Detainging/Not Detaining OC in CT
Hi All,
I briefly scanned all the past posts, but just in case, I apologize in advance if I am repeating anything that has been said already. I am a SGT. in a large police department here in CT. with 18 years experience. Up until about 3 years ago, I was not familiar with the laws pertaining to OC in CT. I went under the assumption that OC was not legal and that it could cause BOP/DC. This was partly because of lack of training and experience specifically in this area. Since that time I have done alot of research on this topic. Some of this enlightening research I have received from this website, so I thank you for that. There has been alot of press on OC in CT recently (again) especially since the Hwang incident in New Haven. I saw this thread and I thought I woud give my two cents. Again, I apologize if I am being redundant.
What I have found, concerning the ability of a PO to detain someone (Terry v Ohio), for merely OC, to determine if they have a valid permit to carry, is that the PO does not have that right. I base this on the fact that just because someone is OC does not in of itself reasonable articuable suspicion (RAS) that a crime is being, has been or is about to be committed (Terry v Ohio). It is LEGAL to OC in CT (see CT Firearm's Law and US v DeBerry) and is not BOP/DC or any other crime. The only way a PO can demand ID is when there is RAS which, again, is not the case here when OC. All a PO has is a consensual encounter and can only request to see ID/Permit. As a LEO I understand a PO's plight here in regards to protecting citizens and themselves but we are also sworn to uphold both our State and Federal Constitutions which ensures our right to bear arms. With that being said I have never had a criminal OC before committing a crime and as a LEO I prefer to see the threat rather it being hidden. The training given by Torrington and Old Saybrook is contradictory in of itself because it says that an OC is not BOP. So if OC is not committing a crime then what are you detaining that person for? In of itself OC is not Prima Facia evidence (evidence at first hand) that a crime has been, is about to be, or is being committed. No RAS, no detention, no ID.