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talking to police - hypothetical question

Nutczak

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
2,165
Location
The Northwoods, lakeland area, Wisconsin, USA
Don't let a cop play rope-a-dope and let you swing until you make a criminal mistake.

If your actions are justified and Righteous when a cop interferes then make him take the first swing by commanding that you stop non-consensually. Go about your business until he commands you, or cut to the chase with "Am I free to go? I have no desire to converse."

If your actions are only privileged, like motoring on your driver's license, then protect your privilege and all of your rights. Acknowledge the command but only stop when you feel safe and secure. Then wait outside your secured and locked vehicle with registration, DL and PoI in hand. The cop may threaten detention for disobeying a legal command but let the courts decide that one. He may Terry your person but a traffic stop does not give RAS to search your vehicle or papers in violation of your 4A Rights. You must surrender your DL, registration and PoI.

+1,000!!!!!!!!!!

Very well stated Doug!
 

Dreamer

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
5,360
Location
Grennsboro NC
The problem with actually following the law and exercising your RIGHTS in a state that is not a stop an identify state like WI (or where I live, NC) is that there is an increasing trend for LEOs to just arrest you for "contempt of cop", under the color of "resisting arrest" or "disturbing the peace", and then let the courts sort if out.

False arrests like this are usually thrown out by the courts, but it still takes a large chunk of time and money out of your pocket, so even when the charges are dropped by the court, you STILL get punished.

This trend toward punishment for "contempt of cop" is a DANGEROUS trend, and the ONLY way it's going to stop is through an equally active and increased frequency of retaliatory Federal Civil Rights lawsuits against such LEOs. If they are hit in their wallets, and sanctioned by the Feds, perhaps they will STOP behaving like schoolyard bullies and back-alley thugs, and start acting like "peace officers" again...

Through training programs for state and local LEAs sponsored by DOJ and DHS, the average officer is now being trained (by the Feds) that the public is their most dangerous enemy. They are being trained that if you have a Gadsden sticker on your car, or if you reference the Constitution, or your "rights" or the "law" in police interactions, that you could be a "domestic terrorist", and you're possibly one of those "nutjob militia wackos that wants to kill cops and blow up the government".

So it's no wonder LEOs are getting a iittle cranky these days when people stand on their rights and refuse to comply with unlawful demands, or stand up to illegal bullying under color of law. They are being TRAINED that anyone who does this is a terrorist, and wants to kill cops.

The problem starts at the TOP. Until we can get the Feds to stop spreading these lies, disinformation and FUD to state and local police forces, this situation will get worse and worse.

We need to work to take Politics OUT of law enforcement. And that needs to start at the TOP--in Washington DC...
 

hardballer

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
925
Location
West Coast of Wisconsin
This is an interesting thread. I had the experience that gives most of us an adrenalin rush, just last night. I took my wife out yesterday for an afternoon in LaCrosse (for those who don't know, she's been sick for the better part of the last 3 years). It is difficult to go anywhere because she is weak and there are other difficulties as well. So this was fun till the last few hours when it became to much and we headed for home.

Half way home, she got a speck of something in her eye and we pulled into Galesville; More light and no traffic, to the convenience store with the idea of finding some water to wash it out. Store closed, no water. We made do with some water from the ice chest and a paper towel under the convenience store lights. This worked for Laurra but on the way out of town, just as I was pulling onto the highway, those iconic flashing red and blue lights lit up the night and a spotlight blinded me.

The officer came to the window and introduced himself and asked if my wife was OK. (She had a wet cloth over her eye, I can see what it might have looked like. Bar closing, woman covering eye, we suspect there may have been a cell phone call in Galesville too, because we were outside the truck pouring water over her eye and she was bent over a bit in the closed convenience store parking lot. It was 1:15am too.)

So, anyway, the deputy asked where we were coming from. I told him LaCrosse, for a night out and a little shopping. (at this point he hit his call button to bring up backup.) He looked at Laurra and asked her if she was OK, twice. Actually very concerned and in a kind and caring way. He then asked what I was doing in Galesville. At this point I wanted to know why we were stopped and why my being in Galesville was important. He said my headlight was out. Dang it! Got me there. Sure enough, my right headlight was out.

I asked him why 'what I was doing in Galesville' was so important. He did not answer. I was a little stern and My wife, bless her sweetness, piped up and explained the medical stop to get the speck out of her eye and that she and I were both a little tired and ornery from a long day. At this point I asked if I could exit the vehicle and the officer said yes. Apparently he was satisfied that I had not harmed my wife or was a threat. Laurra has a really disarming manner.

I looked at the light and let him know I would get right on that first thing tomorrow. At this point he noticed my gun belt with two stainless steel mags, a flashlight, and an empty holster. He was calm and asked if I was armed, I replied I was and he asked where the gun was. Just about then, a second and third cruiser went by on the opposite side of the highway and began making a turn. I said in a case, chamber cleared mag beside it. Right about then, he called off the back up.

It was at this point that I was a bit taken aback. He said, so your an 'Open Carrier"? I said yes I am. He never mentioned the gun again but smiled and asked if I had ever had any negative responses from LEO, any harassment etc. I responded in the negative with the exception of Woodman's from where we just had come and made it clear even that had nothing to do with LEOs and that it had been settled in a OC friendly way in short order. He smiled and said it is kind of a scary deal to some folks to see the gun.

He then told me he was a Training Officer for the dept. and had spoken to his men about OC and that it was not a reason to jump to conclusions or to arrest a person as it was legal in the state of Wisconsin. (I wish I had recorded this but completely forgot.) I was still a bit nervous but we talked at some length about the law and he agreed that it wasn't the ones carrying openly, the law abiding citizen, that you have to worry about. He teaches same.

All in all, we had a great conversation, I was wearing my Wisconsin Carry T-Shirt and he asked about WI Carry, I told him about that and OC.org. as well as my blog THE RIGHT SITE. He wrote a warning, and came around and said good bye to my wife and the conversation continued for a bit and ended with my wife relating the story about the fellow in Spokane Washington who was beaten to death with a frozen tuna and how you now need a license to carry a tuna in Spokane now because of that tragic incident. We all had a good laugh at that one; my wife and I told him to be safe, and we went on our way. This is a good guy.

It should be noted here that my wife was instrumental in this being a 'friendly' encounter. I was ornery with him and coming from me, it can be intimidating. She defused my orneriness and turned the stop into a consensual, friendly, interactive communication as opposed to something more costly.

It bothered me that he was asking my whereabouts without a reason. Looking back on it now, he may have had a very good reason, one my wife and I support 100%. Abuse of any kind is a no go with us whether it be animal, wife or child. We did notice a husband being abused at Woodman's this very evening, on his way out the door, he implored his wife to please wait till they got outside to yell at him. Looking back at the checkout, we all shared a smile and chuckle.

This LEO encounter was all good for us.
 

AaronS

Regular Member
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
1,497
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
It should be noted here that my wife was instrumental in this being a 'friendly' encounter. I was ornery with him and coming from me, it can be intimidating. She defused my orneriness and turned the stop into a consensual, friendly, interactive communication as opposed to something more costly.


This LEO encounter was all good for us.

It's funny how a good woman can bring us back to a better state of mind. My wife is very good at it as well...
 
M

McX

Guest
i may get blasted, but; drivers, and shop card, anything after that besides pleasant conversation. s.t.f.u. next card i peroduce is my wisconsin carry card. here's a phone call officer- it's for you!

added on edit; if i cooperate to a degree, and it goes south, the cop can make the call, or his superior will get the call tomorrow. i ain't playing. if i got a grocery bag in my hand, i'm not shooting up the place. placate the sheep- do you police job, but then in abscense of malice- that's it. especially if i open with; i am an open carrier and mean you no harm.
 
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xenophon

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
316
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Got back from being out of town, and looks like I missed a few good gems in here while gone. Good stuff. I agree that sometimes it's a good idea to shoot the **** with the officer if he seems like a good guy. I don't want to make their job more difficult or give them a hard time, but at the same time, I have to lookout for my own too.

I live on a main road, and I'm going to start cutting my grass while I open carry. I see police cruisers pass by all the time, so I just wanted to be prepared for when the eventually stop. This is Milwaukee county after all ;)
 

xenophon

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
316
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
I've been doing some research for my own case...
Courts including SCOTUS have said that stopping or detaining someone simply because they are carrying a gun, or because someone says they have a gun, is illegal without other RAS of a crime.

The Krause case in West Allis:
“reporting that people have firearms is not sufficient for the police to stop them because it is not sufficient by itself to establish the likelihood of a crime”

Florida v. JL 120 S. Ct. 1375, 1379 (2000):
The United States Supreme Court: detaining man on mere report that he has a gun violates the Fourth Amendment
"Nor does a mere allegation that a suspect possesses a firearm… justify an officer in stopping a suspect absent the reasonable suspicion required by Terry..."

Mead:
...the court concluded the officer had no right to seize the firearm because the officer "under the facts and circumstances of the case" had no articulable reason to believe a crime was being committed but was instead acting solely on complaints from (statements by) other shoppers.

St. John v. Alamagordo:
The federal judge ruled that police cannot detain people for openly carrying guns.

And finally Ubiles:
http://openjurist.org/224/f3d/213/united-states-of-america-v-kahli-ubiles
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously held that a tip that a celebrant at a festival was carrying a pistol was not sufficient to justify a stop of the celebrant.

If it happened to me again, I'd do things differently. Probably staying in my locked car & calling my lawyer, or if on foot walking away.

Hindsight is so 20/20 :/ At least your experience is helping others and will in future.
 

hardballer

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
925
Location
West Coast of Wisconsin
Update:

I should say here that I live in a rural area. I am surrounded by rural counties. We have a whole different deal going on here than say, Milwaukee, Green Bay or thank God Madison. I even stopped to check on a Highway cop in a rest area once last winter. It is different here than there. So I just want to say that I don't necessarily disagree with any one's methods here. This is just my experience and in no way is intended as a blue print.

Just wanted to make it clear. I understand that situations define actions.
 

J.Gleason

Banned
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
3,481
Location
Chilton, Wisconsin, USA
If you talk to cops you deserve what you get.

Don't Talk To Cops Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc

Don't Talk To Cops Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fZQWjDVKE

The Right Way To handle A Police Stop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDJrQBwJpqk

The Wrong Way To Handle A Police Stop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaCe6nQUX5c

Traffic Stop/ Know Your Rights TV EP.4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrFvpMgL9EE

How To Refuse A Police Search
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyokKFIecIo

How do I Keep Police From Searching My Car?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpaNhfOyvAQ

Busted: The Citizen's Guide To Surviving Police Encounters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA

How To Act If You Are Stopped By The Police
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShMDT0NmPms

Fork In The Wisconsin Gun Law / Transportation Of Fire Arms by Doug Huffman
http://www.vimeo.com/6115265

JPFO Video / No Guns for Negroes download page
http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-n-z/ngn-download-view.htm

JPFO Video / 2A For the USA download page
http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-a-m/2a-today-download.htm

Here are some video's that actually tell the truth when it comes to Bull%hit Gun Control Laws.


Bull sh#t on Gun Laws Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCXtfR0_roE

Bull sh#t on Gun Laws Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtqufzEFCzw

Bull sh#t on Gun Laws Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoIKlO20RqM

Anti Gun Politicians get OWNED!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1u0Byq5Qis
 
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