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Traffic stop; LEO asks you, 'do you have any guns in the car'
- Thread starter boatman
- Start date
![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
![[laugh2]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/014.gif "Laugh at above [laugh2]")
So how do you proceed if the driver replies "MYOFB"?
There is a major cultural difference between AZ and MA! Officers getting an affirmation of guns in the car in MA are much more likely to do a felony stop than they would in AZ! In AZ there is an "expectation" that most cars contain guns . . . in MA the normal LE mindset is that only criminals carry guns (and I am serious when I state this)! [~250K permits and ~7million people and most permit holders are "owners" not "carriers" of firearms in MA!]
You're only laughing because you've met me in person, and you know that I don't have "guns."
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
Anyway, I just don't know why this question would ever come up in a routine traffic stop...? Has anyone ever been asked this during a stop? If so, what were the surrounding circumstances?
- HP
ochmude
Marine Veteran
Actually, that happened to me for the first time three days ago (maybe four, the days blend together).
Me: Are there any guns or drugs in the vehicle, sir?
Driver: I don't do drugs, but I'd really prefer not to answer that question as I feel it's my business.
(I saw an NRA sticker, Gadsden Flag sticker, and an anti-Obama stickers on the back of the back of his truck before the stop, so I wasn't extremely surprised by this response.)
Me: Okay, well you are driving very close to the border right now, so if you don't have a gun on you it might not be a bad idea to carry one. For future reference, if you drive in from the county road about two miles north you'll see a boat ramp that has some good fishing spots nearby. Drive safely, sir. (He'd told me he was looking for some spots to get close to the river with his truck to do some fishing.)
ochmude
Marine Veteran
Truth. Honestly, when people tell me that yes, they are armed, it tends to completely defuse the stop. If someone freely says "Yes, I am armed", they're probably not someone I need to worry about.
See above.
Good on you. I hope if I get stopped, it's you on the other side of the driver's window. But somehow I think there would be a different outcome here the the paradise known as the Northeast. An outcome that would involve eating pavement, and trying on some handcuffs.
ochmude
Marine Veteran
It's really easy to tell if they're lying, and just for the sake of efficiency. Believe it or not, sometimes people do admit to having drugs in their car, especially in CA (my AOR includes parts of southeastern California).
The thing to understand is that the question isn't asked in a vacuum. I look at the type and condition of the vehicle, how low the vehicle is riding on it's suspension (big one), the number of occupants, the style and condition of their clothing (another big one), and anything else I can observe. I also watch the reaction of the driver and all visible passengers when I ask my questions. You also need to understand that I don't work in "Let me see your LTC" territory. I ask the question not because I want to see if they're lawfully carrying, but to observe they're reaction to the question, especially if they say "no". It works. Now when I say this I don't mean that I just rip people's cars apart on hunches. I don't do a darn thing without real, articulable facts.
EDIT: Thinking about it further, I think the reason I ask about both guns and drugs in the same sentence is simply because that's the phrase that was taught to us in the Spanish academy. "Tiene armas o drogas en el vehículo". So I just stick with that out of habit.
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For what it's worth. I'm on the job in the NE and I also subscribe to the thought that anyone who is willing to tell me they're carrying is no harm to me or anyone else. In fact, it will probably get you off with a friendly verbal warning...
Ochmude is spot on. I normally never ask about weapons, but I have asked " do you have anything illegal or something you aren't supposed to have in your vehicle" to the operators who's actions, appearance or behavior dictate suspicion. Normally, however, gun situations either only come up if you're telling me, or I'm asking because we had some type of call or report.
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dcmdon
NES Member
In response to the OP.
You don't have to answer any LEOs question.
You should never lie to a LEO.
(Its generally illegal to lie to a LEO even though its legal for a LEO to lie to you. - don't blame the cops for that one. Blame the courts)
Simple as that.
You don't have to answer any LEOs question.
You should never lie to a LEO.
(Its generally illegal to lie to a LEO even though its legal for a LEO to lie to you. - don't blame the cops for that one. Blame the courts)
Simple as that.
Please tell all your friends.. Some of the young cops have no clue about guns in my town.
I helped a few get familiar with them before they had to qualify and it sure was interesting,..
dcmdon
NES Member
Thats a whole different problem.
A leo friend of mine told me that its not uncommon for younger cops to have never really handled any guns other than the ones they were trained on.
A leo friend of mine told me that its not uncommon for younger cops to have never really handled any guns other than the ones they were trained on.
TRUE
Its a shame.. Im not even sure if some needed to remove a fire arm from somebody and secure it he could..
Probably shoot themselves in the foot in the foot
dcmdon
NES Member
This LEO friend of mine is the firearms training officer in a metro Boston PD, so a lot of the hires are either:
1) People who were born and raised in an urban area
2) minorities
3) women
All groups who don't culturally engage in the shooting sports.
1) People who were born and raised in an urban area
2) minorities
3) women
All groups who don't culturally engage in the shooting sports.
+ 1 probably just about any where you happen to be.
A bit off topic, but as a fan of Twin Peaks the arrangement of posts #13 and #14 was beautiful.
And if he asks "Does your wife like it up the butt?" will you discuss that also? IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REASON FOR STOPPING YOU, SO HE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ASKING SUCH THINGS, PERIOD. So, STFU and don't say a damn thing about anything other then the issue of the stop.
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As to those who advocated lying or evasisve, just remember, lying to a local or state officer is not a per se crime. In general, not a good idea because it won't get you much consideration from the officer. In contrast, lying to ochmude is a federal 5 year felony. There's no direct Massachusetts equivalent to 18 USC 1001.
I'm sorry but when someone said that to me in the past it just made me question them more. In that it tosed up a red flag to me that they had something illeagal going on and were trying to get me "uninterested in them".
When anyone said that to me I would run there plates (we didn't have computers in the cars back then) and check them out more than if it was just a "ticket stop".
So sorry, that's a bad thing to say to a LEO, it just makes him / her think you are trying to hide something.
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