If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
Be sure to enter the NES/MFS May Giveaway ***Canik METE SFX***
It would have been nice if it had been CCW's not just LE's.
I am curious if this law flies in NYC? They seem to have their own version of everything.
It's not respected there. They will arrest people there and let the courts deal with it. Although no convictions that I know of, there are lots of expensive dismissals.
Depends on where you are. It has been my experience that it is respected - at least at the airport when declaring a firearm. YMMV
That's the MTA (transit) which is separate from NYPD. All of the LEOSA issues I have heard about are NYPD so that could explain the discrepancy.
Transit cops on the other hand have a significant contempt of FOPA despite that one would think they of all people should be up on that given they police all of the transit stops in all of the boroughs from PATH, LIRR, bridges, tunnels, ports and airports. If you are traveling through NYC you can't skip traveling through one of their domains.
I'll have to admit I didn't look closely at their patches, they looked like regular PD, much like our own Boston Transit cops. I was concerned when the counter agent actually called them and they arrived in a cruiser. Interesting exchange, but no drama.
You would have had to have been really paying close attention. Their uniforms are identical except for the patches.
NYPD patch: http://2log.biz/img/upload/2008/Dec/NYPD_LOGO.jpg
MTA patch: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/134/324751137_8f4f81e12b.jpg
This is a story about NYPD riding the subways http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2009/12/cops-riding-trains-out-of-city.html
Note the pic from the NY POST is of a transit cop. No one can tell the difference.
But all of this belies the real point, why are they calling cops when someone checks a gun? On the way OUT of NYC??? This is a violation of the 4th amendment in that it has nothing to do with the security of the airplane. It's the same underlying principle underlying the prohibition of DHS/TSA questioning people for cash in hand. Hence why so many rerouted passengers have so many problems with this when they try to recheck their bags if they got stranded on a reroute. But most of these problems are FOPA related of course.
It's not respected there. They will arrest people there and let the courts deal with it. Although no convictions that I know of, there are lots of expensive dismissals.
I fully agree . . . to a point.
LEOSA was written for FOP Union Members and thus is very poorly written to even cover officers. Also, having been aware of the attempts to pass this ever since the early 1990s, it was very difficult to get into law (took almost 15 years) as is. Attempts to change it have died on the vine since passage too.
It is a fed law which trumps state law all tho most officers do not know who is covered and what the law states. That is why we need get it out that the law is around and who is covered.
How do most officers not know by now especially in states like NY where they obviously have no regard for federal law or their fellow officers? The criteria is simple ...
1. Be a police officer with statutory powers of arrest.
2. Be allowed by department policy to carry a firearm.
3. Not be under investigation by the department for criminal activity.
Proof of #1 will be a department issued ID and #'s 2 & 3 can be resolved with a quick call to the department. I don't see how this is complex at all.