LEO Disarming You

[Hot Dog Juice]

Not sure how to properly react to this situation if it were to arise:

Someone catches a glimpse of my holstered concealed handgun as I was reaching up for something, or wind blew the shirt up, whatever the situation someone sees it. It was not intentionally being shown, total accident. I know that is not a crime, but someone calls the police.

The police show up and confront me and to be safe they want to disarm me. Is law enforcement supposed to remove my gun themselves even if they ask me to hand them the gun? I don't EVER want to have a weapon in my hand in the presence of police! What do I do in this situation? If I ask them to remove the gun themselves and they insist on me removing the gun, I am afraid that if I do, they could easily see it as a threat now. Are there any rules regarding this?

[Jim Beaux]

Ask the policeman how he wants you to proceed and then comply.

[TVegas]

Personally, I would just follow their instructions to the letter. I seriously doubt they would instruct me to disarm myself, but if they did then I would ask them if it would be okay for me to remove the holster with the gun still inside. I would never put my hand on the grip, and I would set it down on the ground or hand it directly to the officer. Whichever they preferred.

The only time I have had direct interaction with police while carrying, they just told me not to touch my weapon and just to act normal.

[Javier730]

I dont think a LEO will ever ask a person to pull out their firearm themselves. Follow the officers instructions but if an officer asked me to get my firearm myself, I would insist that he do it.

I have been disarmed by a police officer once. A young woman told the officer I was armed, the officer asked me where on my body it was and another officer told me he was going to retrieve it. I was not in a vehicle when this happened. When the situation was done with, the officer asked for the keys to my truck and said he was going to place my pistol on my seat. He then handed me the magazine to my pistol and the round that was in the chamber. I signed a "Release Form" and I went on my way.

[Jago668]

I had a Fort Worth officer tell me he wouldn't touch his gun around an officer unless he was in uniform. "Officer I am more than happy for you to disarm me. However I don't feel comfortable with pulling my gun. I will be more than happy to be handcuffed, lay on the ground, whatever it is you want. Me pulling my gun seems like too much of a risk for both of us."

[LSUTiger]

I had a LEO disarm me during a traffic stop in Podunk, Louisiana for driving while "Texan" when visiting relatives. That nervous nelly needs to find a desk job, but I digress. (but the PO PO has a dangerous job, blah blah blah blah blah...)

It's the closest I've come to ever getting shot, I thought he was going to shoot me in the butt as I assumed the position and he tried to retrieve the gun from my IWB holster carried at my 4'oclock.

I was glad when it was over that I still had a place to sit.

That's why I hate any police interaction, it always has the potential to go bad. If you scratch your butt the wrong way you might take a bullet.

[The Wall]

I haven't read anywhere yet where you tell the officer you have a CHL. Then the chances are they won't ask you for your gun, but will ask to see your handgun license. I like the "how would you like to proceed" response. Then follow instructions. Also like handing over the gun in the holster idea. Just have to hope my pants don't fall down when removing my belt.

[The Annoyed Man]

I had a LEO disarm me during a traffic stop in Podunk, Louisiana for driving while "Texan" when visiting relatives. That nervous nelly needs to find a desk job, but I digress. (but the PO PO has a dangerous job, blah blah blah blah blah...)

It's the closest I've come to ever getting shot, I thought he was going to shoot me in the butt as I assumed the position and he tried to retrieve the gun from my IWB holster carried at my 4'oclock.

I was glad when it was over that I still had a place to sit.

That's why I hate any police interaction, it always has the potential to go bad. If you scratch your butt the wrong way you might take a bullet.

If you do it the wrong way, you might pass out:

In answer to the general question....... While I would prefer to not be disarmed by an officer, I also think that not cooperating with the disarming - even if it is an unreasonable request - is a setup for a situation as potentially dangerous as poor gun-handling by the cop. If the police handle the encounter badly, a post-encounter letter to their supervisors is the best way to deal with it. If the cop was unsafe in disarming you, your letter to the chief could say something along the lines of:

....even though I would have rather not been disarmed, I was prepared to cooperate completely. However, the manner in which I was disarmed by your officer was extremely unsafe for the both of us, because he/she demonstrated a dangerous lack of familiarity with the kind of firearm I was carrying. That would seem to indicate that perhaps your department should spend more time on firearms safety training. Considered purely from a matter of safety, not just for the officer but for me as well, perhaps it would have been better if the officer had allowed me to remove the entire holster and belt from my person, or had done it for me, rather than to draw the gun from its holster, thereby creating an unsafe condition. Better yet, might it have been safer yet to simply leave the gun where it was, properly holstered on my hip, with the trigger covered? I understand the desire to maintain officer safety, but the way my disarming was handled, it created an unsafe condition for both of us.

[AJSully421]

No decent officer will allow you to disarm yourself. If they feel that you need to be disarmed, they absolutely do not want your hand on any gun.

Keep in mind that disarming you is not the default setting on an LE encounter, and a cop would have to be an idiot to have people that they pull over do it on a regular basis. Unless you are acting crazy, it is safer for everyone for all of the guns to stay where they are.

I have carried since I turned 21 in 2004, been pulled over an average of once per year, and had 3 other LE encounters in that 11 year time... twice as the "person of interest", once as a witness. I have never been disarmed.

[Glockster]

In answer to the general question....... While I would prefer to not be disarmed by an officer, I also think that not cooperating with the disarming - even if it is an unreasonable request - is a setup for a situation as potentially dangerous as poor gun-handling by the cop. If the police handle the encounter badly, a post-encounter letter to their supervisors is the best way to deal with it. If the cop was unsafe in disarming you, your letter to the chief could say something along the lines of:

....even though I would have rather not been disarmed, I was prepared to cooperate completely. However, the manner in which I was disarmed by your officer was extremely unsafe for the both of us, because he/she demonstrated a dangerous lack of familiarity with the kind of firearm I was carrying. That would seem to indicate that perhaps your department should spend more time on firearms safety training. Considered purely from a matter of safety, not just for the officer but for me as well, perhaps it would have been better if the officer had allowed me to remove the entire holster and belt from my person, or had done it for me, rather than to draw the gun from its holster, thereby creating an unsafe condition. Better yet, might it have been safer yet to simply leave the gun where it was, properly holstered on my hip, with the trigger covered? I understand the desire to maintain officer safety, but the way my disarming was handled, it created an unsafe condition for both of us.

The above is good stuff, although I do hope that I never have the need to use it.

It does bring up a question for me - and I'm asking it from the perspective of having NO experience with things like traffic stops. I am in that sense perhaps at a bit of a disadvantage in that I have never been ticketed, and never even been pulled over. So my question is about your above saying in any letter that you would have preferred to not have been disarmed. Would that have been something you would have told to the officer as well?

I'm familiar with those who have advocated saying that you tell the officer that they are not willing to voluntarily disarm but that if the officer chooses to do so against their wishes you won't resist. I myself feel that the "hand the officer the DL and CHL, inform that you're carrying, and then ask how the officer wishes to proceed" is much less likely to escalate the situation. So, at what point would you (but not directing this at only you specifically) tell the officer that you'd prefer to not disarmed?

[The Annoyed Man]

In answer to the general question....... While I would prefer to not be disarmed by an officer, I also think that not cooperating with the disarming - even if it is an unreasonable request - is a setup for a situation as potentially dangerous as poor gun-handling by the cop. If the police handle the encounter badly, a post-encounter letter to their supervisors is the best way to deal with it. If the cop was unsafe in disarming you, your letter to the chief could say something along the lines of:

....even though I would have rather not been disarmed, I was prepared to cooperate completely. However, the manner in which I was disarmed by your officer was extremely unsafe for the both of us, because he/she demonstrated a dangerous lack of familiarity with the kind of firearm I was carrying. That would seem to indicate that perhaps your department should spend more time on firearms safety training. Considered purely from a matter of safety, not just for the officer but for me as well, perhaps it would have been better if the officer had allowed me to remove the entire holster and belt from my person, or had done it for me, rather than to draw the gun from its holster, thereby creating an unsafe condition. Better yet, might it have been safer yet to simply leave the gun where it was, properly holstered on my hip, with the trigger covered? I understand the desire to maintain officer safety, but the way my disarming was handled, it created an unsafe condition for both of us.

The above is good stuff, although I do hope that I never have the need to use it.

It does bring up a question for me - and I'm asking it from the perspective of having NO experience with things like traffic stops. I am in that sense perhaps at a bit of a disadvantage in that I have never been ticketed, and never even been pulled over. So my question is about your above saying in any letter that you would have preferred to not have been disarmed. Would that have been something you would have told to the officer as well?

I'm familiar with those who have advocated saying that you tell the officer that they are not willing to voluntarily disarm but that if the officer chooses to do so against their wishes you won't resist. I myself feel that the "hand the officer the DL and CHL, inform that you're carrying, and then ask how the officer wishes to proceed" is much less likely to escalate the situation. So, at what point would you (but not directing this at only you specifically) tell the officer that you'd prefer to not disarmed?

I've only been pulled over twice since getting my CHL, and both were to issue fix-it tickets rather than for a traffic violation. In both cases, I said nothing about my gun until asked about it after I had handed the officer both my TDL and CHL. In the first case, he asked me through the window where the gun was (I told him), and he said "tell you what, you don't show me yours, and I won't show you mine", and that's where he lost interest and went back to his squad car with both my IDs to write up the ticket. In the second case, the officer took one look at my CHL, said "I don't need this" and handed it back to me and walked back to his car with my TDL to write up the ticket.

IF TOLD that the officer wants to disarm me, I would comply 100% and keep my mouth shut. My observations of human nature indicate that he/she doesn't care what my rights are at that point, and my insistence would only escalate the situation.

[Vol Texan]

It's easy to pile on this one...I'm friendly and cordial, I hand over both licenses at once, and I have never had a problem.

If the officer wanted to disarm me, my answer would be, "Yes sir - how would you like to proceed?" and then follow instructions. I prefer not to touch my gun in his presence, but I'll do as asked.

I cannot imagine a situation where the officer would prefer to remain hands off, and let the person disarm themselves. Of course, it could get uncomfortable for both if the officer found out that someone was wearing a Thunderwear, SmartCarry, or a Flash Bang.

[J.R.@A&M]

It's easy to pile on this one...I'm friendly and cordial, I hand over both licenses at once, and I have never had a problem.

If the officer wanted to disarm me, my answer would be, "Yes sir - how would you like to proceed?" and then follow instructions. I prefer not to touch my gun in his presence, but I'll do as asked.

I cannot imagine a situation where the officer would prefer to remain hands off, and let the person disarm themselves. Of course, it could get uncomfortable for both if the officer found out that someone was wearing a Thunderwear, SmartCarry, or a Flash Bang.

I'm with Vol Texan on all these points.

The one time I was disarmed, I told him where they were (inside my shirt, in a shoulder holster, and in my right front pocket). I offered to unbutton my shirt, because it would have taken him more effort to otherwise fetch it. He then reached inside my shirt and retrieved the revolver while I stood motionless (we were facing each other) with my arms spread outward. He similarly reached into my pocket for the Pug.

[Hot Dog Juice]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I have been disarmed by a veteran game warden while dove hunting. He was showing his rookie how to check for plugs in the shotgun. Simply had me unload shells and hand him the gun unloaded and opened. Game wardens don't make me nervous because they do this constantly, but I am still worried about the super cops in my small town. Perhaps I should stop by the station (unarmed of course) and speak to a couple of the officers and present this hypothetical situation to them. Could help squelch my fears...or forever put me on their radar.

[Deltaboy]

So far I never been disarmed by the Police during traffic stops.