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Harrassed by Hammond Chief of Police, on sidewalk

Jubbie

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Sep 10, 2008
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63
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Hammond, Indiana, USA
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Wow, thought this was on the INGO site, some of those guys won't get the reference. Anyways, turns out Magicman's incident wasn't an isolated incident. I still haven't found time to head to his neighborhood to OC.

Took my dog for a walk while OC'ing like every other day (my neighborhood, after a good walk I just feel like sitting on the couch instead of driving home). A guy in a red pickup pulls over and asks if I'm a cop, I of course reply, "No." He asks if I would please cover my gun, I reply, "No, it's legal in Indiana." He replies, "I'm a cop, and it's not legal, cover it up, I'm serious." Not to be outdone on the seriousness of the situation I reply, "I'm serious too, it's legal in Indiana." He stares at me for 5 seconds or so then drives off. Glad to know a cop who sees a law being broken will do something about it. Get home from the walk, call the Hammond PD, an officer there verifies the town follows Indiana law, which happens to be Concealed Carry Only. I ask what law says that and he tells me to call Indiana State Police. Before hanging up I get his name & badge #. Nobody answers the firearms licensing division at ISP, I'll just call back tomorrow. So I go looking for the red pickup, with a license plate # I'm not going to give out. Found it a couple blocks away, parked on the side of the street, in front of a police car, out front of the Chief of Police's house. The officer bartending at the Hammond FOP lodge knew the law, apparantly the chief and the Corporal I spoke to on the phone haven't got a clue. That shall change. Thanks Ghengis for your recent thread which gave me an even stronger backbone while telling the chief of police he doesn't know the law.
 

Ohio Patriot

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Saint Paris, Ohio, USA
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Jubbie wrote:
apparantly the chief and the Corporal I spoke to on the phone haven't got a clue.
Haven't got a clue? I doubt that's the case.

I am convinced 99.9% of LEO's know OC is legal. But some LEOs - such as the one you ran into - will lie to you, and tell you OC is illegal. They are hoping you are ignorant about the law, and will comply with their wishes.

The problem, therefore, is not ignorance on the LEOs' part. The problem is arrogant LEOs who choose to harass and intimidate peaceful people exercising their rights. This problem cannot be fixed through education.
 

aikidoka

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It's not very comforting to keep seeing that those who enforce the law don't know what it is or claim they don't know.

I was lucky this last weekend. I wonder how long it will hold up?
 

ghengis86

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Sep 11, 2008
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griffith, ,
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Jubbie wrote:
Wow, thought this was on the INGO site, some of those guys won't get the reference. Anyways, turns out Magicman's incident wasn't an isolated incident. I still haven't found time to head to his neighborhood to OC.

Took my dog for a walk while OC'ing like every other day (my neighborhood, after a good walk I just feel like sitting on the couch instead of driving home). A guy in a red pickup pulls over and asks if I'm a cop, I of course reply, "No." He asks if I would please cover my gun, I reply, "No, it's legal in Indiana." He replies, "I'm a cop, and it's not legal, cover it up, I'm serious." Not to be outdone on the seriousness of the situation I reply, "I'm serious too, it's legal in Indiana." He stares at me for 5 seconds or so then drives off. Glad to know a cop who sees a law being broken will do something about it. Get home from the walk, call the Hammond PD, an officer there verifies the town follows Indiana law, which happens to be Concealed Carry Only. I ask what law says that and he tells me to call Indiana State Police. Before hanging up I get his name & badge #. Nobody answers the firearms licensing division at ISP, I'll just call back tomorrow. So I go looking for the red pickup, with a license plate # I'm not going to give out. Found it a couple blocks away, parked on the side of the street, in front of a police car, out front of the Chief of Police's house. The officer bartending at the Hammond FOP lodge knew the law, apparantly the chief and the Corporal I spoke to on the phone haven't got a clue. That shall change. Thanks Ghengis for your recent thread which gave me an even stronger backbone while telling the chief of police he doesn't know the law.

have someone from Hammond PD, preferably the chief or some other supervisor, call Det. Commander Ralph Potesta at the Highland PD, 219-838-1313 ext.3315

he told me i could give his name out if i ever ran into this problem again. I'm guessing he'd help out with another local department.

tell Brian Milller (http://www.hammondpolice.com/) that he needs to make sure his officers are 'better trained' so that we can have a PD we can be "proud of"
 

ghengis86

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FYI - Show this to any and all LE's.

From the ISP website http://www.in.gov/isp/files/firearms_FAQ_02_08.pdf

[align=left]Does Indiana statute require me to carry the handgun on my person concealed or[/align]
[align=left]exposed?[/align]

[align=left]Indiana law is silent on this issue; however, carrying an exposed weapon in public may[/align]
[align=left]alarm some people. Also, the right to carry a firearm may be restricted on private[/align]
[align=left]property and businesses by the owners. Be attentive for signs warning of restricted[/align]
[align=left]areas when carrying firearms into public places. If approached by law enforcement for[/align]
[align=left]official business such as traffic stops or complaint related inquiries, it is recommended[/align]
[align=left]that you tell the officer in a non-threatening manner that you are carrying a weapon or[/align]
[align=left]have a weapon in the vehicle and that you have a valid permit. A law enforcement[/align]
officer does have the right to inspect the permit.
 

Jubbie

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Hammond, Indiana, USA
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Just tried calling Hammond PD. Asked to speak to a supervisor, she asked what it pertained to so I said gun laws. She gave me to evidence or somebody. Eventually went to voicemail so I left my name & # and a said I had spoken to 2 cops last night who said concealed was the law. I'll call back once an hour.

Thanks for posting the Highland officer's info, I'm definitely keeping that on hand.
 

Jubbie

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Sep 10, 2008
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Hammond, Indiana, USA
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Haven't received a call back yet, so I decided to call the contact at the Highland PD. Ended up getting his voicemail. I'll call back in a little while and if i get voicemail again I'll leave one. I just don't like leaving messages, especially if I have to leave my desk at random times.
 

Jubbie

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Sep 10, 2008
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Location
Hammond, Indiana, USA
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Ok, called Det. Cmd. Potesta again and he answered this time. Told him what happened. He was very courteous and helpful. Hammond isn't in the loop in his system, so he said he'd contact them to let them know what the law is. He's also going to check the owner of the truck who claimed to be an officer without giving a name or badge. We agreed it was a very serious crime to impersonate an officer. He was surprised to find out that I've been OC'ing for close to a year now without any incidents before this, especially since I've been walking my dog around the same subdivision. I'm going to make a pdf with a copy of the FAQ section on OC, and also put Det. Cmd. Potesta's contact info on it. That's how I expect a conversation with LEO to be like, helpful & courteous until provoked.
 

aikidoka

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Do you know if and when Det. Cmd. Potesta informed Hammond police? I've called him several times and left voice mail and have yet to get a call back.
 
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