imported post
maclean, I certainly didn't mean to lean on you. If you're up front and honest when you contact citizens about their open carry, none of what's being discussed in this thread would apply to you. I thought it was clear that I was writing from the point of view of an honest, law abiding citizen who just happens to open carry. In that case he can do his damnedest to incriminate me and will only serve to increase my retirement if he proceeds without paying attention to Terry.
I notice that you started from the basic assumption that the investigatee was guilty, while I started from the view of innocence. If I seem a little mouthy to rude cops it's because I have investigated the law and know that I'm legal. The unfortunate truth is that entirely too many cops (again, not you, apparently) seem to resent citizens knowing their rights and the law.
One undeniable truth of life is that some cops pre judge the subject of an investigation. After all, someone called 911, didn't they? Or did they? That's another matter though, isn't it?
I've had two recent encounters with police. The first, in Tacoma, was properly handled by the police; they were polite, reasonable, and well informed. They never tried to cover their ignorance of arcane matters with BS or intimidation. As a consequence, all the citizens involved were polite and reasonable. I never felt that there was an attempt to intimidate or BS us and, if their words later are any indication, neither did anyone else.
Contrast that with my encounter in Kent. The responding officers immediately attempted to intimidate and refused to name the law I was supposed to have violated, describing it amorphously as "scaring people". Was it any wonder that I refused to give my name, CPL, or DL? (I'm fully aware that this is what you were referring to when you said "making everyone's day easier.") Before the Kent encounter I was biased favorably toward the police. Let's just say now that actions have consequences, if only in my viewpoint.
I have always felt that one of my responsibilities inherent in carrying would be to defend a cop, should the need arise. I would still do that today, even if the cops were the KPD officers I encountered last week. I still judge them as good men, even if their marching orders, subtle though they may be, are to intimidate everyone who has a gun. However, I think that it's clear that if the preponderance of future encounters is in the "contempt of citizen" mode, my resolve could wane.