Court upholds police pointing gun at lawful carrier Options

[Greg View Member Profile]

Court upholds police pointing gun at lawful carrier

This was posted in a local news source here in GA, but has the potential for huge ramifications in all states for those who choose to lawfully carry a firearm.

Please be locally and nationally involved, folks! It may seem like we're talking to a brick wall at times, but don't become discouraged and give up. It's been wisely observed and stated before..."All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing!"

[Hoosier Guy View Member Profile]

I respect law enforcement officers but it sounds like this one had a corn cob in an inconvenient place. There is no way that should have stood.

[Tony L. View Member Profile]

Greg,

I read the article that you attached to this post.

As a L.E.O. who has worked plain clothes for the past 17 years, I have been on both sides (to an extent) of this type of encounter. I have had guns pointed at me because I was carrying a gun but did not look like a Policeman at the time. I understand why.

The article seemed particularly critical of the Police (as much of the media usually is). On the other hand, not all Police act like they should. All to often we hear about a L.E.O. gone bad, that pains the rest of us greatly, as we are generaly good people trying to do good for society and do not like it when a "bad apple" gives the rest of us a black eye.

Not having witnessed the particular incident in which the media are reporting, I will not draw a conclusion or assign blame either way. I will point out that people who wear suits and have a license to carry a concealed weapon are not immune to committing crime, anybody with a gun has the potential to do harm. The dangers of "Profiling" work both ways.

As far as detaining the person and eventually taking the person's gun and license, it sounds as if it went a little to far, but again, I was not there.

One of the toughest things about being a Christian for me is also being a L.E.O., maybe that is hard to understand but trust me, it's tough. But the best training I have ever had as a Policeman by a long shot has been THE BIBLE and being a Christian has been the most rewarding thing in my life and my job.

I love GOD, I love my family, I love my country, I love people and I love my job. At the end of my shift I want to go home and do it all again the next day, I want to glorify GOD in the things I do, hopefuly these things are contagious (It's been some years since I caught it, but it isn't going away).

Most L.E.O.'s are as concerned about "gun control" as everybody else. Most do not agree with restricting law abiding citizens right to the 2nd amendment.

I find it interesting that the 1st amendment addresses freedom of religion and the 2nd amendment the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Were they prioritizing?

Anyway, thanks for the post and thanks for letting me give my thoughts on it.

Tony

[silver View Member Profile]

I think the answer was for the guy to have called the cops and reported the gun stolen by a guy impersonating a police officer. After all a true officer would have handled themselves in a more professinal manner.

[Hoosier Guy View Member Profile]

Greg,

I read the article that you attached to this post.

As a L.E.O. who has worked plain clothes for the past 17 years, I have been on both sides (to an extent) of this type of encounter. I have had guns pointed at me because I was carrying a gun but did not look like a Policeman at the time. I understand why.

The article seemed particularly critical of the Police (as much of the media usually is). On the other hand, not all Police act like they should. All to often we hear about a L.E.O. gone bad, that pains the rest of us greatly, as we are generaly good people trying to do good for society and do not like it when a "bad apple" gives the rest of us a black eye.

Not having witnessed the particular incident in which the media are reporting, I will not draw a conclusion or assign blame either way. I will point out that people who wear suits and have a license to carry a concealed weapon are not immune to committing crime, anybody with a gun has the potential to do harm. The dangers of "Profiling" work both ways.

As far as detaining the person and eventually taking the person's gun and license, it sounds as if it went a little to far, but again, I was not there.

One of the toughest things about being a Christian for me is also being a L.E.O., maybe that is hard to understand but trust me, it's tough. But the best training I have ever had as a Policeman by a long shot has been THE BIBLE and being a Christian has been the most rewarding thing in my life and my job.

I love GOD, I love my family, I love my country, I love people and I love my job. At the end of my shift I want to go home and do it all again the next day, I want to glorify GOD in the things I do, hopefuly these things are contagious (It's been some years since I caught it, but it isn't going away).

Most L.E.O.'s are as concerned about "gun control" as everybody else. Most do not agree with restricting law abiding citizens right to the 2nd amendment.

I find it interesting that the 1st amendment addresses freedom of religion and the 2nd amendment the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Were they prioritizing?

Anyway, thanks for the post and thanks for letting me give my thoughts on it.

Tony

Good thoughts Bro. There are a couple of great Christian LEO's who I work with often (I work Envrionmental Health for the county so I am at the meth labs, hazmat spills, etc.) and they do bring a different perspective to the job.

[Titaniumman View Member Profile]

Greg,

I read the article that you attached to this post.

As a L.E.O. who has worked plain clothes for the past 17 years, I have been on both sides (to an extent) of this type of encounter. I have had guns pointed at me because I was carrying a gun but did not look like a Policeman at the time. I understand why.

The article seemed particularly critical of the Police (as much of the media usually is). On the other hand, not all Police act like they should. All to often we hear about a L.E.O. gone bad, that pains the rest of us greatly, as we are generaly good people trying to do good for society and do not like it when a "bad apple" gives the rest of us a black eye.

Not having witnessed the particular incident in which the media are reporting, I will not draw a conclusion or assign blame either way. I will point out that people who wear suits and have a license to carry a concealed weapon are not immune to committing crime, anybody with a gun has the potential to do harm. The dangers of "Profiling" work both ways.

As far as detaining the person and eventually taking the person's gun and license, it sounds as if it went a little to far, but again, I was not there.

One of the toughest things about being a Christian for me is also being a L.E.O., maybe that is hard to understand but trust me, it's tough. But the best training I have ever had as a Policeman by a long shot has been THE BIBLE and being a Christian has been the most rewarding thing in my life and my job.

I love GOD, I love my family, I love my country, I love people and I love my job. At the end of my shift I want to go home and do it all again the next day, I want to glorify GOD in the things I do, hopefuly these things are contagious (It's been some years since I caught it, but it isn't going away).

Most L.E.O.'s are as concerned about "gun control" as everybody else. Most do not agree with restricting law abiding citizens right to the 2nd amendment.

I find it interesting that the 1st amendment addresses freedom of religion and the 2nd amendment the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Were they prioritizing?

Anyway, thanks for the post and thanks for letting me give my thoughts on it.

Tony

Thanks for that reply Tony


Rick, Retired LEO

[Greg View Member Profile]

Great points, Tony...points well taken! And thank you to you and the others here who have served our communities!

Though I'm not a LEO, since the 2nd grade I grew up in a family that was. My step-dad was a police officer in Ohio. Though retired from full-time duty now, he still works for the District Attorney's office. I have a few other relatives who are also active LEOs in the NYPD.

As you have experienced, I've also heard a lot of generalized comments stated that were meant nothing more than to malign those who serve to protect our community's citizens. It's not much different than when a Christian, who's often before the eyes of the public, sins. Many in the media then try to use that instance to discredit the Christian community as a whole.

It's sad, but people do that sort of thing to others.

I've gotten into more than a few heated conversations with people who point out the wrongs done by individual LEOs and try to state that all law enforcement is therefore corrupt. That's just a bad way to reason about anyone or anything.

Regarding that article mentioned above, I didn't get that impression that you got. To me it didn't seem that it was written in a way that was meant to generalize the law enforcement community, as a whole, in a bad light. It kept to the actions of a single officer and a single judge.

You made a good point in that not being present when that incident happened, that other things may have transpired that we're not made aware of that justify the officer's actions. That could very well be the case here.

What I find a little odd, however, is that if this attorney was in fact acting in any way threatening with or without his weapon, then why didn't the officer simply arrest him to ensure the public's safety? If it was discovered that he was armed and posed any degree of threat to himself and the public, then the officer should have taken him into custody, not make off with the man's firearm and concealed carry permit while telling the lawyer that he (the officer) was the only person allowed to carry on his beat.

There will always be those among us that will take individual incidences like this and attempt to tarnish those with exemplary service. However that shouldn't keep us from weeding out those who themselves are not acting lawfully.

When we hold those accountable who abuse their authority, we are upholding the integrity of those who do not.

[Tony L. View Member Profile]

Greg,

The quote on accountability is so true and said so well.

Thanks, Tony