University of South Alabama student punished for empty holster

[OldAg]

I actually can't believe this is real, but, I Googled it and the story shows up in several links:

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7490

[WildBill]

“Is this just because I have a holster on me?” Parten asks the officer after turning over his identification.

“Yeah, it is, because somebody called it in,” the officer replies matter-of-factly.
“You know there's a no-weapons policy out here, but still you want to push it.”

“Uh ... this is a protest,” Parten submits after a short pause, evidently caught
off-guard by the notion that an empty holster might violate the policy.

“Did you get permission to wear it?” the officer queries him.

“I don't need permission to wear it,” Parten replies confidently.

“You need permission from the university.”

“To wear a holster?” he asks with undisguised incredulity.

Standing his rhetorical ground, the officer simply shrugs off the challenge and says, “There's a no-weapons policy here.”

“It's not a weapon.”

“I understand that,” the officer concedes. “Take it up with Dean of Students, then, because y'all are gonna
be written up for disciplinary [sic], and I will put in there your attitude, you understand?”

Assuming a more confrontational demeanor, the officer then turns to Parten and states,
“So I'm gonna ask you one more time: where's the weapon?”

“I don't have it,” Parten tells him. “It's at home.”

Later in the video, though, the first officer calls Parten over after the others have stepped away and acknowledges
that neither of the students had technically done anything wrong, then requests “for your safety as well as mine”
that they be more compliant in the future when officers respond to reports of a possible weapon.

“What you’re doing is not against the rules or the law,” he explains, “but when we get a call thinking somebody
might have a gun, you have to be polite and cooperative, because if you start being difficult, [it looks like] you’re carrying something.

The justification from the officer seems to be "I was just following orders."

[Jusme]

What would have happened if he was carrying a concealed holster? Would that have made it unlawfully carrying a concealed non weapon? I didn't realize Alabama had an anti attitude statute, but you live and learn.

It's just a good thing he didn't have an empty knife sheath he could have really gotten in trouble.

[LucasMcCain]

Well that's the dumbest thing I've heard all day.

[RossA]

Another "bad cop" story.

[C-dub]

Another "bad cop" story.

Possibly, but more likely a bad liberal university policy that the officer had no say in or choice in the matter.

[LucasMcCain]

When I was in college (pre-9/11), I had one of those demilitarized hand grenades you can get at Army/Navy surplus hanging from my backpack by the pin. When people asked if it was a real grenade, I said "yeah." (Technically true.) Never got in trouble for that. My, how times have changed.

[Blaize4286]

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7497

Think they were afraid of a lawsuit?

[Pariah3j]

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7497

Think they were afraid of a lawsuit?

University Police are conducting an internal investigation of the matter.

Well that should all make us (and the student) feel much better, those internal investigations always lead to such sweeping changes.

[SewTexas]

if they are police they should be enforcing the law not policy. Rescinding the ticket seems correct.

[RossA]

Another "bad cop" story.

Possibly, but more likely a bad liberal university policy that the officer had no say in or choice in the matter.

Bad cops enforce policy and ignore the law.

[Solaris]

Assuming a more confrontational demeanor, the officer then turns to Parten and states,
“So I'm gonna ask you one more time: where's the weapon?”

“I don't have it,” Parten tells him. “It's at home.”

This makes me think someone called in "man with a gun" and the cop thinks he dumped/hid the gun before he arrived.

He erred by saying “I don't have it,” / “It's at home.” He should not have even admitted to having a weapon,anywhere, ever.

[OldAg]

http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7497

Think they were afraid of a lawsuit?

Seeing the second article makes me feel a little better. Now, the next step is getting Universities to shift away from the far left thinking that usually starts this kind of nonsense.

[Abraham]

“What you’re doing is not against the rules or the law, but you have to be polite and cooperative"

Ah, yeah, sure...