TexasCHLforum.com

Valhalla1 wrote:they explained if someone is carrying while you are committing a crime of of class B or worse then they would would charged with carrying a firearm illegally, CHL or not. Is this incorrect information ?

No that is not correct. Perhaps the officer was thinking of the Motorist Protection Act (HB1815 - 2007) that established TPC §46.02 (A-1) that does not apply to a CHL holder.

Chas.

Beiruty wrote:Say your neighbor knocks on your door each morning and softly tells you he is calling the police cause you have and do carry guns. He does that each morning. Harrassment?

Stalking?

Most likely, the play out would be that you tell him to cease and desist and when he comes back, its trespassing. Then you can get a restraining order if he continues.

We had a thread here the other day about a woman being harassed by a mentally ill man for years, with him going so far as to repeatedly let himself into her house and to her food and cable, supposedly shooting her dog, and the police still didn't do a thing. She eventually shot him when he was letting himself in yet again.

I would take myself down to my local police station and file a WRITTEN complaint if I were you and lived where you do.

If I were me I'd get on my bicycle and ride one block over to the Sheriff's house and give him names and times of incidents then I'd get in my Dodge Cummins RAM 4x4 2500 and go to the police station and file a WRITTEN complaint.

Get a copy of the WRITTEN complaint because you may need it for record if the time comes to blast your harrassing neighbor out of his socks...or something.

Let’s recap. You were surrounded by cop cars, pulled out of the car and threatened with bogus UWC for an alleged traffic violation. This may not technically be considered harassment but it was an effort to scare the crap out of you. Makes me sick….

“You're lucky, I'm going to cut you a huge break”

handog wrote: I would just let it go and try to stay off the road late at night.

Really? So we should self restrict our selfs from interstate movement because of an outside, unlawful opinion of another?

Not in my life time...not now, not ever. Much like the government putting up signs at the boarder and telling citizens that that part of the US is off limits or otherwise not advised, due to criminal activity they have no intention of doing anything about.
really?

or the attitude seen here a few times that amounted to... Don't go out late at night, drive after dark, go though that town,, cuz you might get pulled over, threatened, arrested, car jacked?
Really? Choose not to move though your own town, state, at will because of an unlawful outside influence? Never.

Beiruty wrote:Say your neighbor knocks on your door each morning and softly tells you he is calling the police cause you have and do carry guns. He does that each morning. Harrassment?

No. I have clearly stated harassment, per Texas penal code, is by phone, text, or email.

Beiruty wrote:Say your neighbor knocks on your door each morning and softly tells you he is calling the police cause you have and do carry guns. He does that each morning. Harrassment?

Do you answer his knock?

That is, do you open the door to listen to him?

Have you filed a complaint regarding his... what seems like a form of stalking?

Could he be charged with trespassing, given I'm sure, his visits aren't welcome?

Or is this a hypothetical?

Abraham wrote:Beiruty wrote:Say your neighbor knocks on your door each morning and softly tells you he is calling the police cause you have and do carry guns. He does that each morning. Harrassment?

Do you answer his knock?

That is, do you open the door to listen to him?

Have you filed a complaint regarding his... what seems like a form of stalking?

Could he be charged with trespassing, given I'm sure, his visits aren't welcome?

Or is this a hypothetical?

hypothetical

C-dub wrote:Clarification please, Gigag04.

If the same thing is done, but in person, what is it called?

Well, in most cases, it would be stalking if done in person. The law (Penal Code 42.07) on harassment specifies that other than one minor exception GigAg04 forgot, it must be electronic communication. The one exception is falsely telling a person someone is dead or seriously injured. That can be done in person.

Stalking Penal Code 42.072) is done in person and requires more than one repetition of the crime. It involves any repeated behavior that the victim will believe threatens injury or death to themselves or a family member, or that they will be a victim of a crime.

Interestingly, the proposed hypothetical of someone stopping by each day to warn the victim that he is calling the police may not actually be a crime in Texas. It might come under Disorderly Conduct (PC 42.01(a)(4) Abuses or threatens a person in a public place in an offensive manner) but it is a stretch. If they actually do call the police, he might get charged for false report, depending what he says, or for abusive calls to 911 if he uses that line, even if what he says is true. If he never does call the police but says he will call them about your carrying a gun when you do carry one, I cannot think of a crime other than the try at disorderly conduct. Civil response might be best.

And, of course, the problem with all this is the definition of terms. GigAg04 looked at harassment and immediately looked at the Penal Code section titled harassment. But harassment could have a civil meaning and be grounds for a lawsuit. Harassment can also have other criminal meanings in other sections, such as 22.11 (which hopefully will never apply to anyone in this forum) where inmates do things to prison guards.

As for the OP, from your description, the police were flat-out wrong. Under the most current Transportation Code, racing requires them to prove you were in a contest, not just driving fast. And as Charles has pointed out, carrying with your CHL does not become illegal just because you committed some other violation at the same time (with the obvious exception of the listed rules for carrying on a CHL). From your description (and this is just a guess), it sounds to me like the officers were looking for someone else when they stopped you, and did not know how to extract themselves from stopping the incorrect truck when they realized it. I have never understood why some officers have trouble saying they made a mistake and apologizing for stopping a person incorrectly. I have done it when I stopped cars that matched the description of a suspect as soon as I was sure it was not the suspect. I have found most people will accept the mistaken stop as soon as it is explained and hope I catch the right guy next time.

Good to know that we have LEO who research/study laws of the state.

Valhalla1 wrote:I do drive a fast truck (ford f150 svt)

I assume its a Lightning ? Lightning owners cant be trusted... LOL

I owned 2 over the years - Lots of fun. There is at least one other former lightning owner lurking here as well.

Once got pulled over in a convoy of 6 Lightnings in East Texas ... State Police cranked his cruiser across both lanes of i-20 to stop us... I wont go into the details here to avoid the holier than thou lectures that would ensue. The short version of the story is we were all VERY happy to have gotten off with a ticket that allowed us to take defensive driving.

here is a group of them from a month ago

I used to have a GMC Syclone. I used to go out looking for Lightnings every Friday night.

srothstein wrote: ...I have never understood why some officers have trouble saying they made a mistake and apologizing for stopping a person incorrectly. I have done it when I stopped cars that matched the description of a suspect as soon as I was sure it was not the suspect. I have found most people will accept the mistaken stop as soon as it is explained and hope I catch the right guy next time.

I don't either.

Once I got stopped in Beeville. When I handed the officer my DL and CHL, he looked a bit confused/concerned, looked at my license plate, asked me to wait, and went back to his car for a bit. He came back, told me he had made a mistake with one of the digits of my license plate when he first called it in, and of course the info that originally came back didn't match my truck, so he thought it might be stolen. He apologized for the trouble, I said no problem, and we went our merry ways. It was an understandable mistake, he checked out the situation without being overbearing, and when he figured out he goofed, he was straightforward about it. I had no problem with that at all, and don;t think any less of him for it.

But I hear on forums, and have witnessed, police officers who frankly bully people. I know officers are supposed to take control of a situation, but some seem to think this means berating and badgering people (I saw this in the military as well). As a vollie firefighter/emt, I see county and DPS police at traffic accidents, fires, and other incidents pretty regularly. Most fly straight and level, but there are a few that can't seem to speak without putting an edge on everything, using tone of voice, profanity, name calling...

In particular, there is one local deputy that seems to be cruising for a fight. I have never heard him speak in less than a belligerant voice and manner. Heck, at one "controlled burn gone out of control" fire scene, my wife (helping with the "rehab" of firefighters, but we always look after the cops too) walked out to the road side where he was and offered him a bottle of water. He snapped at her "WHY DID YOU START THIS FIRE!?" apparently thinking she was one of the landowners or something. !?! Never occurred to him to identify who she was, just wanted to lash out at somebody. Had a similar experience with him at a farm accident one time. I wonder how many of his arrests and stops could have been handled at a lower level, but joe citizen got tired of his mouth and told him something rude right back, and it's off to the races.

This kind of attitude is not the majority of cops, but just like blood, a little of it goes a long way and makes a big (negative) impression. I tend to believe these are the same cops who get upset when they find their actions on Youtube....

I also think people remember stuff like this for a long time afterward. We had a saying in the Air Force (my part of it, anyway). "One dumb stunt wipes out a whole lotta attaboys." I don't think this limited to just the USAF.

92f-fan wrote:

Valhalla1 wrote:I do drive a fast truck (ford f150 svt)

I assume its a Lightning ? Lightning owners cant be trusted... LOL

I owned 2 over the years - Lots of fun. There is at least one other former lightning owner lurking here as well.

Once got pulled over in a convoy of 6 Lightnings in East Texas ... State Police cranked his cruiser across both lanes of i-20 to stop us... I wont go into the details here to avoid the holier than thou lectures that would ensue. The short version of the story is we were all VERY happy to have gotten off with a ticket that allowed us to take defensive driving.

here is a group of them from a month ago

Oh my goodness...why would someone do that to a truck?? They look like they'd teter on a speedbump!

TX Penal Code wrote:PC §46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly car- ries on or about his or her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:
(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the person's control; or
(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control at any time in which:
(1) the handgun is in plain view; or (2) the person is:
(A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic;
(B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm; or (C) a member of a criminal street gang, as defined by Section

So wasn't the officer partially correct? Sure, the guy was mostly hot air but it seems to be partially grounded in truth. Thoughts?

ELB wrote: ...This kind of attitude is not the majority of cops, but just like blood, a little of it goes a long way and makes a big (negative) impression. I tend to believe these are the same cops who get upset when they find their actions on Youtube....