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New to the Forum and had a question

WM1911

New member
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
2
Location
Canon City, CO
Hello everyone, i just recently joined the forum and had a question. I have been OC'ing in Colorado for quite some time and have never encountered a " LEO " I am wondering what actions/precautions i should take when i do encounter a LEO. I tried to look around for older post's but am not to good at navigating the Forum yet.
Thanks for the help.:)
 

M-Taliesin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
1,504
Location
Aurora, Colorado
Hello everyone, i just recently joined the forum and had a question. I have been OC'ing in Colorado for quite some time and have never encountered a " LEO " I am wondering what actions/precautions i should take when i do encounter a LEO. I tried to look around for older post's but am not to good at navigating the Forum yet.
Thanks for the help.:)

Howdy Amigo,
Welcome to the OCDO forum, especially the Colorado contingent.
That said, let's take a crack at your question.

The first thing I'd suggest is to be fully up to scratch on the laws regarding open carry. Article 2 of the Colorado Constitution, specifically sections 3 and 13 are instructive. But there are a whole bunch of other things to learn about too. By reading about LEO encounters folks have experienced both here in Colorado and other parts of the country, you can learn a great deal about how to cope with the situation when it inevitably arises. By knowing the law, along with your rights, you're armed to handle that encounter.

Also recommended by most open carriers is to have a voice recorder to document any encounter should one arise. If you've got them saying something contrary to law, or infringing on your rights recorded for a judge to hear, odds are pretty good that will turn attention from you to the offending officer. In some cases, can also result in a hefty settlement paid to your bank account.

My best recommendation is to read, read, read... then read some more. Plenty of great information on this forum, and the more you know, the better prepared you are. Cases are discussed, such as St. John vs; Alamagordo. While that case was one from New Mexico, the fact that the district judge went to the additional trouble of publishing his opinion carries additional weight in other jurisdictions.

Don't fret about learning everything all at once, because the truth is, the whole open carry experience is an evolving thing, and new information and court decisions are emerging every day.

Good luck, and carry on!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin
 

MilProGuy

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2011
Messages
1,210
Location
Mississippi
Welcome to the forum!

I'm a newbie, myself, and have never openly carried a handgun, so I'll defer to some of the more experienced OC members; and will read, with interest, their responses.
 
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JamesB

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
703
Location
Lakewood, Colorado, USA
I'm going to agree with pretty much everything that M-T just said. I have had lots of LEO encounters. Every single one of 'em I think I learned something else new; some better way I could have handled it, some better answer to a question...

Not all of my encounters have been because of or even on the subject of OC. Traffic stops, random just sayin 'howdy' stops, whatever. But either way how I handle myself in that stop is going to be different than how anyone else is going to handle themselves in the same situation, simply because I have had those interactions before and have been able to rehash them myself.

Part of it is simply surviving the conversations, getting over the jitters of the first stop, or first few.

And ya...read, read, read.
 

WM1911

New member
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
2
Location
Canon City, CO
You dished out the advice and I shall take it, appreciate the help. I'm looking forward to learning more about OC here so I can be better prepared.
Thanks again and have a great OC day.
 

Gunslinger

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
3,853
Location
Free, Colorado, USA
Don't OC in Denver County. Everywhere else in CO it is lawful to do so. Get a CCW anyway. Easy to do and then you have all circumstances covered. Terry applies, via the CO SC, for any detainment. Absent RAS, or of course PC, you cannot be stopped in CO. You cannot be stopped for OCing as the only reason under any circumstances outside of Denver. For a lawful traffic stop, the cop could take--temporarilly--your weapon for so called officer safety. In practice, happens rarely if you inform the cop you are carrying. He must return it after the stop is concluded. He cannot just walk up to you on the street and do so, failing RAS. If you are asked to leave a business, leave. It is not trespass if you do so, even if a no guns sign was posted. Outside of the PDR, CO is a free state and the 2A is honored by the vast majority of cops. If you find one that doesn't, action should be taken against him after the fact. Welcome to the forum.
 

M-Taliesin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
1,504
Location
Aurora, Colorado
Howdy Again Amigo!
You got some great information from folks here already, and especially the specifics from Gunslinger. Those are some tidbits that will guide you to more reading.

But something I neglected to mention is that I have been open carrying for awhile now. I've been all over the front range, from Colorado Springs to Brighton to Burlington and plenty of places in between. Among the towns where I've travelled without incident are Silverthorn, Kremmling, Aurora, Thornton, Northglenn, Security, Colorado Springs, Golden, Commerce City, Highlands Ranch, Lonetree and a whole bunch of other places too. In addition, I've carried open in other states such as Kansas and Nebraska. I hold a CCW permit, but often prefer to open carry one of my various sidearms.

Obviously, from the above paragraph, I've had plenty of opportunity for an LEO encounter. I know for certain that several Aurora officers have seen my pistol mounted on my hip. I also know that an officer in Commerce City was clearly aware of my pistol at a 7-11 around 3:00am after I spent the night doing a ride-along with a sheriff's deputy. An officer in Burlington saw me carrying and his only response was to return my friendly wave as he drove by.

I've finally come to the point of this whole novella. I haven't yet had a single incident with an officer over my firearm. Not one officer has made any fuss over it, asked any questions about it, nor given me any static whatsoever. Any close encounters of the LEO kind have been uneventful or downright cordial. In one or two instances, I've had security cops compliment my decision to exercise my 2a rights and we ended up talking about what sort of firearm we carry, good places to go shooting, and other topics related to our experience.

So for whatever it is worth, the prospect of an LEO encounter may be much worse in apprehension than reality. Yes, some folks have endured some pretty outrageous encounters. I'd suspect they are in the minority. I'd figure an uncomfortable encounter would be rare, but sometimes do happen. Being prepared with an understanding of various laws, court decisions and suits filed against unlawful detention or inappropriate LEO behavior is helpful when undergoing such an encounter. The best defense is knowledge. Regardless what calibur bullets you carry, the best ammunition you can have is specific knowledge as appropriate to state your case. Remember the onus is on the officer in such encounter to justify his actions. So long as you are peacefully carrying and not making a disturbance of some sort, you are within your rights as a citizen of the State of Colorado.

Good luck, and carry on!
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
 

since9

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
6,964
Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
This is absolutely identical to a similar question. Please, mods, join these two threads!!!

In my 26 years of my admin ops, this is why these tools exist. Use them. Please. We didn't develop them to be ignored.

Thanks...
 

mahkagari

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
1,186
Location
, ,
The best defense is knowledge. Regardless what calibur bullets you carry, the best ammunition you can have is specific knowledge as appropriate to state your case. Remember the onus is on the officer in such encounter to justify his actions.

I don't know if this is disagreeing with you or making your case one step further. My primary reason for carrying is for my and my family's defense. Not "because I can" or to normalize against infringement on my rights. Those are secondary. Therefore, my primary best defense is situational awareness and avoiding being in a bad encounter with a bad guy or a LEO. My ammunition of knowledge and awareness is primarily against bad guys, not bait for an officer who is behind on his legal knowledge.
 
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