Worst nightmare came true: PD confiscated my ParaMilitary..

Robbed by a scumbag and his scumbag partner. You can bet it wasn't the first time for them either. And since they're members of the biggest gang around, there's not a damn thing you can do about but thank them for mugging you and go to your hearing.
 
Bob W said:
If it wasn't visible, how'd they know you had it?

-Bob
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He mentioned his knife was printing.

If it wasn't outside his clothes though that should be legal as the law stands.

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garageboy, think carefully about what really happened.
 
He mentioned his knife was printing.

If it wasn't outside his clothes though that should be legal as the law stands.
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The bottom half of the clip showed and the inch of pivot on the Spyderco printed against the shirt
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I'm not sure I understand, in fact I know I don't.
The clip was visible and exposed?
Or the cops could only see the knife's impression?

-Bob
 
Well, GarageBoy, not that I that I needed it, but you just gave me another reason to avoid NYC.
 
I would certainly appear. I would also bring a lawyer with me. The law states "large knife" without specifying what defines a large knife; while I think the case law on this is crap, the PM has a less than 3" edge. Not that large, same size as many SAKs.

The other option is appear, pay the BS fine, cry over the knife, and consider it a lesson learned. This bit of law is so open ended that anything could be considered "large"; it is a license to steal.

Question- were they NYPD, Transit cops or one of the federal agencies that is "assisting"? NYPD, you might have a chance. If it is the subway bulls or the feds, it's gone. But if you don't show up, bench warrent gets issued and you live under the sword of Damocles until it catches up with you. This type of thing is part of why I don't carry expensive knives.
 
Unfortunately, it seems like this was a righteous arrest by the officer. Be glad you weren't charged with carrying a gravity knife as well.
 
Okay, the knife was clipped to the pocket, but hidden by the shirt, partially. I can't remember if I pushed the shirt outta the way or not when I jammed my wallet back into my pocket...

NYC law is sub 4".

It was PD, but precinct # was written in as "0"

Ironically, I was with my dad's buddy who is a martial arts instructor went into the same station (clipped to pants, shirt tucked in) and got off w/o a problem. (I went to get Junior's Cheesecake for Mother's day)
 
I also live in NYC. This makes me want to be more careful of how I carry my knives. I'll probably no longer use the pocket clip.

When he opened the knife, did he use the spyderhole to open it?
 
Took it by the handle and a hard flick into reverse grip, followed by "wow, that's really loose" (no, it's not, it's just REAL smooth)
 
moving-van.jpg
 
GarageBoy said:
Took it by the handle and a hard flick into reverse grip, followed by "wow, that's really loose" (no, it's not, it's just REAL smooth)
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Doesn't the PM have an adjustable pivot? I wonder how that'd go over in the court. I seem to remember some knives being confiscated because they lacked an adjustable pivot.
 
Yes, to the adjustable pivot, doesn't matter, because unless you tighten it to the point where its hard to open the knife, it'll flick open, bless that compression lock
 
Took it by the handle and a hard flick into reverse grip...
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While the law may be crap, that sounds like "centrifugal force" to me.

You may have caught a break actually. I suspect carrying an illegal knife would have more significant consequences than carrying a knife with the pocket clip partially exposed. Seems the cops busted you for the least of the two possibilities.

In NYC, the flick test makes EVERYTHING a gravity knife...
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Not hardly.
I've never seen anyone flick open an unmodified SAK or traditional pocketknife. I have dozens of non-locking Old Timers - not a single one can be flicked open.
My broken-in Opinel can be flicked partially open, but since it doesn't lock into place, I don't think it would be included in the above law. None of my unused Opinels can be flicked at all.

Oddly enough it appears that my fixed-blade EDC would be legal in New York, since it's under 4" and can fit completely in my pocket.

-Bob
 
But with a fixed blade, they're gonna tell me its a dirk or a bowie or something.

What LOCKING (not counting the opinel and ring lock) folder, passes the flick test?
 
On the summons, it's written as "knife in plain view" and nothing else. Then that is all you will answer for in court. Don't bring up anything else.

No matter what they said to you about a gravity knife and your attitude, they didn't charge you with that -- it was just to see if you'd start babbling and they could get you for something else. Forget it.

Your only defense is that you weren't aware it was visible. And it probably wasn't, to anyone who wasn't looking for it. It's still their word against yours, and they did see it.

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For the rest of you, New York is not the worst place in the world. Follow a few simple rules about knives and you're OK. Keep the blade under 4" and keep the knife completely concealed.

Unfortunately I think, part of GarageBoy's problem was that he's not 20 years older. I'm sorry he got harassed because of it.
 
This really sounds like the cop wanted a new knife and liked the looks of yours. Keep us posted on how things turn out at court. The blade is under 4" & was in your pocket. It clearly is not a gravity knife as some sort of manual work is needed for the blade to deploy. Any rational judge would rule in your favor if you have a clean record. Be polite and respectful and if you win I would file a complaint against the officer for harassing you. I would have a co-worker prepare a statement that the knife is a tool that you use regularly on the job. As someone else mentioned Spyderco may also be able to provide a letter in your defense. You could post about this on the Spyderco forum.
 
bhauer said:
So, does that mean that you can carry a weapon as long as the police cant see it? Its a shame. In my state you can get a concealed weapons permit. Really too bad the way things are goingl.
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Yeah, in NYC you can carry a legal knife, but it has to be fully concealed.
 
What LOCKING (not counting the opinel and ring lock) folder, passes the flick test?
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Checked a few knives that were easily accessible:

Definitely cannot flick open my AG Russell Swing Guard, and it's well under 4". Ditto ther AG Russell 340 lockback (no longer in production).

Some SAKs have locking blades.

The Endura did flick open, but neither Native would.

Gerber Silver Knight would not flick open.

-Bob
 
Esav Benyamin said:
On the summons, it's written as "knife in plain view" and nothing else. Then that is all you will answer for in court. Don't bring up anything else.

No matter what they said to you about a gravity knife and your attitude, they didn't charge you with that -- it was just to see if you'd start babbling and they could get you for something else. Forget it.

Your only defense is that you weren't aware it was visible. And it probably wasn't, to anyone who wasn't looking for it. It's still their word against yours, and they did see it.
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In NYC, you've got to carry your less than 4 inch knife (not gravity or switchblade) fully concealed.
No clips showing, nothing, nada.

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Anyway, sorry to hear ya got nailed, GarageBoy.

Be sure to show up in court on the return date, on time, or a bench warrant for your arrest will be issued - (as indicated by ironraven above).

Before then, you might want to consult with an attorney who's familiar with this type of case, so you can decide whether to hire an attorney to represent you
in court on the charge...and, if not, what, if anything, to say to the judge when s/he asks you about the knife.

And you can get some advice on whether to bring an attorney with you to court - sometimes, it's 50-50 as to whether to hire an attorney for a courtroom
appearance in this type of case.
 
thefirefox, the last thing GarageBoy needs is more grief with the legal system. This is not small-town USA, it's New York City. The current anti-knife attitude is the Mayor's project. He is a classic nanny-state bureaucrat.

He has the City's legal department to deal with this. Who is paying GarageBoy's legal bills?

Going after the police is a no-win situation since they were demonstrably doing their job, no matter how much we disagree with the need for those specific laws, interpreted that way.
 
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