Their initial stance can also be determined by your immediate response.
One time I was stopped after leaving a WaWa with my dog and a cup of coffee. I was walking down the street towards my house when a patrol cruiser rounded the corner and came to a stop a few houses down from me.
Of course I immediately knew what was going on.
As I approached the officer got out of his car. Remember, I have a cup of coffee in one hand and a dog leash in the other. My dog is, imagine if you will, the spitting image of Santa's Little Helper from The Simpsons.
The officer looked at me and said something to the effect of "Excuse me, are you carrying a gun?"
I turned strong side to him so he could see the holster and then he said "Yeah, I didn't think someone out walking their dog and drinking coffee was going to be what 'they' thought. Someone called about a man with a gun. I just wanted to see if you were carrying it like I carry mine."
I responded "Did you let the person know that open carry is completely legal in Virginia?"
He said that he did, wished me a good morning, got back in his cruiser and drove off. He never asked my name nor gave me any attitude.
This past year I walked the entire boardwalk during the Neptune Festival with my wife and son and only caught a couple of Guidos doing double-takes. The place was CRAWLING with city police and Sheriff's deputies. I know that a couple of them were made aware of my OC, because they maintained visual on me for a couple of minutes at a time, but not one of them ever approached me or said anything.
I am pretty sure they recognized and appreciate the adage we here at OCDO refrain: It's not the gun you see that you have to worry about.
In another instance my wife and I were grocery shopping and as I was kneeling down in the soup aisle trying to decide between Campbell's and the store brand I was approached by a uniformed officer. She was quite cordial when she asked "Excuse me, but are you in law enforcement?"
Of course I responded in the negative. She asked my name and I gave her my first name only. That seemed to satisfy her. Her only other question was why I was carrying. This time my response was "To protect myself and my family and because it is my right as a Virginian."
She made an agreeable response and explained that someone had said they saw a man with a gun and she was just doing her job by checking into it. Since it was pretty obvious the only thing we were doing was grocery shopping, she bid us good day and left us to our soup dilemma, likely off to inform whoever had issued the concern that there was nothing improprietous afoot.
Again, in case you have not picked up on it, VB police are pretty decent as far as OC goes. I think most in Virginia are. Most of my interactions with OBX NC Sheriff's deputies have been pretty good, too.
Yes, there are some bad ones. Yes, I tend to focus more attention on them. Most of them just want to go home at night and see their families - and they want you to do be able to do the same.
