Odd traffic stop yesterday.

[spud]

Down low on situation:

11:15am, Lewisville, Driving a white work van headed home to grab a sandwich on the way to my next job. In anticipation of getting out of the heat and eating, I was going a few over the speed limit. See red and blues.

Traffic Stop:

I pull over into a parking lot. And when he walks up, I inform him of having my CHL before I reach for anything. He asks me to step out of the vehicle. He takes me to the back of the van, and disarms me. Now for the odd part. He took my loaded pistol, took it about 12-15 feet behind him, and put it on the hood of the cruiser. Then comes back to me and leaves it unattended behind him. By this point I'm freaking out and not sure what to say. He then searches my truck, and played 25 questions. I thought I was a Ball Park Frank due to all of the grilling. Then I wait baking in the sun while my return comes back. Clear. Then I have to wait for gun registration check. (Could not find serial number, I had to show him.)
After It was all clear he gave me a verbal warning and left.

Afterthought :

Is this a normal "Bad" traffic stop for us CHL'ers? I have been stopped 2 other times with very pleasant encounters. And, why would he leave a loaded firearm behind him out of reach? He put both of us in danger, due to this being a active parking lot of a apartment complex. Should I call someone about it?

Any input on the situation is appreciated.

[WarHawk-AVG]

Your firearm MUST be registered to carry?

Even if it was a citizen to citizen property sale?

[KBCraig]

Did you consent to the search of your vehicle?

As for the rest, I always consider it to be a bad encounter when the motorist is disarmed despite presenting no special danger to the officer. And I'm frankly outraged at serial number checks without any reason to believe the gun might be stolen.

And by the way, it wasn't a "registration check". There is no registration in Texas.

[para driver]

probably did it that way, because he was trained to do it that way...
why they run the gun is beyond me, again probably standard procedure. I doubt CHL's show up with many stolen weapons, although you never know what you bought at the last gun show??

why you got pulled over is another question, vehicle description probably similar to someone they're looking for..

[Reeves]

Did you consent to the search of your vehicle?

I'm also curious about this.

[nitrogen]

Some tips I've been given by people I know that are LEO's: (And I'd love TXi's thoughts on this as well.)

* Lots of people around here like to grab all their stuff before the officer rolls up. This is usually not the thing to do. IF an officer sees you squirrling around for things, that can make them very nervous. I'd just sit there, hands on the wheel, window rolled down to a crack (if it's auto, if its manual, wait for him to watch you)

* Don't mention the word GUN or CHL verbally. Hand the officer your CHL, and let him or her initiate any questions. Some officer's BP will rise instinctively at the mention of the word.

* When he gets to your car, tell him everything you're doing. "I'm going for my wallet now." Then show your license and CHL. If you need to go for your insurance or other documents, tell him where you're going and what you're going for.

* Don't keep a weapon in the same storage place where you keep documents, to avoid having to break the above rule.

Now, to the OP, I'm not saying you did anything wrong, but these are tips I've bene given by friends in law enforcement. A nervous officer wants to go home; and traffic stops are dangerous for them. The more nervous tey are, the more likely they will give you a hard time.

I'm guessing you had an officer that was nervous before he even stopped you; and your actions might have heightened his nerves, leading to your search and being disarmed.

[spud]

Yes I did let him search the van. I have nothing to hide. Next time Ill just hand him the CHL and hope for the best.

[KBCraig]

Yes I did let him search the van. I have nothing to hide.

Of course you do. Everyone has something to hide; sometimes they just don't know it. And while corrupt officers might be one in a million, you only have to meet that one in order for him to "find" something that wasn't there before the search started. And from there, your whole day is ruined.

The 4th Amendment is there for a reason. We should guard it as jealously as we guard the 2nd. My personal standard for an "unreasonable search" is: if the search can't be legally conducted without my consent, then it is unreasonable. I don't give in to unreasonable requests where Liberty is concerned.

[Tote 9]

Yes I did let him search the van. I have nothing to hide.

Of course you do. Everyone has something to hide; sometimes they just don't know it. And while corrupt officers might be one in a million, you only have to meet that one in order for him to "find" something that wasn't there before the search started. And from there, your whole day is ruined.

The 4th Amendment is there for a reason. We should guard it as jealously as we guard the 2nd. My personal standard for an "unreasonable search" is: if the search can't be legally conducted without my consent, then it is unreasonable. I don't give in to unreasonable requests where Liberty is concerned.

I agree Kevin, what good are rights if you don't exercize them.

[stevie_d_64]

Kevin and Nitro nailed this one! Good stuff fellas!

One thing though...It sure would be interesting to know exactly what it is they do with the firearm and any "check" that it appears they do in this instance...

Since there is no registration in this state, why is every weapon come across considered stolen, or in some other way misappropriated or misused???

I can understand the whole "trust but verify", and if that is the case, I'm good with that, but I believe it goes deeper, and I'm not afraid to bring that up...

[CHL/LEO]

Your firearm MUST be registered to carry?

He was checking the NCIC database to see if your gun was reported as stolen. I have never disarmed a CHL holder during a traffic stop but I've learned a long time ago to never say never. For what ever reason this officer felt that he needed to. As someone mentioned, perhaps this was the way he was trained or it's his department's SOP.

That being said, I run every gun that I get my hands on to see if it's been stolen. Let's say I purchase a gun from someone at a gun show or some other type private sale - I have no way of knowing whether that gun has been stolen or not. Even the person who sold it to me might not know that the gun was stolen - guns tend to change hands a lot over the years.

I own several guns where the sentimental value (been in the family, my duty weapon, won at a shooting contest, etc.) far exceeds the monetary value. If they were ever stolen and some LEO ever came across them during a routine check I'd be very thankful to him or her for recovering them. Also, if one of my guns were ever found to be in the stolen database I wouldn't want to keep it - I'd like to see the rightful owner get it back.

Hopefully this will explain why I do the gun checks. - and yes, I've recovered a few over the years that were reported stolen.

[AEA]

OK, let's try this........

Say that his gun came back as being stolen (without his knowledge).
The LEO would arrest him and take his CHL?

Sounds to me like a lot of trouble for a gun you may have bought from an individual or at a gun show.

I'm checking my safe now to see if I have any gun show guns still in there. If so, I think I will sell them!

[Photoman]

If the gun reports back stolen...then what? Arrest?

[AEA]

Your firearm MUST be registered to carry?

Even if it was a citizen to citizen property sale?

There is no Law or Requirement of any kind making you register any gun you own in the Great State of Texas! Regardless of how you obtained it!

That's right....even if you stole it! If there was, I am sure there would be some dummies that would register the ones they stole!

[spud]

I would have told him no to the search usually, but I was worried about the unattended weapon that was no in his control. Dosnt that seem odd to anyone?