A close encounter in NYC yesterday...

M

mucklechumps

Joined
May 16, 2011
Messages
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I'm working in New York City for a month and a half and I carry a knife clipped to my pocket. I use it for work (audio mixer for TV) and the knife I brought is a Fantoni Rumici with a 3" blade and thumb studs. I have quite a few knives in my working collection but I chose this one because its very stiff to open and I've heard stories about guys getting busted with "gravity" knives.
Anyway, I was coming out of a Chase Bank on 19th street and 6th Ave when this guy walks forcefully up to me and says we need to talk. He shows me his badge and asks to see the knife. As I'm unclipping it from my pants he grabs it from me and starts violently snapping it to get the blade to release, which it didn't. He then opened it by hand and asked me where I'm from. I said "Maine" and he looked at me funny and told me to put the knife in my pocket and not keep it clipped. As I'm putting it away this other a$$hole plainclothes cop grabs the knife from me and tries to snap it open even harder than the first guy. It was pathetic. He finally gave me the knife back and the 2 of them got into the passenger and drivers seat of a cab which I'm assuming was an unmarked cop car.
The moral of my story is "If you think you wont get caught with a knife in NYC, you will and it had better be nice and tight or you'll be in trouble".
 
You got lucky. People have been taken in for just that clip showing. Knives in NYC have to be completely concealed.
 
Gosh, that makes me sick. From what i read here, I am thinking those guys were not even cops. A good cop would not treat a civilian that way. I am an officer myself, and if I were to see another officer harrasing a civilian, I would make sure they get a lesson in manners that they will not forget. Aikido style.
 
My labs are on Long Island, and I carry a medium to large-sized folder everyday, anything from a Shallot, ZT0400, to a Military. It's usually clipped in my back pocket but covered by my shirttail or jacket. However, our corporate office is in NYC, and I have to go in once or twice a week. Whenever I do, I take a much smaller knife with me, like a Leek or SRM 702 and it is unclipped in my side pocket. Sometimes, just the lanyard is showing so I don't have to fish for into my pocket it if I need it. I don't wanna jinx myself, but so far so good. Thinking about a Spyderco Balance for my NYC knife, since it looks so benign.
 
New York is a big city, with a BIG police force. Got to find something for them to do. Why else would an undercover operation, two officers, find the time to bug a citizen about a tiny piece of metal? Why would they have orders to snap pocket knives around to see if they violate an obscure and useless ordinance?

I saw undercover officers wait near turnstiles and catch fare-beaters jumping them. At least that brought in habitual criminals with outstanding warrants in many cases. How many repeat offenders has Vance pulled in?

They are doing NYPD a lot of long-term harm. I spent most of my life in the City and we were taught to respect the police. That was then ...
 
Esav Benyamin said:
we were taught to respect the police. That was then ...
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Back in the day, they earned it. Some still do, but their numbers are dwindling. Society has decayed to such a degree that I think the police increasing must assume that everyone they encounter is a bad guy who needs to be treated poorly. And when they treat us all like dirt - which many now do - they lose the respect we "good guys" would like to give them but cannot.
 
Small town NJ is like NYC was in the 50s. These guys are our neighbors, not an invading foreign army.

Speaking of which, I once read that Alexander's army of Macedonians that conquered an empire for him was about the size of NYC's police force.
 
As a former NYC LEO, the two in the cab were either the conditions unit or crime unit and they MUST make arrests to stay in that unit. I am surprise they did not give you a summons for the exposed knife ( if it was closer to the end of the month they would have as that is when the months numbers are up) ....Never carry an asisited opener in NYC as the NYPD legal division has deemed them to be switchblades and you will be arretsed on that basis. You may win in court, but is that what you want?
 
I think the thing that saved me was being very polite and looking like a tourist. It was the middle of the afternoon on a crowded sidewalk so it was kind of amazing they even saw the clip which would have been partially obscured by my jacket. I'm just glad I wasn't carrying an easy to open knife. I've stopped carrying it altogether for the rest of my otherwise very pleasant stay in The Big Apple.
 
I've been to NYC three times on business and once for my sister's wedding. Last trip there I naively had a CS Recon clipped to my pocket and was completely ignorant that the law could be so different from Upstate NY. Luckily I wasn't apprehended by NYs finest. I will never willing set foot in that place again, the police and government there give the entire state a bad name.
 
Although the situation was unfortunate, it does illustrate the point that it is a good idea to check on the knife laws if you are going to be visiting or working somewhere away from where you normally live and work.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
New York is a big city, with a BIG police force. Got to find something for them to do. Why else would an undercover operation, two officers, find the time to bug a citizen about a tiny piece of metal? Why would they have orders to snap pocket knives around to see if they violate an obscure and useless ordinance?

I saw undercover officers wait near turnstiles and catch fare-beaters jumping them. At least that brought in habitual criminals with outstanding warrants in many cases. How many repeat offenders has Vance pulled in?

They are doing NYPD a lot of long-term harm. I spent most of my life in the City and we were taught to respect the police. That was then ...
Click to expand...

I can't agree with this more.

It's policies like these that make myself and quite a few others (law abiding citizens in every respect) distrust and utterly refuse to cooperate/deal with the police in any way. Basically, unless there is something pressing, I refuse to speak to or otherwise help a cop in anyway.

Esav Benyamin said:
Small town NJ is like NYC was in the 50s. These guys are our neighbors, not an invading foreign army.

Speaking of which, I once read that Alexander's army of Macedonians that conquered an empire for him was about the size of NYC's police force.
Click to expand...

The original Macedonian army was about 20,000 men. They were, however, highly trained for their day (think Spartans without the rampant buggery). Alexander conquered more by diplomacy then by anything else (the Romans later used this method of conquest) so his numbers swelled as he marched further and further East.
 
It's stories like these that explain why even though I only live 90 minutes from NYC I've been there less than a half a dozen times in 37 years. I don't even like driving past it on my way to PA.
 
Not that I had any intentions of going to NYC, but that will keep me from going unless I absolutely have to.
 
You were obviously a threat to society. I'm surprised they didn't billy club you on the spot.
 
I've driven 3 hours out of my way around NYC more than once on my trips North. And Maryland is another on my list to avoid.
 
Work may possibly move me there in the new year. I'm dreading it... Is there any folding knife that will not catch attention from the police? Am I simply not allowed to clip it to my pocket? I've grown very fond of my folders and would hate to not be able to carry them.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Small town NJ is like NYC was in the 50s. These guys are our neighbors, not an invading foreign army.

Speaking of which, I once read that Alexander's army of Macedonians that conquered an empire for him was about the size of NYC's police force.
Click to expand...
Esav thats very interesting-the armies we see from history in the movies are probably a lot larger than they really were in the day. The English civil war was a series of running battles -more like large gangs going at each other than anything on the military scale of today.
OP -how did they know you had a knife ?
 
Shabada said:
Work may possibly move me there in the new year. I'm dreading it... Is there any folding knife that will not catch attention from the police? Am I simply not allowed to clip it to my pocket? I've grown very fond of my folders and would hate to not be able to carry them.
Click to expand...
Remove the clip and carry completely concealed. My preference is the right front trouser pocket. Check yourself in front of a full-length mirror to determine the effectiveness of your concealment technique. If you can see your knife "printing", rest assured that any nearby LEO will see it too.
 
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