Outside Wal-Mart LEO Encounter

[the_hustleman]

Officer E. Howell of the Atlanta PD stopped me while I had a hand full of groceries because he saw my handgun printing under my shirt. Luckily I managed to turn my phones voice recorder on in time and recorded the entire encounter.

From when he asked for a permit, tried to make me show him my license, threatened to "make this difficult" and bring his sergeant into it, as he approached me with his hand on the grip of his gun.

After his sergeant eventually told him he didn't have a leg to stand on, he left me alone.



Wish you could have seen the look on his face when I bluffed him about "calling my Attorney Doug King" his eyes got big on me.


But eventually he left me alone and I went on my way.



My rights.mp3 - 10.97MB

 

[thebigsd]

Make sure you file a complaint with the department. There was no reason for the officer to stop and bother you. As for the audio, you could upload it to youtube, I know some people have done that. I would love to hear the audio.

 

[skidmark]

Sent it to yourself, then store it as an audio file.

Send a copy to the Chief of Police and the APD Internal Affairs unit along with your formal written complaint.

Send a copy to some trusted site outside your house, with instructions to repeat step #2 above immediately after your sudden disappearance, but this time add a copy to the local news outlets.

stay safe.

 

[jahwarrior]

Officer E. Howell of the Atlanta PD stopped me while I had a hand full of groceries because he saw my handgun printing under my shirt. Luckily I managed to turn my phones voice recorder on in time and recorded the entire encounter.

From when he asked for a permit, tried to make me show him my license, threatened to "make this difficult" and bring his sergeant into it, as he approached me with his hand on the grip of his gun.

After his sergeant eventually told him he didn't have a leg to stand on, he left me alone.



Wish you could have seen the look on his face when I bluffed him about "calling my Attorney Doug King" his eyes got big on me.


But eventually he left me alone and I went on my way.



where can I store the audio file? it's around 10mb but I have audio of the whole encounter

if your gun was under your shirt, then it was concealed. if it was concealed, don't you need to have a license/permit for that, and aren't you required to provide it under lawful demand?

 

[the_hustleman]

if your gun was under your shirt, then it was concealed. if it was concealed, don't you need to have a license/permit for that, and aren't you required to provide it under lawful demand?

yes, my FIREARMS license, not my drivers license which he tried to demand.

I had NO PROBLEM showing him my firearms license, which I did

 

[jahwarrior]

yes, my FIREARMS license, not my drivers license which he tried to demand.

I had NO PROBLEM showing him my firearms license, which I did

ah, you didn't specify. i'm from PA; when you say license, i think firearms license. why the hell would that idiot want your driver ID? were you walking by yourself in a carpool lane?

 

[Gunslinger]

yes, my FIREARMS license, not my drivers license which he tried to demand.

I had NO PROBLEM showing him my firearms license, which I did

Glad you cleared that up. I thought it was your CCW, too. After you showed it to him he should have thanked you and left.

 

[the_hustleman]

I found a site to upload to, it'll be up tomorrow

*swyped from the evo so excuse any typos*

 

[thebigsd]

I found a site to upload to, it'll be up tomorrow

*swyped from the evo so excuse any typos*

Sounds good. Let us know if you intend to pursue it any further with the department and how it goes if you do.

 

[the_hustleman]

edited original post with the audio

 

[Citizen]

Just one little question. Is GA a one-party consent state for recording conversations?

If not, including the recording in a formal complaint, uploading it, etc, is called "evidence".

 

[thebigsd]

I just listened to everything. I think you handled yourself very well. You stood up for your rights. You remained respectful the entire 13 minutes that they were wasting your time. Kudos to you!!!!

 

[the_hustleman]

Just one little question. Is GA a one-party consent state for recording conversations?

If not, including the recording in a formal complaint, uploading it, etc, is called "evidence".

yep, evidence.

 

[Citizen]

Just one little question. Is GA a one-party consent state for recording conversations?

If not, including the recording in a formal complaint, uploading it, etc, is called "evidence".

Looks like the law in Georgia might only cover conversations that happen in a private place according to the info at the link below.

Not sure if the reported information is current, though.

http://www.rcfp.org/taping/states/georgia.html

 

[the_hustleman]

Looks like the law in Georgia might only cover conversations that happen in a private place according to the info at the link below.

Not sure if the reported information is current, though.

http://www.rcfp.org/taping/states/georgia.html

However, the law expressly provides that it does not prohibit a person who is a party to a conversation from recording, and allows recording if one party to the conversation has given prior consent.

^^^that part makes no mention of public or private, but it's a PUBLIC PLACE (outside of wal-mart) and an officer.

 

[the_hustleman]

Filed a complaint with the OPS

I was coming out of the Wal-mart on howell mill road and officer E. Howell approached me and detained me for carrying my personal LEGAL firearm. I didn't have a drivers license on me at the time (I was on foot), so I refused to show my drivers license with the firearms license and he tried to tell me it was a legal requirement for me to show it. I respectfully declined, he had his hand on his pistol ready to draw on me for most of the encounter. I had 2 handfuls of groceries, and I was leaving the location. He had no RAS or probable cause that I committed, was committing, or about to commit a crime, there was no reason for the detainment.

I don't appreciate the HUMILIATION of having an officer detain me for a COMPLETELY LEGAL ACTIVITY. Then he even threatened to "make this hard on me" by bringing his sergeant out. I informed him that I'd done nothing wrong, wasn't breaking any laws, didn't appreciate being treated like a criminal, my description called in, I was unfairly treated.

I'd greatly appreciate speaking to the Chief about this incident because it should have never happened.

Also I've spoken to other APD officers and they seem to think that open carrying a handgun without a permit IS NOT illegal. This definitely needs to be corrected because if officers are telling people that, and the next officer knows the law a little better, that person that got that advice from the officer would be arrested and lose their rights for listening to an officer.

A license to carry mentioned in code 16-11-129 is required for openly or concealed carry of firearms, please pass this information on to the department because so many are misinformed.

 

[OC-moto450r]

2A

 

[Badger Johnson]

Great job standing up for yourself. How were you trying to find the statute, on your cell phone or something?

 

[the_hustleman]

Great job standing up for yourself. How were you trying to find the statute, on your cell phone or something?

Yes, I got a pdf from handgunlaw but I couldn't find the part that applied.

Saw it a million times but not when I needed it.

*swyped from the evo so excuse any typos*

 

[JamesCanby]

Officer E. Howell of the Atlanta PD stopped me while I had a hand full of groceries because he saw my handgun printing under my shirt. Luckily I managed to turn my phones voice recorder on in time and recorded the entire encounter.

From when he asked for a permit, tried to make me show him my license, threatened to "make this difficult" and bring his sergeant into it, as he approached me with his hand on the grip of his gun.

After his sergeant eventually told him he didn't have a leg to stand on, he left me alone.

[snip...]

The world has turned upside down ... when a LEO expects a Citizen to produce a copy of the statute that stipulates that the Citizen has no requirement to produce ID. As if such a statute would even exist that stipulates what a Citizen is NOT required to do. At the most, the statute would contain only a stipulation that the CCing Citizen must show a CC permit when requested. If the statute also required that the Citizen to show ID (as it does in Virginia), then I'm certain that the Citizen in this case would have complied.

And where were the magic words, "Am I free to go?" Other than that, the OP did a great job in defending his rights and I hope that he continues to pursue action against this ill-informed and poorly trained LEO.