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Encounter with Boston Cop while carrying today

timbo said:
I learned a long time ago....if you get stopped and the cop asks you if you know why he stopped you, always respectfully say "no". As soon as you say why he stopped you (even if it's not really why he stopped you), you have virtually NO chance of winning if you go to court. Why you think he stopped you and why he actually stopped you may be two completely different reasons.
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I've actually found the opposit is true. If they ask why you are being pulled over, tell the truth. "Yes sir I blew the red light" "yes sir, I was speeding"(although if you were speeding lie about how fast you were going lol). I've been let off a lot of tickets because I was honest with them. Most cops don't like being treated like they're stupid and as long as you're respectful to them, they're the same to you. Of course some are just dicks either way, but you can usually figure that out pretty quickly.
 
mikeyp said:
I've actually found the opposit is true. If they ask why you are being pulled over, tell the truth. "Yes sir I blew the red light" "yes sir, I was speeding"(although if you were speeding lie about how fast you were going lol). I've been let off a lot of tickets because I was honest with them. Most cops don't like being treated like they're stupid and as long as you're respectful to them, they're the same to you. Of course some are just dicks either way, but you can usually figure that out pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

It's a crapshoot. The strategy for optimizing your chances of being let off on the spot are different than those from maximizing the chances of prevailing in court. Remember, the back of the ticket is for the officer's notes about the traffic stop - and it costs $75, win or lose, to confront your accuser in court.
 
hpm said:
Cool cop - as it should be in regards to CC a weapon.

By the way - with your statement '...because I did not come to a full and complete stop at that stop sign...' you admitted breaking a law, which would make fighting a ticket nearly impossible.
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I did consider this, but I felt that I would have come off as a jerk if I tried to pretend like I had no idea why he stopped me. Honesty seemed to have been appreciated.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
It's a crapshoot. The strategy for optimizing your chances of being let off on the spot are different than those from maximizing the chances of prevailing in court. Remember, the back of the ticket is for the officer's notes about the traffic stop - and it costs $75, win or lose, to confront your accuser in court.
Click to expand...

I've found that being honest works to my advantage. I've been stopped twice since 2000. Both times I told the officer I knew I was wrong and both times they let me off. One was a NH State Trooper who had me at 20 over in a 30 mph zone. He had no reason not to write me, but he ran my information and was back in five minutes. Asked me to be careful and wished me a good weekend. The other time was about half a mile from my house. Worst excuse in the world as I was late for work and almost out of gas. I blew right through a stop sign and didn't see the cruiser behind me. I told the cop all of that and he just told me to drive carefully.

I must have an honest face of something.

The other thing I did both times was pull over in a safe area, roll down the window, turn off the car, put on the four way flashers, put the keys on the dash, turn on the interior lights, and put my hands on the steering wheel. Someone told me long ago that if you can put the officer at ease, it increases the odds of a warning or nothing at all. The same person also told me that the officer has pretty much decided whether he's going to write you or not before he even steps out of the car.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
It's a crapshoot. The strategy for optimizing your chances of being let off on the spot are different than those from maximizing the chances of prevailing in court. Remember, the back of the ticket is for the officer's notes about the traffic stop - and it costs $75, win or lose, to confront your accuser in court.
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That's because the 6th Amendment only applies to the rich.
 
Serapis said:
A traffic stop is a seizure.

Miranda
is only needed if two things are met. Arrest AND Questioning.

Just an FYI. You have a 70/30 chance if you tell a LEO you are carrying legally and it to end like the OP. The reaction by the cop in the OP story should be the norm, though.
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Actually, this is not exactly correct. You do not have be under arrest for Miranda to count. You need to be in custody, circumstances which would indicate the person was under arrest, such as not being free to leave, being placed in handcuffs, being searched or other factors such as this. A person is deemed to be in custody if he is deprived of his freedom of action “in any significant way.” “Custody” requires the existence of coercive conditions that would cause a reasonable person to believe, under all the circumstances surrounding the interrogation, that he is not free to go.
True that a traffic or Terry Stop, without more, would not cut it. hair splitting here
 
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Man, I likely would have done the same thing. I've watched the "don't talk to cops" video, but I still would have likely done the same damn thing. Maybe I'm too naive, but I have to believe that most cops are really good guys. A lot of $hitbags are taken off the street by what started as a simple traffic stop, so unless the cop has more important things to do, they are going to stop you if they witness any infraction.

Give a good guy $hit, and you are going to get a ticket. Be honest and up front, and you are much more likely to drive away without a ticket. Just my opinion.
 
I don't understand why people feel the need to disclose personal information if their not required to! It's almost as if, their so excited they have an LTC, they have to tell the world about it.
 
Dr. CCW said:
Officer: "Driver's license and registration. Do you know why I stopped you?"
Me: "Yes, I think it was because I did not come to a full and complete stop at that stop sign." I had him the DL, registration, and LTC
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Thanks for encouraging these ideas(future laws) for those in the state house.[rolleyes]

Until that day when, you forgot to hand the officer your LTC

I've always wondered why Mass. had so many gun laws, I am seeing where they get them from.

Worst enemies..........
 
Q1: I thought it was law that if you are CCW that you had to notify the cop right away about it?

And on a personal level, being honest with a cop is definitely the best way to interact with him. Just tell him straight forward that you have a weapon on you, because what will happen should he discover a reason to pull you out of the car and then he discovers the weapon on your side? He's going to be pissed right?! In his mind he is now thinking of all that time you just had to potentially pull the weapon on him....and cops DO NOT like that. You can forget about him giving you a break now, because now he's pissed off and likely going to land as many charges as he can.
Like others have said, don't give any more information than is needed.
 
You don't need to be arrested for Miranda to kick in, just seized, as in not free to leave. The questioning surrounding a crime or traffic stop doesnot necessarily rise to that level.
 
With regards to disclosure of CCW during a traffic stop, the advice I was given during my GOAL CCW class was as follows:

Do not volunteer the fact you are carrying unless any of the following occur:
- The officer asks (obviously), OR
- You are asked to get out of the car, OR
- Any of your movements during the stop can possibly result in the firearm being exposed. Reaching for your registration, license, etc.

If that happens, they suggested this sequence:
Sir (or ma'am), I have an unrestricted class A license to carry.
*Pause*
I am currently carrying
*Pause*
What would you like me to do?
 
mikeyp said:
I've actually found the opposit is true. If they ask why you are being pulled over, tell the truth. "Yes sir I blew the red light" "yes sir, I was speeding"(although if you were speeding lie about how fast you were going lol). I've been let off a lot of tickets because I was honest with them. Most cops don't like being treated like they're stupid and as long as you're respectful to them, they're the same to you. Of course some are just dicks either way, but you can usually figure that out pretty quickly.
Click to expand...


When I was a LEO many moons ago when it was a different world I always asked "do you have any idea why I stopped you"

If I got a polite answer and a truthfull answer (most times) I would just tell them that I keep Plate Numbers and if I stop you again it will not be good.

I had a lot of times were I had to stop two vehicles, I would pull up beside the 1st vehicle to stop and tell them to wait for me to return, I would than go and write up the other car and than return to the 1st car and tell them the same thing about me keeping plate numbers. Heck if those folks were crazy enough to wait 5 - 10 minutes for me to return I was in no way going to write them up. [grin]

I had a lot of fun with some folks, I could tell that they were just going a little over the speed limit, I would hold the Radar Gun out the window at them, I then watched them drive by hitting their radar dectectors trying to figure out why they didn't go off, it was because I had the radar gun shut off [wink]
 
iBrent said:
With regards to disclosure of CCW during a traffic stop, the advice I was given during my GOAL CCW class was as follows:

Do not volunteer the fact you are carrying unless any of the following occur:



- The officer asks (obviously), OR
- You are asked to get out of the car, OR
- Any of your movements during the stop can possibly result in the firearm being exposed. Reaching for your registration, license, etc.

If that happens, they suggested this sequence:

"with both hands on the steering wheel where they can be seen".

Sir (or ma'am), I have an unrestricted class A license to carry.
*Pause*
I am currently carrying
*Pause*
What would you like me to do?
Click to expand...

I edited the quote to reflect what we told by the LEO who did our BFS course just last month.
 
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Pulled over by BPD heading to Boston Childrens, he pulled over two cars. Comes to my window second, asks for license, I hand it to him. He asks, "You on the job?" I say (surprised) "Used to be." (retired Firefighter) "ok,just wait a sec " he says," Let me write this lady up, then you can take off." He walks back to the other car. My wife says" WTF, did you Jedi mind trick him?" I didn't really get what happened, but then I looked down and my LTC is showing through the clear part of my wallet where I keep it behind my license, on top of my knee. He comes back and says" Sorry to keep you waiting, have a good one." He thought I was a cop. Sad but true. He apologized to me,but the other person gets a ticket that will probably cost them hundreds of dollars.
Also he was waiting at this weird intersection where the signage sucks, so they must bag out of towners alot there, I truthfully had no idea why we got stopped.
 
Contramnky said:
My brother, a Boston area police officer for 12 years, says the majority of cops he met consider the LTC a good.citizen card.
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I am this group, unless you have pulled a real boneheaded maneuver , there is usually a verbal coming
 
I have always disclosed to LEOs. I rather have them know upfront in case I 'print'. There are a lot of unique responses, "Why do you carry", "Thanks for letting me know", "We are going to pull you out of your car, check your serial number to see if it is stolen, then you can be on your way".

None have resulted in a citation.
 
mikeyp said:
I've actually found the opposit is true. If they ask why you are being pulled over, tell the truth. "Yes sir I blew the red light" "yes sir, I was speeding"(although if you were speeding lie about how fast you were going lol). I've been let off a lot of tickets because I was honest with them. Most cops don't like being treated like they're stupid and as long as you're respectful to them, they're the same to you. Of course some are just dicks either way, but you can usually figure that out pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

Got pulled over last month in my new van at night on a side rd in Grafton in front of a high school. Cop asks me if I was in a hurry. I said "yes, just trying to get home". He asks if I knew what the speed limit was and I said "No, I'm not from around here. I was just looking at a job up the street. Then he asks me if I was a contractor and what type. In the meantime I couldn't find my registration and he said that he would just run the plates. It took him forever to come back so I was sure that he was writing me up. He finally came over and said "here" as he handed me my license and ticket and walked away. I was pissed that I started the new year with a speeding ticket. I just threw it on my dash and drove off. After a few miles I pull over to see how much he tagged me for and was happy to find that it was only a warning. Most of the time being respectful and honest goes a long way.
 
falcon123 said:
Got pulled over last month in my new van at night on a side rd in Grafton in front of a high school. Cop asks me if I was in a hurry. I said "yes, just trying to get home". He asks if I knew what the speed limit was and I said "No, I'm not from around here. I was just looking at a job up the street. Then he asks me if I was a contractor and what type. In the meantime I couldn't find my registration and he said that he would just run the plates. It took him forever to come back so I was sure that he was writing me up. He finally came over and said "here" as he handed me my license and ticket and walked away. I was pissed that I started the new year with a speeding ticket. I just threw it on my dash and drove off. After a few miles I pull over to see how much he tagged me for and was happy to find that it was only a warning. Most of the time being respectful and honest goes a long way.
Click to expand...

But did you show him your LTC ?
 
I got pulled over once for doing a smoke show out of a bar parking lot in front of three cops.

I had been drinking, passed multiple field sobriety tests and they gave me a warning for excessive noise I believe.

Great group of guys, they even blocked off one lane of traffic so I could safely take my tests.

I wish all my cop interactions went like that, didn't drink for 3 years after that.
 
Are you suggesting that it didn't work out well for him? I would say that being honest and forthcoming can have better results than trying to play Matlock when you get pulled over. Ask a cop.


hpm said:
Cool cop - as it should be in regards to CC a weapon.

By the way - with your statement '...because I did not come to a full and complete stop at that stop sign...' you admitted breaking a law, which would make fighting a ticket nearly impossible.
Click to expand...
 
I've always gone with the honest answer routine. Been stopped 2x for probably 10-15 mph over the limit on 30 mph roads....cop asks "Do you know why I stopped you"? I have answered "Probably going too fast?" Cop: "Fast enough to make me want to stop you, how's your driving record?" Me: "Pretty good". Cop comes back and says "Giving you a warning, don't want to screw up a good driving record".
Got pulled over in a small NH town driving my Corvette as the alternator crapped out and my lights were barely glowing.......cop asks: "How much you had to drink?" Me: "4 of us were at a strip joint and each bought a round, so probably 4 beers." Cop: "pull the vette over in that parking lot, we'll keep an eye on it overnite, and I'll give you a ride to your house (next town over)." I ask the cop on the way," Why are you cutting me slack?" He says " If you said you had ONE beer, you would be in hand cuffs...I hate liars!"
 

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