East Providence, RI. 1am, coming from my girls house. i'm a MA resident, i hadn't been drinking or doing any drugs, no drugs in the car. pulled over for speeding by RI state police, 68 in a 55. 2 cops in one cruiser, most likely a trainee situation. Glock 27 under my driver seat loaded, when i saw their lights i got nervous cuz i have no RI gun permit, so i pulled the gun out from my jacket pocket and put it under my seat. here's what happened:
Cop 1: i stopped you for speeding, license and reg please
Me: here's my license, i'll grab my reg from the glove box (hand over both)
Cop 1: u seem nervous, everything okay?
Me: yes, i'm being pulled over, cops are intimidating
Cop 1: have you been drinking or doing any drugs?
Me: nope
Cop 1: where are you coming from?
Me: my girl's house, she lives in johnston
Cop 1: how long were you at her house?
Me: since about 7pm
Cop 1: where do you live?
Me: westport, MA
Cop 1: your reg says fall river
Me: i just moved Jan 1st
Cop 1: any drugs in the car?
Me: nope
Cop 1: ever been arrested?
Me: nope
Cop 1: step out of the vehicle for me please, jump out the passenger side, i don't want you getting out on the highway side (i get out, he starts shining the flash light in my eyes and smelling me to see if i'm DUI)
Cop 2: put your hands on your trunk please
Cop 1: so your sure you have no drugs in your car?
Me: yes i'm sure
Cop 2: do you have any guns or weapons on you? (he starts to pat me down)
Me: nope
Cop 1: do you mind if i do a quick search of your vehicle to verify you have no illegal substances in there?
Me: i don't feel you have a reason to search my car, but go ahead
Cop 1: i just want to verify you have no drugs in the car
Cop 2: do you have any weapons in the car?
Me: i do, there's a handgun under my driver seat, i have a MA LTC
Cop 1: WHAT?? cuff him!! (he says to cop 2)
cop 2 cuffs me, tells me to sit on the ram bar. i asked him to put up my jacket hood cuz i have a bald head and i was freezing. he didn't, he said i'll be fine. cop 1 starts looking for the gun, couldn't find it
Cop 1: where is the gun?
Me: under the front drivers seat
Cop 1: is it loaded?
Me: yes
Cop 1: is the safety on?
Me: it's a glock, no safety
Cop 1: where is your gun license physically?
Me: in my money clip, in my center console
he finally finds the gun and my LTC, releases mag, clears chamber....gun, mag, bullet on top of my car, slide locked open
Cop 1: (to cop 2) i'm gonna continue to search, stand there with him
Cop 2: is that a Glock?
Me: yes, Glock 27
Cop 2: that's what, .40?
Me: yup
Cop 2: how long u had you LTC?
Me: since i was 21yo, 8 years
Cop 2: why do you have an LTC?
Me: why not?
Cop 2: i mean what did you put on your application when you applied?
Me: all lawful purposes
Cop 2: that's all you need to put for a reason in MA??
Me: yup
Cop 2: hmmm, interesting. why was it under your seat, wouldn't you want it on you?
Me: it was in my jacket pocket, i got nervous when i saw your lights and put it under the seat
Cop 2: it's best to just keep it on you
Me: i understand
a few minutes go by, cop 1 finishes the search, finds nothing
Cop 1: my search is complete, i didn't find anything....do you mind if we call your girlfriend to verify you were with her tonight?
Me: i guess so, she might be sleeping by now
Cop 1: where is your phone
Me: center console
they ask me her name, find her number in my phone
Cop 1: stay seated on the front of my car, we'll be back in a few minutes
both cops return to their cruiser, leaving me outside, cuffed, FREEZING for about 15 min. finally they get out and approach me
Cop 1: we spoke to your girlfriend, she verified everything you told us. i don't believe you are under the influence of any drugs or alchohol, the vehicle search was clean, and you were honest with us. technically you could be arrested for having that loaded gun under your seat. i'm not going to do that, and most other officers in RI wouldn't either. since your licensed in a neighboring state we usually respect that as long your not under the influence or actually using the gun irresponsibly.
Me: the way i understood it, i can drive through RI with the gun as long as i don't stop and get out carrying it anywhere.
Cop 1: you can drive through, but you said you stopped at your girl's house
Me: yes but i didn't carry it in with me, i locked it in my gun vault box which you probably saw in the trunk?
Cop 1: i did see that....well in the future, if your going to be driving through RI, keep it on your person concealed. if it's not on your person, it needs to be unloaded and locked in that box.
Me: i understand
Cop 2: i am issuing you a ticket for speeding, i indicated 65 in a 55 zone, fine is $95. please sign for me
Cop 1: i'm going to put the magazine in your glove box, and the gun in your trunk
Me: okay
he literally just placed the gun in my trunk, not in the lock box, slide open, and closed the trunk lid. handed me my licenses & reg.
Cop 1: have a great night, be safe, slow it down a bit
Me: thanks
sooooo yeaahhhh, catastrophe avoided??? i thought i was going to jail, i know i was on the edge cuz i didn't have a non-resident RI permit. although i feel they searched my car unlawfully, i'm glad i went home to my bed.
Cop 1: i stopped you for speeding, license and reg please
Me: here's my license, i'll grab my reg from the glove box (hand over both)
Cop 1: u seem nervous, everything okay?
Me: yes, i'm being pulled over, cops are intimidating
Cop 1: have you been drinking or doing any drugs?
Me: nope
Cop 1: where are you coming from?
Me: my girl's house, she lives in johnston
Cop 1: how long were you at her house?
Me: since about 7pm
Cop 1: where do you live?
Me: westport, MA
Cop 1: your reg says fall river
Me: i just moved Jan 1st
Cop 1: any drugs in the car?
Me: nope
Cop 1: ever been arrested?
Me: nope
Cop 1: step out of the vehicle for me please, jump out the passenger side, i don't want you getting out on the highway side (i get out, he starts shining the flash light in my eyes and smelling me to see if i'm DUI)
Cop 2: put your hands on your trunk please
Cop 1: so your sure you have no drugs in your car?
Me: yes i'm sure
Cop 2: do you have any guns or weapons on you? (he starts to pat me down)
Me: nope
Cop 1: do you mind if i do a quick search of your vehicle to verify you have no illegal substances in there?
Me: i don't feel you have a reason to search my car, but go ahead
Cop 1: i just want to verify you have no drugs in the car
Cop 2: do you have any weapons in the car?
Me: i do, there's a handgun under my driver seat, i have a MA LTC
Cop 1: WHAT?? cuff him!! (he says to cop 2)
cop 2 cuffs me, tells me to sit on the ram bar. i asked him to put up my jacket hood cuz i have a bald head and i was freezing. he didn't, he said i'll be fine. cop 1 starts looking for the gun, couldn't find it
Cop 1: where is the gun?
Me: under the front drivers seat
Cop 1: is it loaded?
Me: yes
Cop 1: is the safety on?
Me: it's a glock, no safety
Cop 1: where is your gun license physically?
Me: in my money clip, in my center console
he finally finds the gun and my LTC, releases mag, clears chamber....gun, mag, bullet on top of my car, slide locked open
Cop 1: (to cop 2) i'm gonna continue to search, stand there with him
Cop 2: is that a Glock?
Me: yes, Glock 27
Cop 2: that's what, .40?
Me: yup
Cop 2: how long u had you LTC?
Me: since i was 21yo, 8 years
Cop 2: why do you have an LTC?
Me: why not?
Cop 2: i mean what did you put on your application when you applied?
Me: all lawful purposes
Cop 2: that's all you need to put for a reason in MA??
Me: yup
Cop 2: hmmm, interesting. why was it under your seat, wouldn't you want it on you?
Me: it was in my jacket pocket, i got nervous when i saw your lights and put it under the seat
Cop 2: it's best to just keep it on you
Me: i understand
a few minutes go by, cop 1 finishes the search, finds nothing
Cop 1: my search is complete, i didn't find anything....do you mind if we call your girlfriend to verify you were with her tonight?
Me: i guess so, she might be sleeping by now
Cop 1: where is your phone
Me: center console
they ask me her name, find her number in my phone
Cop 1: stay seated on the front of my car, we'll be back in a few minutes
both cops return to their cruiser, leaving me outside, cuffed, FREEZING for about 15 min. finally they get out and approach me
Cop 1: we spoke to your girlfriend, she verified everything you told us. i don't believe you are under the influence of any drugs or alchohol, the vehicle search was clean, and you were honest with us. technically you could be arrested for having that loaded gun under your seat. i'm not going to do that, and most other officers in RI wouldn't either. since your licensed in a neighboring state we usually respect that as long your not under the influence or actually using the gun irresponsibly.
Me: the way i understood it, i can drive through RI with the gun as long as i don't stop and get out carrying it anywhere.
Cop 1: you can drive through, but you said you stopped at your girl's house
Me: yes but i didn't carry it in with me, i locked it in my gun vault box which you probably saw in the trunk?
Cop 1: i did see that....well in the future, if your going to be driving through RI, keep it on your person concealed. if it's not on your person, it needs to be unloaded and locked in that box.
Me: i understand
Cop 2: i am issuing you a ticket for speeding, i indicated 65 in a 55 zone, fine is $95. please sign for me
Cop 1: i'm going to put the magazine in your glove box, and the gun in your trunk
Me: okay
he literally just placed the gun in my trunk, not in the lock box, slide open, and closed the trunk lid. handed me my licenses & reg.
Cop 1: have a great night, be safe, slow it down a bit
Me: thanks
sooooo yeaahhhh, catastrophe avoided??? i thought i was going to jail, i know i was on the edge cuz i didn't have a non-resident RI permit. although i feel they searched my car unlawfully, i'm glad i went home to my bed.
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