Having tools in your truck is one hell of a lot different than carrying bolt cutters around in your backpack...buddy. But whatever. Think what you want but there's not a cop in the land that wouldn't give some loner with bolt cutters the minimum of a good hard look. But whatever. Have you had a lot of roadside encounters with police? ;')
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A vagabond gear list
- Thread starter sideways
- Start date
- Joined
- May 19, 2007
- Messages
- 7,745
car, License, and and address to find you, probably not up to no good. No fixed address, probably going to get different questions. I had tools out in my car once after helping a friend, it was cold, so instead of putting them in the toolbox, they just went on the floor so we could get going. busted tail light, and the cop was very suspicious of the tools. I guess to him it could have looked like the tools one might need to steal a car, it helped that the car was in my name. But 0400h in a part of town known to be not so nice (we had to cross it to get to where we wanted to go) yep, I can see now how it looked.
Just curious, but are you a "former" LEO because you arrested or detained people for doing things that aren't illegal?As a former LEO, my first reaction to the bolt cutters was.....those will get you arrested ( at least detained) quicker than anything else in that gear pack. ;')
I seriously doubt that there is any jurisdiction in the US where it's illegal to carry bolt cutters around in a bag. And to arrest a person, or even detain a person without clear and lawful justification is a violation of their Constitutional rights.
And how would an LEO know that a person was carrying bolt cutters in their bag? Last time I checked, citizens of the US have a 4th Amendment right against unlawful search and seizure. Which means that LEO's can't just go around detaining people at random and searching their belongings.
If you can cite any statute in any US penal code that says it is illegal to carry bolt cutters on ones person I'd be very happy to read it.
And if any LEO regards the penal code as irrelevant in the execution of their duties, then it wouldn't surprise me at all if their career in law enforcement were short lived. And I certainly hope that it would be short lived.
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- Joined
- May 19, 2007
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- 7,745
I won't really want to get into a debate, because I have no real info. But stories that go around about county cops and "sheriffs" leads me to believe that some folks shouldn't hang their hat on constitutional rights. Just a thought. Illegal or not. detainment sucks.
Just curious, but are you a "former" LEO because you arrested or detained people for doing things that aren't illegal?
Decided not to escalate even tho I find the implication rather insulting.
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California if you have criminal intent.If you can cite any statute in any US penal code that says it is illegal to carry bolt cutters on ones person I'd be very happy to read it.
So if there's also a ski mask in your backpack and it's 110 degrees outside, you're probably going to the pokey.California if you have criminal intent.
Florida, possession of burglary tools. Especially if in or around an area that has had burglaries recently, plus, unable to give a good reason for carrying them on your person, will get you arrested for loitering and prowling and possession of burg tools. Has been done many times and stands up in court.
I get hard looks because I OC. That's on the cops, not me.Having tools in your truck is one hell of a lot different than carrying bolt cutters around in your backpack...buddy. But whatever. Think what you want but there's not a cop in the land that wouldn't give some loner with bolt cutters the minimum of a good hard look. But whatever. Have you had a lot of roadside encounters with police? ;')
In the 40 decades I've been driving I've had quite a few roadside encounters with cops. Since I've moved to this county 9 years ago, many of those stops have just been cops on "fishing expeditions". Bad enough I finally complained. The fishing expeditions coincide with the time a big city out of towner became the Sheriff. Tried to vote him out earlier this week, but that was a no-go as beating an incumbent for that office here is a big uphill battle.
Does the Florida criminal code define bolt cutters as burglary tools?Florida, possession of burglary tools. Especially if in or around an area that has had burglaries recently, plus, unable to give a good reason for carrying them on your person, will get you arrested for loitering and prowling and possession of burg tools. Has been done many times and stands up in court.
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Here is a link to California's penal code- http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtmlCalifornia if you have criminal intent.
While there are three statutes in the entire CA penal code that specifically mention "boltcutters", none of those statutes says that it is illegal to merely possess boltcutters, or carry them around on ones person, or in a bag, or in a vehicle.
The closest that the California penal code comes to prohibiting the possession of boltcutters is CA pc 466.65 b. which says that it is illegal to possess boltcutters with the specific intent of stealing a motorcycle. But there is no mention of it being illegal to possess them for any other reasons.
It might be kinda hard to make an arrest on CA pc 466.65 b. stick, especially if the individual isn't standing near any motorcycles. "Intent" is often a very difficult crime to prove to begin with. And a violation of 466.65 b. is only a misdemeanor.
I'm guessing that CA pc 466.65 b. is an "add-on" charge. Like if a person is caught riding a stolen motorcycle and they are found to be carrying boltcutters. Grand theft (the motorcycle) is the heavy charge, and the violation 466.65 b. is an add-on charge to increase bail, jail time, etc.
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Florida, possession of burglary tools. Especially if in or around an area that has had burglaries recently, plus, unable to give a good reason for carrying them on your person, will get you arrested for loitering and prowling and possession of burg tools. Has been done many times and stands up in court.
Florida requires intent too. Florida Statutes - § 810.06 - Possession of burglary tools. Whoever has in his or her possession any tool, machine, or implement with intent to use the same, or allow the same to be used, to commit any burglary or trespass shall be guilty of a felony .
Possession alone is not a crime. Use alone is not a crime. The intent to use them as burglary or trespass tools is the crime.