Police pull you over and ask if you have guns in the car, what can you answer?

VitalDude said:
Stop me if I'm wrong, but...

If you are pulled over for speeding, busted tail light, or some sort of equivalent, the purpose of the stop is solely focused on the infraction...

"Do you know why I am pulling you over?"
"No, officer, I do not know why."
"Your tail light is busted."

The officer is permitted to ask for license, registration, proof of insurance (in some states), however if they start asking questions that are outside of the infraction discussed above (such as if you have any guns in the car), can't you simply ask if you are being detained, and if you are, request legal counsel before any questions are answered?
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You don’t have to answer questions even if you have counsel present.
 
VitalDude said:
Stop me if I'm wrong, but...

If you are pulled over for speeding, busted tail light, or some sort of equivalent, the purpose of the stop is solely focused on the infraction...

"Do you know why I am pulling you over?"
"No, officer, I do not know why."
"Your tail light is busted."

The officer is permitted to ask for license, registration, proof of insurance (in some states), however if they start asking questions that are outside of the infraction discussed above (such as if you have any guns in the car), can't you simply ask if you are being detained, and if you are, request legal counsel before any questions are answered?
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The police can detain you for a reasonable period of time "necessary to complete the purpose of the stop" before it becomes an arrest entitling you to counsel. You do not have to answer any questions beyond basic identification during that time. But there's an exception. As others have pointed out some states impose a "duty to inform," either immediately or when asked if you are carrying. The problem is that most people, including myself, only know whether the duty exists in their home state and perhaps a couple of others. I know of no state where you have to inform them about firearms stored out of your immediate control.

I'll note a few other things in passing. First, at a traffic stop, a cop can legally order you out of the car with no additional justification. Second, more than a few cops are good at "inventing" reasonable suspicion after the fact. Third, if most cops think you are uncooperative, you'll lose any chance of escaping with a warning. So keep your anger under control and make your decisions based on your read of the situation.
 
Parker Schreiber said:
The police can detain you for a reasonable period of time "necessary to complete the purpose of the stop" before it becomes an arrest entitling you to counsel. You do not have to answer any questions beyond basic identification during that time. But there's an exception. As others have pointed out some states impose a "duty to inform," either immediately or when asked if you are carrying. The problem is that most people, including myself, only know whether the duty exists in their home state and perhaps a couple of others. I know of no state where you have to inform them about firearms stored out of your immediate control.

I'll note a few other things in passing. First, at a traffic stop, a cop can legally order you out of the car with no additional justification. Second, more than a few cops are good at "inventing" reasonable suspicion after the fact. Third, if most cops think you are uncooperative, you'll lose any chance of escaping with a warning. So keep your anger under control and make your decisions based on your read of the situation.
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Many moons ago I was pulled over for what I assumed was speeding. I had a much heavier foot when I was younger. The cop was really agitated and with his hand on his gun he ordered me out of my car. He told me to put my hands on my hood and keep them there. He frisked me and then warned me that if I removed my hands from the hood I would be shot. He then ransacked my car. Front and back. I had no clue what the reason was and I was young and dumb and basically shitting myself trying to figure out what the hell was going on. The cop found nothing and he looked disappointed. He finally let me back into the car and gave me a speeding ticket. That's when I noticed the bastard had taken my last $10 that was on the passenger seat. That was for my dinner at McDs. I went hungry that night. Still have no clue what was going on.
 
teamRR said:
Troopers are usually cut & dry stops. Professional. Usually no stupid questions, prying, or "ideas", but they are gonna follow protocol.

It's the town cops, total crap shoot :) - those are the ones where a badged 23 year old might follow you for 3 miles with their head lights off, then ask you 18 pointed questions attempting to indicate you were drinking. Or they might watch you wiz by at 25 over the speed limit, ding the hood of the cruiser with a beer can, and go back to watching midget porn on their ipad.
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From my mis-spent youth, I can attest to the fact that bouncing an empty beer can off the hood of a cruiser is an open invitation to a lengthy percussive retraining protocol.
Stupid should hurt, and it sometimes it does...
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
According to my basic safety class instructor, if a cop pulls you over, and you are still inside your car, then you can legally tell them "No", even if you have guns in the car or on your body.

If the cop then tells you to step outside, you will have to tell them you have a gun, keep your hands away from it and hope the officer is having a good day overall.

Thoughts?
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Your basic safety instructor was incompetent.

There is a difference between STFU regarding a gun and lying. Lying to a cop is an offense, and one likely to be looked down upon by any licensing officer if it involves the presence of a firearm.
 
Rockrivr1 said:
Many moons ago I was pulled over for what I assumed was speeding. I had a much heavier foot when I was younger. The cop was really agitated and with his hand on his gun he ordered me out of my car. He told me to put my hands on my hood and keep them there. He frisked me and then warned me that if I removed my hands from the hood I would be shot. He then ransacked my car. Front and back. Still have no clue what was going on.
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If you pulled over as soon as the cop hit the lights, my guess is that you ran into a "bully with a badge" having a bad day. In order to frisk you, he should have had "reasonable suspicion," but as I noted, had you filed a complaint he would have invented something.
 
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