OPS MARINE
Regular Member
imported post
At 2031 on 29 December 2009, I was at Northridge Mall in Salinas. I had been there for about an hour and a half this time. On the way out, while in Macy’s, I noticed 3 Salinas Police Officers approaching me. One of them had an AR-15. They were unusually relaxed in their posture, but I’m certain that if it popped off, there would have been a different story. Their names are Officers Parsons, Robinson, and Cruz. I have two bags in my hands, and am patiently waiting for her to be finished in line. Here is how it went:
Officer Parsons: “Sir, would you mind coming over here for a moment?”
Me: “Sure.”
Parsons: “Do you have your credentials with you?”
Me: “ No, I have my Drivers License. Would you like to see it?”
Parsons: “Yeah, that’ll be fine.”
Robinson: “Are you active Law Enforcement?”
Me: “No, I am former Federal Police.”
Me to Parsons: “It’s in my left rear pocket.”
Parsons: “We’re here for you man, we’ve got all the time you need.”
I hand him the I.D. which he takes and begins to run it. I ask Robinson if she’d like to 12031(e) me at this time. She says to Cruz “I knew that was next.”
Parsons: “Yeah, this is what they were talking about in that class.”
They stood there and shot the breeze with me and didn’t check the weapon until the on-duty Security Manager arrived. This person, who was clearly devoid of any knowledge of the law asks that if I'm not an LEO, are they (the mall) going to be allowed to confiscate my firearm. Parsons looked directly at him and said
"No, he has done nothing wrong."
They even tried to decide which direction they should clear it in; toward the mannequins or at the floor. I offered the weapon to them, and Parsons retrieved it from the holster.
Parsons: “You can tell just by the weight he’s clear.”
I had to instruct him on how to release the magazine, after which he did, and then checked the chamber. He handed me the weapon and the magazine and told me I was okay to reholster. It seemed as though we were done here. Security was a bunch of bumbling fools, and when some woman came out to me in plain clothes with a kid, I didn’t know what to do. A child?! On a weapons call? Well alrighty then. She told me that I was going to be banned from the mall for a year. I asked her why and you will not BELIEVE what she said. At no time did the Police leave during this conversation.
Medina: “I just need you to know that you are going to be banned from the mall for a year.”
Me: “Why is that?”
Medina: “because you have a weapon of any kind and our code of conduct placed at the doors (which I never saw) says that we do not allow weapons of any kind.”
Me: “So the fact that you saw me and the Police are here and don’t seem to have any problem with it tells you that I don’t have the right to shop here?”
AND THEN THE BOMBSHELL
Medina: “Well sir, this is the third or fourth time we’ve seen you on the property with that gun. People are scared.”
Me: “First of all, if people were scared, then I would have been met by the Police long before this. Second, if you’d seen me before, what was the problem with approaching me? How many Security Officers did you have at the mall at those times?”
Medina: “Five or six.”
Me: “And five or six of you couldn’t just approach me and speak to me? At which point during your camera surveillance did you decide I was a threat? While minding my own business? Carrying a bag? Sitting down and not speaking to anyone?”
She did not answer the question. I have the card of the general manager and will go to see him in the morning bright and early. I was even threatened with arrest for trespass if I returned. They took my photo for a BOL. I will be back in the morning to let that manager know the what-for.
Note: Salinas Police Department was a class act during this entire occurrence. The Officers told me before we parted ways that they understood why I carried, but being in this city, it can go right or wrong, and the BG's may fire on me...and just to be safe.
At 2031 on 29 December 2009, I was at Northridge Mall in Salinas. I had been there for about an hour and a half this time. On the way out, while in Macy’s, I noticed 3 Salinas Police Officers approaching me. One of them had an AR-15. They were unusually relaxed in their posture, but I’m certain that if it popped off, there would have been a different story. Their names are Officers Parsons, Robinson, and Cruz. I have two bags in my hands, and am patiently waiting for her to be finished in line. Here is how it went:
Officer Parsons: “Sir, would you mind coming over here for a moment?”
Me: “Sure.”
Parsons: “Do you have your credentials with you?”
Me: “ No, I have my Drivers License. Would you like to see it?”
Parsons: “Yeah, that’ll be fine.”
Robinson: “Are you active Law Enforcement?”
Me: “No, I am former Federal Police.”
Me to Parsons: “It’s in my left rear pocket.”
Parsons: “We’re here for you man, we’ve got all the time you need.”
I hand him the I.D. which he takes and begins to run it. I ask Robinson if she’d like to 12031(e) me at this time. She says to Cruz “I knew that was next.”
Parsons: “Yeah, this is what they were talking about in that class.”
They stood there and shot the breeze with me and didn’t check the weapon until the on-duty Security Manager arrived. This person, who was clearly devoid of any knowledge of the law asks that if I'm not an LEO, are they (the mall) going to be allowed to confiscate my firearm. Parsons looked directly at him and said
"No, he has done nothing wrong."
They even tried to decide which direction they should clear it in; toward the mannequins or at the floor. I offered the weapon to them, and Parsons retrieved it from the holster.
Parsons: “You can tell just by the weight he’s clear.”
I had to instruct him on how to release the magazine, after which he did, and then checked the chamber. He handed me the weapon and the magazine and told me I was okay to reholster. It seemed as though we were done here. Security was a bunch of bumbling fools, and when some woman came out to me in plain clothes with a kid, I didn’t know what to do. A child?! On a weapons call? Well alrighty then. She told me that I was going to be banned from the mall for a year. I asked her why and you will not BELIEVE what she said. At no time did the Police leave during this conversation.
Medina: “I just need you to know that you are going to be banned from the mall for a year.”
Me: “Why is that?”
Medina: “because you have a weapon of any kind and our code of conduct placed at the doors (which I never saw) says that we do not allow weapons of any kind.”
Me: “So the fact that you saw me and the Police are here and don’t seem to have any problem with it tells you that I don’t have the right to shop here?”
AND THEN THE BOMBSHELL
Medina: “Well sir, this is the third or fourth time we’ve seen you on the property with that gun. People are scared.”
Me: “First of all, if people were scared, then I would have been met by the Police long before this. Second, if you’d seen me before, what was the problem with approaching me? How many Security Officers did you have at the mall at those times?”
Medina: “Five or six.”
Me: “And five or six of you couldn’t just approach me and speak to me? At which point during your camera surveillance did you decide I was a threat? While minding my own business? Carrying a bag? Sitting down and not speaking to anyone?”
She did not answer the question. I have the card of the general manager and will go to see him in the morning bright and early. I was even threatened with arrest for trespass if I returned. They took my photo for a BOL. I will be back in the morning to let that manager know the what-for.
Note: Salinas Police Department was a class act during this entire occurrence. The Officers told me before we parted ways that they understood why I carried, but being in this city, it can go right or wrong, and the BG's may fire on me...and just to be safe.
