demnogis
Regular Member
imported post
A few of you may recall my first encounter with a LEO at the local BMW dealership.
Today was significantly different. My only regret was that I could not get to my voice recorder, as I was riding and it was in my backpack. I've yet to get a belt holder for it (next purchase).
Riding along in the carpool lane on the freeway, a CA Highway Patrol officer looks over. I give him a courteous wave as I do pretty much every rider I see or pass. Most all times I get a nod or another wave. This time was a bit different... He looked at me, nodded, and proceeded to pass. Then, suddenly, looks at me again. Doubletake... Then notices I have a pistol strapped to my leg. He immediately drops back half a car length.
In my head I start preparing for the dialogue I know is going to be coming.
As my off ramp was coming up, I merged over one lane to the right. At this moment the CHP turned on his lights. I knew what that meant... I kept my indicator on, and got to the far right lane. He then pulled up beside me, turned on his loudspeaker and yelled "PULL THE F*** OVER RIGHT F***ING NOW!!! NEXT EXIT!"
Of course, I have to oblige. At the offramp he instructed me to make a right turn, then another into the parking lot of a real estate business. I parked and shut off my bike. He parked behind me as to block me backing out, then walked over to my right side.
CHP: "Firstly I need to know what department and organization you belong to right now and where you work for."
Me: "I am not employed by any government law enforcement agency."
CHP: "Keep your hands on the handlebars. Why are you carrying a firearm?"
Me: "Under current california state law it is legal for an individual to carry a firearm openly as long as it is unloaded. I have a copy of the state penal codes that apply in my backpack. You are permitted to inspect my firearm to ensure that it is unloaded should you wish to do so."
CHP: "Your own protection huh?"
At this moment the CHP unclips my holster and withdraws my pistol.
CHP: "Hold on."
I look in my mirror. At this point two CHP patrol cars and another motorcycle unit have pulled up. A third CHP cruiser was driving past us. The initial officer is inspecting the weapon. He then comes back.
CHP: "You can take your hands off the handlebars now since I have your weapon. Where do you keep your license?"
Me: "In my wallet, under my seat currently."
CHP: "Ok can you get those for me."
I dismount and put my bike on the center stand, open the storage compartment and get my license. I also take off my gloves and helmet, and also get the "Yes, it's legal!" Tri-fold pamphlet and associated CA Penal codes sheet. I hand all three to the initial officer.
The second motorcycle officer then starts to ask questions.
CHP2: "You think it's a good idea to be carrying a gun around?"
Me: "I think it's important that I be capable of protecting myself, should the need arise."
CHP2: "You sure you wouldn't rather keep it in a case? You're still gonna get people making 911 calls on you like that."
Me: "I have one in my bike, should I need to lock it up."
- a moment or two goes by -
Me: "So, you guys been busy today?"
CHP2: "Not really, but there's more important things we could be doing."
Me: "I agree..."
CHP1: "Do you have your motorcycle license?"
Me: "I have my permit." I hand it to him.
CHP1: "Do you ride on this freeway regularly?"
Me: no response.
He walks off to his bike. Starts flipping through a book with one of the other officers from the cruiser. He picks out his notepad and starts writing.
He comes back...
CHP1: "You now you can't ride on the freeway with this permit right?"
Me: "As far as I knew it was okay."
CHP1: "Where's your current registration?"
Me: "It was in the back compartment but was destroyed. If you check the plate you should find that the registration is up to date."
CHP1: "Where's the sticker?"
Me: "I have not received it yet, but that is out of my control once it has been paid, which it has, if you run the plate, you can see that."
Still writing...
CHP1: "Here is a citation for your rear wheel's tread being too low, violating the terms of your Class M Permit and not having your current registration sticker which is a correctable violation. Please sign here. Do you have any questions?"
Me: "The rear tire and sticker are both correctable yes?"
CHP1: "Yes."
Me: "And the permit violation, if I go contest this the judge will drop the charge if I do have a full class M license, correct?"
CHP1: "You'd have to take that up with the judge."
Me: "Alright thanks."
CHP2 hand me back my pistol and empty magazine, the open-carry pamphlet and ca penal code sheet.
CHP2: "It's a good idea to carry those too, yeah? We might end up pulling you over again."
Me: "It's also important to carry these to protect myself. Should I get pulled over again I will educate anyone as necessary."
I then put my pistol back in my leg holster.
CHP2: "You sure you don't wanna lock that up?"
Me: "It doesn't do me any good locked up. Alright, thanks gentlement, be safe out there."
They then get back in their cars, back on their bikes and start to roll out.
So now I got 2 fix-it tickets and a correctable traffic violation.
My take on the situation is that the officer's initial reaction was an unjustified over-reaction. Especially with the swearing. Wow. Never, ever have I encountered an officer that used such language at the beginning of an interaction. Very unprofessional in any situation in my opinion. Also, calling in so many units for assistance... I'm not sure the protocol, maybe that was an instinctual reaction for an un-known situation. Then the final action... After being shown that there was no misconduct, no illegal action, in an effort to save face, spent the next 20 minutes looking for justification.
I am in no way dodging the three citations i'll now have to fight in court. One was my own lack of knowledge pertaining to the license. But the other two? Seriously... This guy was looking for stuff to throw and stick in an effort to save face in front of his co-workers.
I'll be there in court. I also plan to write in a complaint on the part of his lack of professionalism and also reiterate the law to them.
Again, I apologize I don't have a recording to share
A few of you may recall my first encounter with a LEO at the local BMW dealership.
Today was significantly different. My only regret was that I could not get to my voice recorder, as I was riding and it was in my backpack. I've yet to get a belt holder for it (next purchase).
Riding along in the carpool lane on the freeway, a CA Highway Patrol officer looks over. I give him a courteous wave as I do pretty much every rider I see or pass. Most all times I get a nod or another wave. This time was a bit different... He looked at me, nodded, and proceeded to pass. Then, suddenly, looks at me again. Doubletake... Then notices I have a pistol strapped to my leg. He immediately drops back half a car length.
In my head I start preparing for the dialogue I know is going to be coming.
As my off ramp was coming up, I merged over one lane to the right. At this moment the CHP turned on his lights. I knew what that meant... I kept my indicator on, and got to the far right lane. He then pulled up beside me, turned on his loudspeaker and yelled "PULL THE F*** OVER RIGHT F***ING NOW!!! NEXT EXIT!"
Of course, I have to oblige. At the offramp he instructed me to make a right turn, then another into the parking lot of a real estate business. I parked and shut off my bike. He parked behind me as to block me backing out, then walked over to my right side.
CHP: "Firstly I need to know what department and organization you belong to right now and where you work for."
Me: "I am not employed by any government law enforcement agency."
CHP: "Keep your hands on the handlebars. Why are you carrying a firearm?"
Me: "Under current california state law it is legal for an individual to carry a firearm openly as long as it is unloaded. I have a copy of the state penal codes that apply in my backpack. You are permitted to inspect my firearm to ensure that it is unloaded should you wish to do so."
CHP: "Your own protection huh?"
At this moment the CHP unclips my holster and withdraws my pistol.
CHP: "Hold on."
I look in my mirror. At this point two CHP patrol cars and another motorcycle unit have pulled up. A third CHP cruiser was driving past us. The initial officer is inspecting the weapon. He then comes back.
CHP: "You can take your hands off the handlebars now since I have your weapon. Where do you keep your license?"
Me: "In my wallet, under my seat currently."
CHP: "Ok can you get those for me."
I dismount and put my bike on the center stand, open the storage compartment and get my license. I also take off my gloves and helmet, and also get the "Yes, it's legal!" Tri-fold pamphlet and associated CA Penal codes sheet. I hand all three to the initial officer.
The second motorcycle officer then starts to ask questions.
CHP2: "You think it's a good idea to be carrying a gun around?"
Me: "I think it's important that I be capable of protecting myself, should the need arise."
CHP2: "You sure you wouldn't rather keep it in a case? You're still gonna get people making 911 calls on you like that."
Me: "I have one in my bike, should I need to lock it up."
- a moment or two goes by -
Me: "So, you guys been busy today?"
CHP2: "Not really, but there's more important things we could be doing."
Me: "I agree..."
CHP1: "Do you have your motorcycle license?"
Me: "I have my permit." I hand it to him.
CHP1: "Do you ride on this freeway regularly?"
Me: no response.
He walks off to his bike. Starts flipping through a book with one of the other officers from the cruiser. He picks out his notepad and starts writing.
He comes back...
CHP1: "You now you can't ride on the freeway with this permit right?"
Me: "As far as I knew it was okay."
CHP1: "Where's your current registration?"
Me: "It was in the back compartment but was destroyed. If you check the plate you should find that the registration is up to date."
CHP1: "Where's the sticker?"
Me: "I have not received it yet, but that is out of my control once it has been paid, which it has, if you run the plate, you can see that."
Still writing...
CHP1: "Here is a citation for your rear wheel's tread being too low, violating the terms of your Class M Permit and not having your current registration sticker which is a correctable violation. Please sign here. Do you have any questions?"
Me: "The rear tire and sticker are both correctable yes?"
CHP1: "Yes."
Me: "And the permit violation, if I go contest this the judge will drop the charge if I do have a full class M license, correct?"
CHP1: "You'd have to take that up with the judge."
Me: "Alright thanks."
CHP2 hand me back my pistol and empty magazine, the open-carry pamphlet and ca penal code sheet.
CHP2: "It's a good idea to carry those too, yeah? We might end up pulling you over again."
Me: "It's also important to carry these to protect myself. Should I get pulled over again I will educate anyone as necessary."
I then put my pistol back in my leg holster.
CHP2: "You sure you don't wanna lock that up?"
Me: "It doesn't do me any good locked up. Alright, thanks gentlement, be safe out there."
They then get back in their cars, back on their bikes and start to roll out.
So now I got 2 fix-it tickets and a correctable traffic violation.
My take on the situation is that the officer's initial reaction was an unjustified over-reaction. Especially with the swearing. Wow. Never, ever have I encountered an officer that used such language at the beginning of an interaction. Very unprofessional in any situation in my opinion. Also, calling in so many units for assistance... I'm not sure the protocol, maybe that was an instinctual reaction for an un-known situation. Then the final action... After being shown that there was no misconduct, no illegal action, in an effort to save face, spent the next 20 minutes looking for justification.
I am in no way dodging the three citations i'll now have to fight in court. One was my own lack of knowledge pertaining to the license. But the other two? Seriously... This guy was looking for stuff to throw and stick in an effort to save face in front of his co-workers.
I'll be there in court. I also plan to write in a complaint on the part of his lack of professionalism and also reiterate the law to them.
Again, I apologize I don't have a recording to share
