fire suppressor
Regular Member
Tonight I was walking around Poulsbo trying to get some exercise, I was carrying my Springfield XD 40, a back up Smith and Wesson 649, one extra mag for my XD, my tac light, a 2 inch knife and a small messenger bag with a knee brace in it and a flashing red light on the outside. All of this was visible and being openly carried except for my 649. After about an hours power walk up and down hills I was on my way back home. I had passed multiple Kitsap County Sheriffs all strong side on my walk. About half a mile from home the first Poulsbo police car finally passed me. I was cutting through a parking lot to cut a decent amount of time out of my walk home and watched the police car slow down as it drove by. As I came out the other end I could see the Police car a few hundred feet in front of me, it slowed down again as I came back onto the main sidewalk. As I walked I watched the Poulsbo Police car slow down and make a sudden U turn, the Police car was now coming right at me. All I could think was "Oh great, here we go!" I was a little nervous due to that fact I have been openly carrying for five years and I have never had any a police encounter before. As the car got closer it slowed down and the light bar turned on, I tried to prepare myself for as many scenarios as possible before the cop made contact with me.
The police car was now facing the wrong way in traffic, the passenger window closet to me. As the car pulled along side of me and the passenger side window came down. The cop waved in a friendly manner and I could see a smile on his face. I waved back and continued walking until I herd "arm you armed?, looks like a Glock" The officers voice was not aggressive rather a combination of surprise and a good kind of excitement. At this point I thought "oh what the hell, why not" to myself and walked right up to the police car. As I walked up to the police car I tried to read officer's face and decided to rested one arm on the open car window and replied with "yes sir, and you are close it is a Springfield". The officers voice became again surprised but also enthusiastic the officer told me "I thought you where carrying when I drove by!, don't worry no problems here!" The officer did not ask for my name, where I live, what I was doing, for any form of I.D or anything instead he thanked me for standing up for my second amendment rights and for taking my self defense so seriously.
He put his car in neutral and we spent the next several minutes in the road talking about guns. Then he looked me up and down and laughed and said "let's see gun, knife, extra mag, you look like you can take care of your self without all that good stuff." I gave him and smile and said "well sir you never know theses days." To that he nodded and agreed with me. We spent another few minutes talking while he told me about a few places they have been having problems with at night and told me if I lived near by it was a good thing to be carrying especially at night because they have had increased burglaries during the night. Then he asked if I had seen a man he was looking for on my walk. Apparently he was looking for a man who was just let out of jail and has been causing problems. He told me the man was living in the woods and has been hard to find. I told the officer I had seen him only a few hundred yards away and gave a location. I added he had one hand holding a coffee mug and the other hidden in his pocket. To this a big smile came over the officer's face and he thanked me for the information and told me how impressed he was with me. The officer told me how important it is to be aware of little details like and he told me he was happy to have someone like me carrying in his city. He wished me a good night and told me he had to get back to work. Again he told me to have a good night, thanked me for the information and the attention to detail. I said "thank you sir, have a good and safe night."
The lighting in his car did not allow me to get the officer's name but I do want to thank him for his level of professionalism and for the huge confidence boost. I can only hope the rest of Poulsbo PD have the same attitude and sincerity he did. We who chose to open carry are always under attack from someone for our way of life and after reading so many negative police encounter I wanted to share this with everyone. I have been open carrying for five years and this was my first police encounter ever. While I know no one of us can go indefinitely without a negative LEO encounter I feel very fortunate to have this encounter be my first and amazed it took me five years to get it.
Thanks all for tonight stay safe everyone
The police car was now facing the wrong way in traffic, the passenger window closet to me. As the car pulled along side of me and the passenger side window came down. The cop waved in a friendly manner and I could see a smile on his face. I waved back and continued walking until I herd "arm you armed?, looks like a Glock" The officers voice was not aggressive rather a combination of surprise and a good kind of excitement. At this point I thought "oh what the hell, why not" to myself and walked right up to the police car. As I walked up to the police car I tried to read officer's face and decided to rested one arm on the open car window and replied with "yes sir, and you are close it is a Springfield". The officers voice became again surprised but also enthusiastic the officer told me "I thought you where carrying when I drove by!, don't worry no problems here!" The officer did not ask for my name, where I live, what I was doing, for any form of I.D or anything instead he thanked me for standing up for my second amendment rights and for taking my self defense so seriously.
He put his car in neutral and we spent the next several minutes in the road talking about guns. Then he looked me up and down and laughed and said "let's see gun, knife, extra mag, you look like you can take care of your self without all that good stuff." I gave him and smile and said "well sir you never know theses days." To that he nodded and agreed with me. We spent another few minutes talking while he told me about a few places they have been having problems with at night and told me if I lived near by it was a good thing to be carrying especially at night because they have had increased burglaries during the night. Then he asked if I had seen a man he was looking for on my walk. Apparently he was looking for a man who was just let out of jail and has been causing problems. He told me the man was living in the woods and has been hard to find. I told the officer I had seen him only a few hundred yards away and gave a location. I added he had one hand holding a coffee mug and the other hidden in his pocket. To this a big smile came over the officer's face and he thanked me for the information and told me how impressed he was with me. The officer told me how important it is to be aware of little details like and he told me he was happy to have someone like me carrying in his city. He wished me a good night and told me he had to get back to work. Again he told me to have a good night, thanked me for the information and the attention to detail. I said "thank you sir, have a good and safe night."
The lighting in his car did not allow me to get the officer's name but I do want to thank him for his level of professionalism and for the huge confidence boost. I can only hope the rest of Poulsbo PD have the same attitude and sincerity he did. We who chose to open carry are always under attack from someone for our way of life and after reading so many negative police encounter I wanted to share this with everyone. I have been open carrying for five years and this was my first police encounter ever. While I know no one of us can go indefinitely without a negative LEO encounter I feel very fortunate to have this encounter be my first and amazed it took me five years to get it.
Thanks all for tonight stay safe everyone
