Malum Prohibitum
Regular Member
imported post
Liko81 wrote:
A wild paint job may make them look more closely, but they damn well better not attempt a forcible stop based on nothing more than that.
I agree with everything you posted.
They can look all they want. They can even engage me in voluntary conversation, and that has in fact happened to me. The officer wanted to know what I was carrying, and then we ended up talking guns for about 15 minutes. He turned out to bea pretty nice guy and a huge supporter of people carrying firearms.
Liko81 wrote:
Malum Prohibitum wrote:And just like I said, it's an unfair bias.You mentioned awild paint job; thatdoes indeed make the cops look more closely at what you're doing. Same with sports cars, ultra-luxuryvehicles (Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Maseratis)or other conspicuous consumer vehicles. The same aspect of human nature that makes those cars desireable as head-turners also puts you in a more uncomfortable spotlight for thieves and cops. OCing is similar in that respect; it's uncommon and thus it turns heads of both the public at large and LEOs.Turning headsmay or may not be the purpose (one might argue that if you could legally CC and OCed instead your purpose is to advertise the fact you are armed; not the topic ofdiscussion), but regardless, you are going to catch the attention of LEOs, whose job it is to look for things that are out of place that could indicate wrongdoing. OC by itself is not reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing and so the LEO should not simply be able to Terry stop you, but you're going to catch their eye and if they see you doing anything else wrong they can stop you.Liko81 wrote:Liko81, if the crime of which the officer suspects you is carrying without a license, would he not have to be able to articulate his particularized reasonable suspicion that you are not licensed before making the stop?If there is reasonable articulable suspicion you could be doing something illegal, as you would be if you didn't have a license, they can stop you . . .
It is not reasonable suspicion that you are a weirdo for carrying, it is reasonable suspicion of a crime. Right?
An Indy car on the freeway would be illegal. A wild paint job may be unusual, but he cannot stop you for something unusual. A wild paint job is not a crime.
A wild paint job may make them look more closely, but they damn well better not attempt a forcible stop based on nothing more than that.
I agree with everything you posted.
They can look all they want. They can even engage me in voluntary conversation, and that has in fact happened to me. The officer wanted to know what I was carrying, and then we ended up talking guns for about 15 minutes. He turned out to bea pretty nice guy and a huge supporter of people carrying firearms.