Stopped by Police With EDC?

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addylo said:
Do NOT parse words with an LEO. Full disclosure would be your best course of action IMO. He is not interested in discussing the semantics of "weapon vs. tool" with you. He has a job to do and anything you can do to help him do it will only go in your favor and get you on your way much quicker.

Of course, I am not a lawyer and don't pretend to give legal advice in any way.

EDIT: And don't just whip the knife out and try to show it to him. The best way to handle it (again, in my non-lawyer opinion) would be to keep your hands visible and say, "Yes Sir, I have a knife in my right front pocket. How would you like me to proceed?"
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This is correct. I was stopped at a DUI checkpoint years ago. The officer asked if I had any guns or knives or weapon of any kind. I had a Cuda Maxx and a Sebenza and told him so. I did not have my pistol that evening (don't remember why not). He took the knives while he questioned me. Be courteous. Don't get pissed off. They have a job to do, and a dangerous one. He asked me why I had the big knife (Maxx 5.5), and I told him I was taking it to a friend's house to show him (the truth). He returned the knives when he was satisfied and I went on my way. If you're breaking the law with your edc, maybe you need to get a knife that you are allowed to carry.
 
I don't believe that concealed carry laws in NC apply to knives, but someone please correct me if this is wrong. In NC, if you have a CC permit, you are required to inform a police officer of this if stopped. In some towns, knives with blades longer than 3" are not allowed in parks or some other places. Check the local laws for this.
Don't speed and avoid going through stop signs. NC does set up license checks, but I can't imagine an officer asking about knives at one. They just want to see your license.
 
I travel and many states have laws that make knives illegal unless it's carried for a purpose. A knife carried for defense is illegal; the same knife carried as a tool is legal. My state is that way. If I am asked do I have any weapons (usually the phrase is "knives, guns, clubs, batons or weapons of any kind") I always answer, "I have no weapons, but I am carrying a pocket knife in my right front pocket." That's what both the cops and lawyers have indicated is a correct legal response for the situation. You don't always want the truth, you want the correct legal phrase as well.
 
brownshoe said:
I travel and many states have laws that make knives illegal unless it's carried for a purpose. A knife carried for defense is illegal; the same knife carried as a tool is legal. My state is that way. If I am asked do I have any weapons (usually the phrase is "knives, guns, clubs, batons or weapons of any kind") I always answer, "I have no weapons, but I am carrying a pocket knife in my right front pocket." That's what both the cops and lawyers have indicated is a correct legal response for the situation. You don't always want the truth, you want the correct legal phrase as well.
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My state is the same way, I carry non leathal tools for self defense. I also have had to walk with a cane for a few years now, it's a legal weapon if you know how to use it. Also in some states if you have keys attached to something that can be used for self defense it's a key chain not a weapon.
 
The few times that I've been asked for ID by an officer, I've simply handed them my pistol permit with my license. Usually they just hand the permit back. Never once have I been asked if I had a weapon on me after handing them the permit. Then again I'm only talking about traffic stops and checkpoints. The days of doing stupid things to attract police attention are well behind me. Being polite and direct helps show you have nothing to hide. Pretend you're a kid talking to your dad and only speak when spoken to. The more you talk, the more of a chance of digging yourself into a hole. The officer is not your friend. If he's the one who initiated contact, odds are he's looking for a reason to cite you for something. Sadly today in many areas it's gone from 'Serve and Protect' to 'Enforce and Collect'.
 
Frankly, I have more concern with a jury than an LEO. These days there are too many "politically correct" sheeple who have the common sense (and IQ) of a carrot and assume anyone with a "weapon" is a psychopath. We can mostly thank the media for that.

Say, for example, you ever have to defend yourself and your assailant is killed or injured. Every item on your person or in your car can be presented as evidence. So the jury sees that on your person you had a gun, a magazine or two with 20 or 30 rounds, one or two folders (the jury would probably see most of them as "big knives"), and a big honkin' fixed blade in the car. How hard would it be in this day and age for a prosecuting attorney to tilt the jury against you? In some parts of the country your goose would be cooked.
 
I don't get it. I am a LEO and i know i shouldn't get frustrated reading these posts, but i always do. It seems like there is two groups. People who know that politeness and being up front can only help you when dealing with officers. And people who are have this terrible attitude that officers are out to harass them no matter what the circumstances.

Please be up front about any weapons you have on you. I would really like to go home after my shift, and me asking about weapons is just making sure that i do. You cannot tell me that an officer treated you negatively after you informed him that you are carrying something that is classified a weapon, regardless of your interpretation. I honestly dont even ask you if you have a weapon, unless i want you to exit the vehicle. Obviously exiting the vehicle puts you in close proximity to me, where a weapon could be used against me. I am a big proponent of carrying weapons to protect yourself, as long as you do it legally. When someone informs me that they have a concealed carry permit, and are currently carrying, i always thank them, and almost always let them off with a warning for whatever i stopped them. Call it crazy, but i do not like to punish someone for informing me that they are carrying something that could potentially kill me.

I know this is a bit of a rant, but like i said, responses to these posts always get to me. Just be polite and up front about carrying a knife or a gun, and you will get through a stop safely. If an officer harasses or targets you for carrying a weapon, contact the department that he works for, and they will deal with it accordingly. Officers are rational people, and the ones that are not rational will not be on the job for long, because they will not be able to handle the job correctly, and that will soon catch up with them.
 
bobec57 said:
I don't get it. I am a LEO and i know i shouldn't get frustrated reading these posts, but i always do. It seems like there is two groups. People who know that politeness and being up front can only help you when dealing with officers. And people who are have this terrible attitude that officers are out to harass them no matter what the circumstances.

Please be up front about any weapons you have on you. I would really like to go home after my shift, and me asking about weapons is just making sure that i do. You cannot tell me that an officer treated you negatively after you informed him that you are carrying something that is classified a weapon, regardless of your interpretation. I honestly dont even ask you if you have a weapon, unless i want you to exit the vehicle. Obviously exiting the vehicle puts you in close proximity to me, where a weapon could be used against me. I am a big proponent of carrying weapons to protect yourself, as long as you do it legally. When someone informs me that they have a concealed carry permit, and are currently carrying, i always thank them, and almost always let them off with a warning for whatever i stopped them. Call it crazy, but i do not like to punish someone for informing me that they are carrying something that could potentially kill me.

I know this is a bit of a rant, but like i said, responses to these posts always get to me. Just be polite and up front about carrying a knife or a gun, and you will get through a stop safely. If an officer harasses or targets you for carrying a weapon, contact the department that he works for, and they will deal with it accordingly. Officers are rational people, and the ones that are not rational will not be on the job for long, because they will not be able to handle the job correctly, and that will soon catch up with them.
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Well said!:thumbup:
 
"Please be up front about any weapons you have on you. I would really like to go home after my shift, and me asking about weapons is just making sure that i do"

Why would the police ask about a weapon at a traffic stop or roadblock? And if I said "no" would that automatically mean "I don't" and you would just take my word for it? Why not just assume everybody does? Oh that's right. Ya'll do. So, again what's the point of asking?

"I honestly dont even ask you if you have a weapon, unless i want you to exit the vehicle."

Well good for you. Really. What about the ones that do ask about weapons? At traffic stops and roadblocks? I would hope if you ask someone to get out of the car, and they tell you they have no weapons, that you don't just believe them. If so, you have way more faith in people than I do.

My problem with cops is this. They are people too. And as just regular people they have the same mix of good and bad points. Maybe they just got in a fight with their wife. Maybe their kid just got busted. Maybe they just got divorced etc. etc. Or, maybe they are just a bad person. Just like there are bad people all over. Just because someone has a badge doesn't make them infallible. But the difference is. Someone having a bad day or someone who is a bad person doesn't have a gun, knife, pepper spray,bulletproof vest, baton, handcuffs and a shotgun or rifle or both plus the full cooperation of the judicial system available to them. They also don't generally pull me over or stop me at a roadblock for no reason other than "I can".

So that's it. I don't hate cops. Just the bad ones.
 
I guess it depends on where you live. I live in close proximity to the Mexican border. Vehicle stops here can produce several hundred to thousands of pounds of dope, thousands of dollars ($50,00 +) concealed in seats, frames, fender wells, etc. and large amounts of weapons. So police officers here work a little differently than say an officer in Frederick, Oklahoma. Though all officers want to go home at the end of their shift, I don't think that the officers here are worried about the folding pocket knife you are carrying, unless of course you are carrying a thousand pounds of dope :D
 
bobec57 said:
I don't get it. I am a LEO and i know i shouldn't get frustrated reading these posts, but i always do. It seems like there is two groups. People who know that politeness and being up front can only help you when dealing with officers. And people who are have this terrible attitude that officers are out to harass them no matter what the circumstances.

Please be up front about any weapons you have on you. I would really like to go home after my shift, and me asking about weapons is just making sure that i do. You cannot tell me that an officer treated you negatively after you informed him that you are carrying something that is classified a weapon, regardless of your interpretation. I honestly dont even ask you if you have a weapon, unless i want you to exit the vehicle. Obviously exiting the vehicle puts you in close proximity to me, where a weapon could be used against me. I am a big proponent of carrying weapons to protect yourself, as long as you do it legally. When someone informs me that they have a concealed carry permit, and are currently carrying, i always thank them, and almost always let them off with a warning for whatever i stopped them. Call it crazy, but i do not like to punish someone for informing me that they are carrying something that could potentially kill me.

I know this is a bit of a rant, but like i said, responses to these posts always get to me. Just be polite and up front about carrying a knife or a gun, and you will get through a stop safely. If an officer harasses or targets you for carrying a weapon, contact the department that he works for, and they will deal with it accordingly. Officers are rational people, and the ones that are not rational will not be on the job for long, because they will not be able to handle the job correctly, and that will soon catch up with them.
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Most of those with the problem are either those who have been abused by corrupt cops, or have seen it happening for themselves. Like the member here who was arrested for DUI even though the machine didn't register a BAC reading, was handcuffed to a chair at the precinct, and beaten with a phone book, only to be told later by the higher ups that the only reason his allegations were investigated in the first place was due to his military heritage/status.

It's very hard not to be soured when such things seem to be the everyday run of the mill that can be expected. There's a ton of video documenting bad behavior on the part of police, numerous reports of police chiefs siding with said bad officers and their decisions, numerous accounts of the DA choosing not to seek criminal charges for any reason regardless of the circumstances, and it's only in a very minute number of cases that the public ever hearts about corrupt cops actually being busted for their actions.

And knowing that at any given time you're essentially rendered neutered because of their LE status doesn't help the case any. It's hard not to panic and think that at any moment, for no reason whatsoever, you can be steamrolled or outright executed where you stand.

And that's to say nothing of states with civil forfeiture laws that provide a monetary incentive to police to act corrupt, where they can seize your car, house or anything else because they believe it was used in a crime, and sell it at auction for thousands to bolster their budget. And making that worse, you have to prove in a court of law that they were wrong, you're assumed guilty going in with such cases.
 
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Its real simple to me.
Treat others the way you wish to be treated!

That includes LEOs. I always respect the uniform no matter what I think of the person in it. I start with Hello Officer.
How can I help you? I do have a pocket knife clipped in my right front pocket, would you like to see it officer? Then finish each sentence with Sir or officer.

Many states and municipals have vague laws concerning knives to start with and you would be surprised how uneducated some LEOs are on the laws they are paid to in force. Also I don't know how many laws a average LEO is suppose to memorize? But i'am sure its in the high hundreds if not thousands and they are human just like me. So I am always as calm, polite and respectfully as I can be without being rude.

If you get rude or a big mouth etc they can take you in for a finger nail file no matter what the laws are and even if there are no charges filed your vehicle may be impounded etc and you will waste a few hours down at the station.
 
I got pulled over by the police and I didn't tell them about the fully loaded 9 gun that I had. boy they wanted to put me in jail that night. they never asked me if I had a loaded gun and I had it in a gun holster so they let me go. I learn so when they ask don't lie to them because you will pay for it.
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
Its real simple to me.
Treat others the way you wish to be treated!

That includes LEOs. I always respect the uniform no matter what I think of the person in it. I start with Hello Officer.
How can I help you? I do have a pocket knife clipped in my right front pocket, would you like to see it officer? Then finish each sentence with Sir or officer.

Many states and municipals have vague laws concerning knives to start with and you would be surprised how uneducated some LEOs are on the laws they are paid to in force. Also I don't know how many laws a average LEO is suppose to memorize? But i'am sure its in the high hundreds if not thousands and they are human just like me. So I am always as calm, polite and respectfully as I can be without being rude.

If you get rude or a big mouth etc they can take you in for a finger nail file no matter what the laws are and even if there are no charges filed your vehicle may be impounded etc and you will waste a few hours down at the station.
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I'm replying to the bolded text-

If I've done something wrong, 75 is a 65 or something that is unarguably wrong I will address them sir or officer (and I'll always use sir, or trooper for staties) but with the local cops, who I know alot of, depending on the situation of course I will address them like a regular person, "man", "dude" or even "bro" (and usually I'll address female officers "officer"). I've found it makes the contact much more friendly when you talk to them as you would your friends. Now again if I'm clearly guilty I'll play nice trying to get out of it, but if I see them randomly on patrol, or I call them to my house for whatever reason, then I'll be more casual.
 
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richard thurman said:
I got pulled over by the police and I didn't tell them about the fully loaded 9 gun that I had. boy they wanted to put me in jail that night. they never asked me if I had a loaded gun and I had it in a gun holster so they let me go. I learn so when they ask don't lie to them because you will pay for it.
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Do you have a CCP or were you just open carrying? The number one rule for a CCP is you must Immedentally inform any LEO you are carrying, regardless of the reason for the contact... He doesn't have to ask.

You got very very lucky, was this awhile ago? I don't know where you are but here in Ohio the county sheriff of where you live is in charge of all CCP's in his county and an instance like you described, after it made it up the chain to him, would most likely result in your CCP being pulled.
 
Cereal_killer said:
Do you have a CCP or were you just open carrying? The number one rule for a CCP is you must Immedentally inform any LEO you are carrying, regardless of the reason for the contact... He doesn't have to ask.

You got very very lucky, was this awhile ago? I don't know where you are but here in Ohio the county sheriff of where you live is in charge of all CCP's in his county and an instance like you described, after it made it up the chain to him, would most likely result in your CCP being pulled.
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Depends on the state. In some states you do not have to inform unless asked.
 
I almost got shot by a NJ State Trooper coming home from an estate sale where I bought about 20 knives.

He stopped me about 25 yards from the Trooper Lamonico memorial on rt 80 where he had been killed.

Got stopped for no inspection sticker and when he saw the box of knives on the passenger seat he asked me to step outta the vehicle and sit on the hood with my hands behind my head.

Afterwards he asked me a question about my Buck 186 that was sitting on the seat and as I reached in to grab the knife to show him, (that was a big mistake) he dropped back and pulled his 9mm sticking it behind my ear.

Realizing my mistake I apologized for my stupidity and asked him not to ruin my day by putting a bullet in my brain, he relaxed a little while I explained why I was reaching back into the car.

Eventually I explained about the auction and even showed him my Keystone Knife Collectors card. We talked about knives, (he really liked my titanium Buck 186) gave me a written warning and sent me on my way with the advice to store/transport the knives either in a closed case or the trunk while in the car.

This was a typical case of bringing a knife to a gun fight... ;)

Typically if you're pulled over for a traffic stop in my neck of the woods they don't ask about the weapons or drugs unless they're pulling you outta the car so I've never had to tell them. I have my CCW so I usually have a gun on me.

If they ask you around here, odds are you're going to jail anyway... :)
 
Unk said:
Ah, lying to the real Police could bite you. You don't have to volunteer information however I'd suggest telling an officer who asks if you have any weapons that a reply of "No, but I do have a POCKET knife" is the correct response.

Best.
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This is exactly the response I gave. This is perfect. A few years ago I was pulled over at a DUI checkpoint. The officer asked me if I had any "sharp pointing things" on me. I told him I always carry a pocket knife. He removed it from my pocket temporarily. He gave it back to me when the check was finished. It was a Spyderco Paramilitary 1.
 
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