What TN statute permits you to not investigate a Class C misdemeanor violation when you witness one?
Actually unlawful carry where one or more persons are present is an "A" misdemeanor. There's plenty of crimes out there that an officer can witness and does not act upon it (or investigate), especially when it comes to C misdemeanors. There's no law that says I have to. If my memory serves me correctly most moving violations in TN (i.e. speeding, following too closely) are "C" misdemeanors. I see that every single day. Whether I decide to act upon it depends on the totality of circumstances. Obviously if there was a serious offense that I failed to investigate then it could violate departmental policy and even lead to criminal misconduct charges. A guy walking through Walmart or some other public venue with a weapon strapped on his side is not going to compel me to walk up on him and demand his HCP. I could do it, and the law says I can do it, but unless there are some other factors at play I probably won't. Am I violating a "law" if I don't investigate? no. Am I violating my agency policy? no.
With that said I want you guys to keep in the back of your head the sue-happy world we're in. In the situation described above some officers will approach and ask for his HCP simply because if they don't and this person uses his weapon within a reasonable time after the officer saw him, guess who's getting sued? It's kind of a dam*ed if you do, dam*ed if you don't situation. If you do walk up and ask for HCP you're an arrogant ahole who's just trying to flex your badge. If you don't walk up you're failing to investigate a possible armed "suspect" who's about to shoot his wife in Isle 3. If this is a Walmart in Hazard County (i.e. very rural) it's probably a very common sight to see armed men. If this is the Walmart off Charlotte Pk in west Nashville, he might garner some extra attention (and a MWAG call). I think there's quite a few variables at play so I try not to jump on any bandwagon when something goes down between a HCP holder and a LEO. There's always 2 sides to every story.
As far as your question OC, you're not going to get consistency because of the reasons I stated above. I can tell you that in Nashville there are many crimes committed in an officer's presence that they do not act upon (i.e. arrest). Simple possession of marijuana is one that I can think of off the top of my head. If we investigated and arrested on every single misdemeanor the courts in Nashville would be far worse than they are today. Many things are taken into consideration at the time the LEO is faced whether to arrest or not arrest (or investigate). Some include higher priority calls, calls pending, supervisor input, the suspect's criminal history, and the actual severity of the crime (aside from whether it's an A, B, C misdm by statute).
p.s. Maverick why would I lie? Permit holders are arrested more than you might think. It may be hard for some to swallow, but it happens. Most of these offenses normally don't involve violent crimes, but it's a criminal offense nonetheless. I'm not sure why some think that every single permit holder in existence holds some sort of higher being than those who choose not to carry/own a weapon.
