Contact with Police officers/Sheriff etc

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dandan

Joined
Mar 10, 2006
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I carry a Spyderco Para 3 everywhere , clipped to my trouser(pants) pocket. Never had a LEO come up to me to enquire about what I am carrying. I live rural France , and have never been stopped.

Have you ever been challenged by a cop , outdoors , or in a mall/shop asking ' what is that' ? Do you have to comply ?

I realise that not all states or cities in USA are ok with open carry , but a less than 3 inch folder clipped to your pocket , should not warrant a stop and search!

Have you got any tales to tell on any bad days at the office?
 
dandan said:
I carry a Spyderco Para 3 everywhere , clipped to my trouser(pants) pocket. but a less than 3 inch folder clipped to your pocket , should not warrant a stop and search!

Have you got any tales to tell on any bad days at the office?
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An officer doesn't know what size knife you are carrying based on the pocket clip. He or she might have stopped you and asked to see the knife to make sure you are complying with the 3 inch or less law.

I've never been stopped and searched due to a knife or pocket clip showing.

The only time things have gotten a little tense is when I've been pulled over by police due to traffic issues. I have my CPL (concealed pistol license) and usually a pocket knife on me. The police usually radio for backup as a safety precaution. I have always gotten my handgun and knife back since I follow the rules.
 
In the US it really depends on where you are and what you are doing. Police have a lot of discretion. In my area, I can carry most anything i want. Assisted, fixed blade, hunting knife, double action auto, etc. As long as it's not a throwing star, I'm good;) That said, if I were to pack around a sword on my back, it would be legal but I'm sure a police officer would question my choice and intent.

Police are people. People respond to positive behavior positively. Dont do anything stupid or blatantly illegal, and you should be fine. I will say that I would never push my luck in areas where local knife laws are draconian and enforced. However, I usually hang out in rural flyover country where I belong and a conversation with a cop about a knife will be more of interest and admiration than suspicion.
 
It's legal to carry a knife here concealed or openly in my state. So it wouldn't be a problem at all unless you did or said something to make it a problem.
I got pulled over for a minor traffic violation about a year ago. I had a small fixed blade clipped to my backpack where my ID was. So I told the officer the knife was there and and that I didn't want to get shot. He really wasn't amused.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
In the US it really depends on where you are and what you are doing. Police have a lot of discretion. In my area, I can carry most anything i want. Assisted, fixed blade, hunting knife, double action auto, etc. As long as it's not a throwing star, I'm good;) That said, if I were to pack around a sword on my back, it would be legal but I'm sure a police officer would question my choice and intent.

Police are people. People respond to positive behavior positively. Dont do anything stupid or blatantly illegal, and you should be fine. I will say that I would never push my luck in areas where local knife laws are draconian and enforced. However, I usually hang out in rural flyover country where I belong and a conversation with a cop about a knife will be more of interest and admiration than suspicion.
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Ha just through your description of what you could carry I knew you were in Indiana. Thats funny.
 
Sure he wasn’t just interested in what knife u had? I work on an ambulance and cops, fire, and ems ask one another all the time “hey that’s a such and such clip what cha carrying”? Kind of thing.
 
RealVendetta said:
Ha just through your description of what you could carry I knew you were in Indiana. Thats funny.
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I dunno what happened to some lawmaker once upon a time to sour them so on throwing stars. To my knowledge we had no ninja infestation back in the 1980s.

It's weird. I'm carrying a little khukuri in a shoulder rig sporting an 8" blade. That's totally kosher, but it's a felony for me to carry the least deadly throwing weapon, as to my knowledge the law only mentions stars.

I actually had a late forum friend who moved to Japan to study Japanese martial arts and ninjutsu. He even made a couple of videos on how to palm and throw these weapons with accuracy. Pretty cool stuff. However, in his training, throwing weapons were always a last ditch evasion tool. You were throwing them to assassinate someone. They're kinda terrible for that unless you get them some place soft and dont mind waiting for them to bleed out over several minutes. Instead, you would chuck a small knife or star at a persuer in order to get them off your tail. People stop chasing you if they have piece of metal stuck in their shin or foot or arm or whatever random place it would strike.
 
Never had a LEO ask me what was clipped to my pocket or in my belt pouch.
But when I was 16 and doing something I shouldn't have been, a cop helped himself to a stockman I had in my pocket.
 
I'm blessed enough to live in a very rural community. Its legal and I've never had an issue.

Most of our sheriff deputies are too busy with meth/pill heads that haven't showered in a month anyway.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
I dunno what happened to some lawmaker once upon a time to sour them so on throwing stars. To my knowledge we had no ninja infestation back in the 1980s.

It's weird. I'm carrying a little khukuri in a shoulder rig sporting an 8" blade. That's totally kosher, but it's a felony for me to carry the least deadly throwing weapon, as to my knowledge the law only mentions stars.
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I know exactly why lawmakers soured on throwing stars. Back in the mid-1980s, there was a well-known karate tournament fighter (often featured in Karate Illustrated and Official Karate magazines) from Amherst, MA, named Larry Kelley who also worked for the US postal service, and he noticed there was a loophole that allowed martial arts weapons like shuriken (AKA “throwing stars”), nunchaku (AKA “nunchucks”) and manrikigusari (AKA “fighting chains”) to be sent through the mail. He lobbied in front of Senator Ted Kennedy to ban them. IIRC, nunchaku had already been illegal to carry for years at the time. Kelley was convinced that these martial arts weapons spelled doom for the nation’s kids. This was due to the popularity of ninja movies at the time. After he succeeded with his campaign, he was pretty much blackballed from appearing in the martial arts magazines.

If he were still alive today and still working for the postal service, I wouldn’t be surprised if he would try to ban the sale of one-hand opening knives through the mail, if he became aware of them.

As for if I’ve ever been bothered by a cop for a knife? Never. And i carry folders of any size up to just over 4” blade lengths. The only time an officer of any type has ever brought up one of my knives is when I was visiting Health and Human Services and about to go through a metal detector, the guard manning the detector saw my pocket clip and said, “Sir, if that’s a knife, you’ll have to take it back to your car. Knives are restricted beyond this point.” Which is perfectly understandable. I’d forgotten that the knife was there. The knife in question was a CRK small Inkosi.

Jim
 
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dandan said:
I carry a Spyderco Para 3 everywhere , clipped to my trouser(pants) pocket. Never had a LEO come up to me to enquire about what I am carrying. I live rural France , and have never been stopped.

Have you ever been challenged by a cop , outdoors , or in a mall/shop asking ' what is that' ? Do you have to comply ?

I realise that not all states or cities in USA are ok with open carry , but a less than 3 inch folder clipped to your pocket , should not warrant a stop and search!

Have you got any tales to tell on any bad days at the office?
Click to expand...

Cop's are like predatory cats: when you encounter one you should brandish whatever weapons you've got in a threatening manner, yell loudly and make yourself seem as imposing as possible. Remember, they're more afraid of you than you are of them.

Cops in Texas don't care about knives as long as you're not behaving like a moron.
 
I got pulled over for speeding in 2004 in my first cobra. It was an area where speed dropped for the sole purpose of catching folks. I didn’t know that then. Was doing 65 in a 55. When i got out, cop saw the Spyderco clip. Told me “first thing you gonna do is put that knife back in your car”. I complied. No problem. Then he wrote me a ticket. After that, standing st the hood of his car, his demeanor changed. He got all friendly and asked “hey mind if I check your car out?” as I was walking back to it. (It was a beatiful candy red with silver stripes, hallibrand wheels, big ole 335 rear tires, all accessories was chromed, nice car). I looked at him with confusion (id have to imagine it was anyway) and just said “yeah, I do”, hopped over the door, and left. When i pulled off, he was still kinda standing there.
 
Nope, heck I got out of my car yesterday with my 30 06 slung over my should to walk to my house and the police just waved at me.....perks of living in a small town I guess
 
my father was a police officer, worked for LAPD for like 23 years and I learned a lot from him, do what they ask and be polite,if he/she ask to see your knife let them reach for it or remove it from your Pocket ,and study knife laws regarding the state your in, if your pulled over in a car be the 1st to say ( I'm carrying a knife on me) most of the time they will move on.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
I dunno what happened to some lawmaker once upon a time to sour them so on throwing stars. To my knowledge we had no ninja infestation back in the 1980s.
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How could you possibly know? No one can see them. There might be a blatant ninja problem right now. Or not, because the stars are outlawed.

Seriously though, I live in the Netherlands and I never had an issue up til now. And if a cop does stop me, I'll just try to be polite.
 
I'm a retired LEO and seldom have any LEO contacts but they are usually quite cordial when I do.

FWIW, in CA, there are 2 levels law to consider relating to the possession of a knife in public.

Under state law:

1) It is legal to openly carry any fixed blade knife of any length that categorized as a "dirk or dagger" but it is illegal to carry any such knife concealed.
2) It is legal to carry any folding knife regardless of length concealed as long as it is closed; if it is open, the fixed blade rule applies.
3) It is illegal to carry an automatic knife greater than 2" in length concealed or a butterfly knife regardless of length or means of carry; if the auto is open, the fixed blade rule applies.
4) It is also illegal to carry any fixed blade or locking folder greater than 2.5" in length on the grounds of any K-12 school or college/university, regardless of the means of carry.

Under local law:

The rules vary depending on the jurisdiction but it is common to limit the length of any knife (fixed or folding) to 3" or less. Otherwise, state rules apply.
 
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