Fishing or not, this is the kind of incident which creates the kind of anti-police sentiment among otherwise law abiding people which serves no positive purpose -- not for the police who rely at least to some extent on cooperation from their communities, and not for those of us who want to appreciate the work police do.
I have been stopped 3 times in the past few months for walking my neighborhood after dark on the sidewalk. It didn't get to the point of being detained, but police will stop and shine their lights and ask what I'm doing for having the apparent audacity to "walk on a sidewalk after dark listening to music."
I'm growing tired of it.
I am also alarmed that at this point police don't recognize this situation for what it is. Are they really completely ignorant of the gun rights movement in the United States, and open carry?
I am trying to put myself in the shoes of the police. "Man with a gun" call comes in and I go investigate the situation. I see a person open carrying in a holster. I observe them for a moment to see if they are acting strangely (drunk, addled, etc.)
Now let's say I'm not as aware of open carry issues as a civil right as I am. I begin to talk to this individual. Would I not recognize this situation for what it was the minute that camera came out? When it became clear the person was coherent, and that no law was bring broken, what positive purpose could prolonging the situation serve?
I *know* at this point that I am going to be on YouTube and that this individual is asserting his rights. He's not going to back down and roll over.
He has asked what law he is breaking and I have acknowledged that he is not breaking any law. Would it not occur to me that any further contact with this individual was creating fodder for a civil rights lawsuit, which would cost my department, and taxpayers by extension, money?
How often does this have to occur with checkpoints, civilian stops, and so on, for law enforcement to get the message? I refuse to believe police don't know where the boundaries are.
This creates friction for no apparent purpose. It could lead to financial loss, should a lawsuit occur, and already I've overstepped my authority, tainting any possible court case I have (I imagine; I'm not a lawyer) should I find some other pretext for arresting this individual.
It bothers me that at least some police don't recognize this situation for what it is, and avoid it. Youtube is full of videos like it. There will be many more.
The concept that all you need to do to have a person detained is call the cops on them and report them as "suspicious" is chilling. If I am of a certain race and I am walking in a community which is predominantly another race and someone calls the police to report me as suspicious, would that be legitimate? Do civil rights not extend to people carrying firearms not only lawfully, but in a way no criminal carries. Criminals do not "open carry in holsters, walking down the street" as far as I know.
Which leads me to assume that some purpose other than the enforcement of the law was at work here. I will not speculate on what that is.
We may need to have an exchange of views with police departments on this issue. I am sure the average American gun owner does not want to cause problems for police, or otherwise waste their time when they could be out doing actual policework. But there are some things which cannot be tolerated by free citizens, and being detained in this way is one of them. It isn't worth the costs, even if it means the occasional criminally-minded "suspicious person" isn't detained.
Videos like this bother me, because they blur what should be a clear line. Police should not push the issue when rights have been asserted and police have confirmed that no law is being broken.
I know this forum has specific regulations on what you can and can't say about law enforcement, and I hope I have not crossed that line. But I will say that I understand both sides here. We should want to stand by our police, and recognize them as having a special vocation in that their job entails significant risk on our behalf.
But there are some in the law enforcement community who are hell-bent in trying to make me (at least) feel otherwise, and this does not bode well for any of us. My personal experience with law enforcement has been more negative than positive, even factoring in the prospect that police have bad days, or see humanity through a lens I do not. Even considering that, there are just too many things for which there is no excuse. Way too much unwarranted belligerent "respect my authoritah!" stuff.