies are always a great way to say thank you.

There are a couple of reasons they might not have been able to give him a tag...neither of which excuses it, but might explain it. Unlike it was for years, the dealers no longer use a preprinted cardboard tag from the local print shop where they could buy a years supply for $50.00. Starting in September of 2009, the state required all dealers to get internet access to the TXDMV / DPS system and input the data on each deal at time of sale and print out a transaction specific paper tag for that vehicle and customer which is immediately in the DPS database showing the VIN, the make and model and the buyers name. It cannot be stuck in the back window...has to be affixed to the rear license plate spot. The dealers were all told how wonderful it would be because we would no longer have to fill out those buyers tag by hand...just type it into the computer and push a button. Well, it took about 2 minutes to do one of those by hand....it takes about 15 minutes to log in to the website and enter all the information on the computer . At the time, they failed to tell us that we would also have to purchase Texas E-Tag paper forms to print them on, and Texas E-tag plastic bags to put them in, and that they were going t charge us $5.00 every time we printed one . It took effect 9/1/2009. The system crashed after 10 minutes and they tried to restart several times in the next week before they gave up and said go back to the old tags until we get it fixed next week. Second launch it lasted about 35 minutes and after the third failed launch they said use the old ones until notified. 6 months later they tried again and it would work for a while then go down several times each day. At that point they allowed the dealers to pre-print a specific number of "Internet Down" tags to be used when someone came to get their vehicle and the dealer could not access the system...the number of those tags was based on average sales volume. After a couple of years it started working most of the time. Those "internet down" tags have to be kept locked up and a log kept of when and where they were used and who assigned them. The salespeople don't normally have access to the dealerships tag system...only an administrator or manager can use it. Given the time of the transaction, probably wasn't anyone still there with access to the tag system or to the locked up "internet down" tags. They should have stuck one of the salesperson's "agent specific" tags for a demo on the customers car just to get them home and had them come back or take the proper tag to them the next day.

[vjallen75]

There are a couple of reasons they might not have been able to give him a tag...neither of which excuses it, but might explain it. Unlike it was for years, the dealers no longer use a preprinted cardboard tag from the local print shop where they could buy a years supply for $50.00. Starting in September of 2009, the state required all dealers to get internet access to the TXDMV / DPS system and input the data on each deal at time of sale and print out a transaction specific paper tag for that vehicle and customer which is immediately in the DPS database showing the VIN, the make and model and the buyers name. It cannot be stuck in the back window...has to be affixed to the rear license plate spot. The dealers were all told how wonderful it would be because we would no longer have to fill out those buyers tag by hand...just type it into the computer and push a button. Well, it took about 2 minutes to do one of those by hand....it takes about 15 minutes to log in to the website and enter all the information on the computer . At the time, they failed to tell us that we would also have to purchase Texas E-Tag paper forms to print them on, and Texas E-tag plastic bags to put them in, and that they were going t charge us $5.00 every time we printed one . It took effect 9/1/2009. The system crashed after 10 minutes and they tried to restart several times in the next week before they gave up and said go back to the old tags until we get it fixed next week. Second launch it lasted about 35 minutes and after the third failed launch they said use the old ones until notified. 6 months later they tried again and it would work for a while then go down several times each day. At that point they allowed the dealers to pre-print a specific number of "Internet Down" tags to be used when someone came to get their vehicle and the dealer could not access the system...the number of those tags was based on average sales volume. After a couple of years it started working most of the time. Those "internet down" tags have to be kept locked up and a log kept of when and where they were used and who assigned them. The salespeople don't normally have access to the dealerships tag system...only an administrator or manager can use it. Given the time of the transaction, probably wasn't anyone still there with access to the tag system or to the locked up "internet down" tags. They should have stuck one of the salesperson's "agent specific" tags for a demo on the customers car just to get them home and had them come back or take the proper tag to them the next day.

I used to work at a dealership so I kind of know how things go when it comes to tags. I meant exactly what you said, they should have given him a dealer demo tag to put until they could get one processed. It would have taken a few minutes to print one of those out instead of letting him leave and possibly getting a ticket.

I had not clue of the history of how the current tag system works (and we know dealership systems are under budgeted ), I always received tags from my finance guy and put it on before they left. If anything I would have given them my dealer tag until we got one printed.