Knives vs guns when entering police dept

J

Joopie

Joined
Jul 10, 2021
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85
A couple years I went to the police department building renew my concealed carry permit. I went without a firearm but did have a folding manual knife. Upon entering the building, I dumped the contents of my pockets into the tray and slid it over to the other side of the metal detector. Behind the security area was a row of lots of little lockboxes for stowing handguns and it was marked as such. Guard picked up the knife, opened it, and told me I can't bring it in.

Me: "Err, could you stow it in one of those lock boxes?"

Guard: "No, that's only for guns."

Me: "So, you're saying I can walk in here with a gun, slide it over to you, and you stow it in one of those boxes?"

Guard: "Yes."

Me: "But not a knife?"

Guard: "Right."

Me: "Okay, so... pretend my knife is a gun." (I was trying to fish for a distaste of stupid rules)

Guard: "Can't do that."

Me: "I'm here to renew a carry permit. Are you sure you can't work with me here?"

Guard: "No."

So I sighed and walked back a couple blocks to my car, hid the knife away, and returned. I just thought that was very strange that I could go into a "secure" location with a gun and have it stowed upon entry, but couldn't do the same with a knife.
 
I've gotten into the habit of emptying my pocket contents in my car before entering any government building, except maybe the post office. Bars/club (when a door man is present) and airports.
 
When I worked in the El Paso courts , many people carried knives and occasionally a handgun. Not a big issue as knives would be left at the screening area and handguns would be stored in our lock box until they're on the way out.
 
The county court never used to care, didn't even have a metal detector. However, the third district circuit court near me was extremely strict. The wanted to confiscate a ring of mine because its large and was too much like a brass knuckle they said. Like I'm really gonna wear a ring with a 2 carat sapphire specifically for punching people. Unfortunately that ring was lost when I loaned it to my brother in law for their courthouse wedding. 12 years later and I'm still pissed.

I haven't ben to the courthouse since2016 (my divorce), but I'm sure being in Crook County its even worse now.

I generally avoid government buildings to begin with, but yeah its pretty much a given they aren't going to be thrilled with anything that can be construed as a weapon.

People freak out over everything now. I remember back in high school 25+ years ago, I brought a syringe to school in my pocket, no needle. I brought it with the express purpose of filling it with water and spraying a buddy of mine in the back of the head in class. Yeah I was a dick in high school. However, a kid in class saw me pull it out of my pocket, and right as I was pressing the plunger, another kid saw it, panicked and screamed "he's got a hypodermic needle!" While I still managed to spray my buddy, I did end up going to the vice principal's office. However, she just laughed but took it away from me. Sent me back to class telling me not to bring something like that again. I'm like whatever, as I walk back to class with my Sog Pentagon Elite clipped to my pocket.

My high school was extremely lax. The school police officer just stood out by the park lot and smoked with everyone. I actually saw him bum a cigarette off of a student. He would also drag race people in the parking lot.
 
Last edited:
K.O.D. said:
The county court never used to care, didn't even have a metal detector. However, the third district circuit court near me was extremely strict. The wanted to confiscate a ring of mine because its large and was too much like a brass knuckle they said. Like I'm really gonna wear a ring with a 2 carat sapphire specifically for punching people. Unfortunately that ring was lost when I loaned it to my brother in law for their courthouse wedding. 12 years later and I'm still pissed.

I haven't ben to the courthouse since2016 (my divorce), but I'm sure being in Crook County its even worse now.
Click to expand...
A 2 carat Sapphire?
Humma-gumma: that must have been a beauty!
 
Bob Denman said:
A 2 carat Sapphire?
Humma-gumma: that must have been a beauty!
Click to expand...
Meh, it was, but it was lab created, nothing special, but it looked special. I still have my ex-wife's engagement ring. Family heirloom stone, 1.5 carat from the 1920's started life as my great-grandfather's pinky ring. When I went to put it in a female setting, the jeweler couldn't believe the clarity of the stone. Its still ensured, but its nothing like what some of my client's have. I have one with $130k set of earrings! WTF. Um I'd rather have a car.
 
The security theater at some courthouses is pathetic. The least they could do is put checkpoints past the administrative areas where people have to go that have no contact or connection with the actual courtrooms or prisoners.
 
K.O.D. said:
The county court never used to care, didn't even have a metal detector. However, the third district circuit court near me was extremely strict. The wanted to confiscate a ring of mine because its large and was too much like a brass knuckle they said. Like I'm really gonna wear a ring with a 2 carat sapphire specifically for punching people. Unfortunately that ring was lost when I loaned it to my brother in law for their courthouse wedding. 12 years later and I'm still pissed.

I haven't ben to the courthouse since2016 (my divorce), but I'm sure being in Crook County its even worse now.

I generally avoid government buildings to begin with, but yeah its pretty much a given they aren't going to be thrilled with anything that can be construed as a weapon.

People freak out over everything now. I remember back in high school 25+ years ago, I brought a syringe to school in my pocket, no needle. I brought it with the express purpose of filling it with water and spraying a buddy of mine in the back of the head in class. Yeah I was a dick in high school. However, a kid in class saw me pull it out of my pocket, and right as I was pressing the plunger, another kid saw it, panicked and screamed "he's got a hypodermic needle!" While I still managed to spray my buddy, I did end up going to the vice principal's office. However, she just laughed but took it away from me. Sent me back to class telling me not to bring something like that again. I'm like whatever, as I walk back to class with my Sog Pentagon Elite clipped to my pocket.

My high school was extremely lax. The school police officer just stood out by the park lot and smoked with everyone. I actually saw him bum a cigarette off of a student. He would also drag race people in the parking lot.
Click to expand...

People like to dogpile on the 1990's as this slippery slope of PC-ness, but my high school was the same as yours. Granted, my high school was basically in the middle of a corn field in southern Indiana, but short of bringing a gun to school, they really didn't care. I carried a pocket knife with me most every day. Even used it to free a baby mouse off a mean-ass glue trap one morning before class started my senior year. One of the young business teachers burst down the hallway in near tears because this little fella was stuck ALL the way on a trap in her room. Since I was a weirdo and got to school around 6:30 in order to sit in the halls and finish my homework before anyone else was around, she asked if i could help. I ended up getting a little can of WD-40 out of my Camaro and used it and the tools on my Swiss Army Knife to pry the mouse off the glue. We set him free out in the grass, and I'm sure he either died from the shock and/or poison on the trap or turned right back around and got stuck somewhere else. But whatevs.

The moral of the story is that I got a nice very un-PC hug from a very cute teacher for saving the day :P

My highschool never actually had any sort of precaution or whatever until Columbine, and that happened about one month before I graduated.

As for government buildings, yeah those are crap shoot. My job entails pulling permits. Of the two counties I work in the most, one building has absolutely no restriction on what is in my pockets or on my belt. There isn't even a sign. The other county requires a trip through the metal detector and getting the stink eye every time I walk through because I am "*gasp* a contractor who wears steel toe boots 95% of the time and they have to wand my feet over for IEDs despite the fact that I am in there about every 4 days (12 years and no explosions...yet). Now I kinda get the security because the county courts are tied to the permitting offices, so they don't want weapons slipping through. However, after about 300 trips through the doors, you would think I would be a known quantity by now.

When I go in, I generally leave my belt, knife, multitool, gun, and everything else locked in my secure spot of my truck. I even take off my mostly plastic watch just so i won't be hassled. I bring my phone, wallet, keys, and sunglasses (because if I am going to keep hiking up my belt-less pants so my butt doesn't hang out in front of deputies, I'm at least going to look cool :cool:)
 
While I was serving out my High-School sentence so many years ago: it would have been ia surprise if there weren't at least a couple of deer rifles out in the parking lot at this time of year...
And any kid that didn't have a knife on them; would have missed out of the lunchtime mumbly-peg games...
 
In Pennsylvania they have always locked knives up for me when I went to renew my CC or record a deed. I even got a compliment on my Benchmade Contego.
 
Huh, I’ve had no issues going into the PD here with 2 knives and a Leatherman, even going into the armory-cum-server closet. Even used them right in front of an officer when I was opening up some zip ties. Maybe you could cultivate a better relationship with the police there?
 
I do as I'm told with any uniformed public servant. I do not want to be on the negative side of their job as it is never pleasant for the recipient and it is too often fatal.

In the words of Brendan Behan, "I have never seen a situation so dismal that a policeman couldn't make it worse."
 
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