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Strange LEO (sort-of) encounter

Superlite27

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Messages
1,277
Location
God's Country, Missouri
I'll bet this has never happened to any of you:

This past weekend, I'm in my local Wal-Mart looking for my favorite brand of frozen burritos. I see a Wal-Mart employee at the end of the aisle, so I roll my cart on over to ask him where they've been moved to. As I engage the employee in conversation, I am passed, left shoulder to left shoulder, by one of Bowling Green's finest in full uniformed, shiny badged, splendor. I offer a kind "How ya doin'?" and look back to the Wal-Mart employee for the answer to my burrito enquiry.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the officer pull a full 180 degree "pivot" and jump into what can only be described as a "FULL TACTICAL CROUCH"!

He has obviously spotted my firearm.

He is frozen in a position with his hands splayed about a foot away from his front pockets, arms slightly bent at the elbows, knees shoulder width apart and slightly bent, torso in a forward cant.....he looks like he's ready to.....wrestle? Jump over a shelf? Start dancing? Whatever it is he looks very.....ready.

I see Wal-Mart Guy do your classic "lean out and look behind me over my shoulder".

I'm thinking "Here it comes!". The inevitable "police confrontation". I am now purposefully ignoring Officer Jumpy (while keeping a very close eye on him). I follow Wal-Mart Guy around to the next aisle and turn on my voice recorder in order to not have to do so when approached by Officer Jumpy. I'm watching both ends of the next aisle wondering "Will he approach directly from that end, or approach behind me from this end?" so I keep glancing over my shoulder.

I continue shopping for another 15 minutes.

Hmmmmm. He's probably waiting for backup. I now fully expect to be approached by a group of officers. This is only getting worse.

Another 10 minutes. I'm headed to checkout.

Ahhhhhh! They're going to get me as I exit! Must not want an armed confrontation with all the customers milling about. I'm now dreading walking out the exit to be swarmed by SWAT.

Well...here we go! Out the front door!

Where I spy a single unoccupied squad car parked at the curb. Obviously belonging to the officer inside the store.

No cops? Hmmmmm. Strange. I distinctly remember a uniformed officer going all "tactical" in the aisle next to the burritos. Think he's still frozen there in the "full ready" position?

I loaded my groceries into my vehicle and drove home.

Has anyone ever had an obvious "reaction" by a LEO, yet not been approached?

I'm wondering: Maybe after his initial "surprise", I finally encountered an officer that figured it out on his own? What? No authoritative posturing? No preaching or need to investigate?

What's the world coming to when an opely armed citizen gets left alone by the cops?
 

aluminum3

New member
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
39
Location
, ,
I think you missed seeing him any more in the store 'cause he was in the bathroom cleaning his britches out.........
 

eye95

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
I think the simplest explanation is that the LEO has a sense of humor. You didn't play along with his little joke, so he moved on.
 

zack991

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
Messages
1,535
Location
Ohio, USA
Maybe he found the betty crockers homemade doughnut kits. He was so excited, he ran as soon as possible to the front counter so he could go home and start baking. It would explain his stealthy 180 move, hoping no one sees him buy up the entire stock.
 
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rodbender

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2008
Messages
2,519
Location
Navasota, Texas, USA
Maybe he found the betty crockers homemade doughnut kits. He was so excited, he ran as soon as possible to the front counter so he could go home and start baking. It would explain his stealthy 180 move, hoping no one sees him buy up the entire stock.

Yeah, or maybe they were out and he thought Superlite27 got the last one.:lol:
 
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fully_armed_biker

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
463
Location
Portsmouth, Virginia, USA
Maybe he found the betty crockers homemade doughnut kits. He was so excited, he ran as soon as possible to the front counter so he could go home and start baking. It would explain his stealthy 180 move, hoping no one sees him buy up the entire stock.

Or maybe after a couple hundred dozen of those homemade doughnut kits, he pulled every muscle, tendon, and ligament from the waist down, going into that tactical crouch...and once down in that crouch, there was just no getting back up! :lol:
 

since9

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
6,964
Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
sounds like a poor sense of humor...

If it was merely his attempt at humor.

My guess is he radio'd in for back up and was told to chill out you weren't doing anything unlawful.

Quite possibly. It's also possible he jumped into the position when he spotted your firearm, then had more sane, rational thoughts when you didn't react as he thought you might.

More disturbingly, he did this so that you would react? If so, that's just plain wrong (not to mention illegal). Have you considered simply reporting the event to the police in person, and let them sort it out? In-house retraining is quite common so as to help avoid these sorts of confrontations.
 

confedneck

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
47
Location
LA
next time, call the cops and tell them there's a white crown vic parked in the fire lane in front of the store...
 
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