Stopped and detained by Beech Groves Finest

[SaintsNSinners]

On my way to work, stop off at the marathon on Keystone and Troy to pick up some nurishment (rip it) and as I pull out my headlight apparently blows.

Headed to I65 and low and behold cherries and berries in my rearview. I pull over, and wait with my hands clearly visible.

A Young Officer approaches my driver door and asks if I have any knives, needles or other weapons in the vehicle. I inform the officer that I am carrying an Xd40 subcompact in the small of my back and that there is an AR-15 clearly visible on the back seat. The young officer asks me to step out of the vehicle and stand on the side of my vehicle with traffic passing me back within 4 feet.

I inform the officer that in my right rear pocket there is my wallet with ID and my License to Carry. He shoves his hand in my pocket and pulls out my wallet and also removes the XD from the small of my back.

He then spoke to another officer I didnt see and said there is an AR in the back the other officer says I already got it. (apparently he reached into my vehicle and took my AR with out my consent)

The other officer tells me to come to the back of my vehicle and informs me I was pulled over for a headlight out. He asks me where I work and where I am going. He then engages me in idle banter about bath salts, backing up other officers and what not. I can hear the action on my AR being cycled as can I hear the slide on my XD.

About 5 minutes later the 1st officer returns and hands me my wallet and says I didnt want to dig through your wallet can you get you "permit" out?

I show him my license to carry and he tells me thanks get that headlight fixed.

I am told to get in my vehicle and they will put my weapons in the back. They put both my XD and my AR in the backseat and the magazines on the front seat.

I leave...
the second officer is Beech Groves finest and the other officer is Identified as University Police. (U of I?)


Why do I feel raped and violated?

 

[Tydeeh22]

because when you stepped out of your vehicle you didnt lock it. sad to hear this though.

 

[SaintsNSinners]

because when you stepped out of your vehicle you didnt lock it. sad to hear this though.

My truck doesnt lock and it has a soft top with no windows.. wish I could lock it.

 

[Tydeeh22]

ouch, make a note to get a hardtop with windows..

 

[Hammerhead]

Rule no. 1 - Don't answer questions.

Rule no. 2 - "I do not consent to a search of my person, my belongings or my vehicle."

Rule no. 3 - "Officer, I will not accept back my illegally confiscated weapon, but I will accept a property receipt. You will see my lawyer in court while you explain to the judge why you disarmed me without proper reason to suspect me being a danger. After you cannot convince the judge that having me step out of my car on the side of the interstate and disarming me illegally was proper under the law, then you will be named in the civil suit my lawyer will file."

 

[BDBHoover]

Rule no. 1 - Don't answer questions.

Rule no. 2 - "I do not consent to a search of my person, my belongings or my vehicle."

Rule no. 3 - "Officer, I will not accept back my illegally confiscated weapon, but I will accept a property receipt. You will see my lawyer in court while you explain to the judge why you disarmed me without proper reason to suspect me being a danger. After you cannot convince the judge that having me step out of my car on the side of the interstate and disarming me illegally was proper under the law, then you will be named in the civil suit my lawyer will file."

Agreed with all of the above

 

[dom1104]

Rule no. 1 - Don't answer questions.

Rule no. 2 - "I do not consent to a search of my person, my belongings or my vehicle."

Rule no. 3 - "Officer, I will not accept back my illegally confiscated weapon, but I will accept a property receipt. You will see my lawyer in court while you explain to the judge why you disarmed me without proper reason to suspect me being a danger. After you cannot convince the judge that having me step out of my car on the side of the interstate and disarming me illegally was proper under the law, then you will be named in the civil suit my lawyer will file."

So how much do you figger all that lawyerin will set you back?

3000?
5000?


I know a cop who has been threatened to be sued hundreds of times.

Never once did someone go thru with it.

 

[BDBHoover]

Well out of a thousand it would only take one lawsuit to flip someones whole life upside down if they are in fact in the wrong....

 

[Double T]

You are going to work, in a vehicle that doesn't lock, with an AR in the backseat?

Regardless, you do not have to get out of your vehicle. Nor do you have to be searched. They have to tell you what you are pulled over for. You say "ok", show em pink, and tell them to **** off.

Even before I carried I exercised at least my 4th amendment rights :-)

I'm just going to say Bacon to see if ATM shows

My truck doesnt lock and it has a soft top with no windows.. wish I could lock it.

 

[Indy317]

Well out of a thousand it would only take one lawsuit to flip someones whole life upside down if they are in fact in the wrong....

Where is the proof such lawsuit would prevail, in terms of the disarming? Last I knew, the ruling was officers can ask about weapons even if there are no "danger" signs. In this case, the driver answered and admitted to having a weapon. In addition, the rifle was in plain view, so this isn't a case of searching the vehicle for the weapon. No search is needed because the weapon is in plain view.

We have posters saying they listen to scanners and hear officers routinely take guns from traffic stops, and run the numbers of guns they take. If such activity was that common, and it was such an egregious violation of rights, lawyers would be advertising on TV about filing lawsuits given how many people have permits in this state.

 

[Tydeeh22]

Where is the proof such lawsuit would prevail, in terms of the disarming? Last I knew, the ruling was officers can ask about weapons even if there are no "danger" signs. In this case, the driver answered and admitted to having a weapon. In addition, the rifle was in plain view, so this isn't a case of searching the vehicle for the weapon. No search is needed because the weapon is in plain view.

We have posters saying they listen to scanners and hear officers routinely take guns from traffic stops, and run the numbers of guns they take. If such activity was that common, and it was such an egregious violation of rights, lawyers would be advertising on TV about filing lawsuits given how many people have permits in this state.

unwarranted entry comes up in my mind, open sight or not... but that's just me. is it viable? i dont know..

i got pulled over by county police on 31, and had my shotgun in the back, he never touched it. mentioned the browning sticker on the truck and said have a good night.

 

[cp009]

You feel violated because you let them violate you! Not once did you excersise any of your rights. Never talk to the police, other than expressing that you do not consent to any searches or seizures. Also inform them you will be prepared to take any and all legal action against them if your rights were violated. Simple as that.


In before ATM!

 

[PKendall317]

I don't really blame the officers in question for what they did regarding your weapons. Too many good cops nationwide have been killed on routine traffic stops, and after talking to a few traffic cops I think a fair amount of them are pretty paranoid about the issue.

Now, I know that regarding warrantless searches an exception to the rule is if the item in question is in plain sight, which your AR was, (not quite sure if it would hold up for the LEO if this ever went to court) and would definately make me be more cautious if I were the LEO who stopped you, even though I'm sure your a good person.

Lastly, the officer who took your handgun away should have most definately asked before he did so, or at the very least instructed you to keep your hands on the steering wheel or where he could see them.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I don't really blame the officers in question for what they did regarding your weapons. Too many good cops nationwide have been killed on routine traffic stops, and after talking to a few traffic cops I think a fair amount of them are pretty paranoid about the issue.

Now, I know that regarding warrantless searches an exception to the rule is if the item in question is in plain sight, which your AR was, (not quite sure if it would hold up for the LEO if this ever went to court) and would definately make me be more cautious if I were the LEO who stopped you, even though I'm sure your a good person.

Lastly, the officer who took your handgun away should have most definately asked before he did so, or at the very least instructed you to keep your hands on the steering wheel or where he could see them.

Are you this cavalier with all of your other rights? Assuming the OP accurately represented the facts as they happened, what RS or PC was present for the officers to seize his property?

If they were so concerned about their safety, why would they choose to remove guns from their safe positions and operate them along side a busy highway? Seems to me, since there were 2 officers present, the OP disclosed the guns locations, it would be safer for all to simply keep the guns alone and the driver seated where he could be watched until a disposition of the stop could be reached.

 

[PKendall317]

Define "cavalier" in this context please.

 

[Bapak2ja]

Just a thought here for consideration. What would you do?

You stop a person. You know the person is unhappy being stopped. You see an assault weapon in plain view. The person also says he has a hand gun. How happy would you be turning your back on that person?

Similar scenario. You have a verbal confrontation with a neighbor, the mouthy kind who talks up how tough he is. Later, for legitimate reasons you have to walk onto his turf (property, whatever). Person has a rifle in plain sight and from past conversations you know he is packing. You have to confront the person about an issue you know will make him angry, but you are not about to let it go unchallenged. Toss in that you suspect he may have done some time, or has a violent record, beats his wife and kids or, horrors, uses tobacco! How comfortable would you be talking out the issue with those weapons ready to hand?

I dislike LEOs. I watched the Chicago PD go wild in 1968, and I saw what the LEOs did to the civil rights marchers. I have been stopped for traffic violations unjustly (never mind the times I deserved to be stopped and wasn't). I have seen even worse in Indonesia and Jamaica where the citizen really does not have any rights and the cops are just another gang competing for its share of the drug market. But to save my soul I really can't fault a cop for disarming a guy at a traffic stop. Would you turn your back on someone in that situation?

I know, they are jerks by definition; they chose to put themselves at risk by taking the job; they are servants of the people; etc. I know! But seriously, would you not prefer to secure the weapons? Do you folks expect these LEOs to do what you yourself would fear to do?

The officers in this instance were respectful, polite, and professional—based on what I read in the OP. They tried to establish a reasonable working relationship with the OP by engaging in small talk while taking care of business. Did they violate the law? Probably; I will take your word for it and not challenge it. But can you blame them for it? Again, would you want an angry (or potentially angry) person holding a firearm as you discussed something that you know is going to make them even more angry?

Just a thought.

 

[PKendall317]

Just a thought here for consideration. What would you do?

You stop a person. You know the person is unhappy being stopped. You see an assault weapon in plain view. The person also says he has a hand gun. How happy would you be turning your back on that person?

Similar scenario. You have a verbal confrontation with a neighbor, the mouthy kind who talks up how tough he is. Later, for legitimate reasons you have to walk onto his turf (property, whatever). Person has a rifle in plain sight and from past conversations you know he is packing. You have to confront the person about an issue you know will make him angry, but you are not about to let it go unchallenged. Toss in that you suspect he may have done some time, or has a violent record, beats his wife and kids or, horrors, uses tobacco! How comfortable would you be talking out the issue with those weapons ready to hand?

I dislike LEOs. I watched the Chicago PD go wild in 1968, and I saw what the LEOs did to the civil rights marchers. I have been stopped for traffic violations unjustly (never mind the times I deserved to be stopped and wasn't). I have seen even worse in Indonesia and Jamaica where the citizen really does not have any rights and the cops are just another gang competing for its share of the drug market. But to save my soul I really can't fault a cop for disarming a guy at a traffic stop. Would you turn your back on someone in that situation?

I know, they are jerks by definition; they chose to put themselves at risk by taking the job; they are servants of the people; etc. I know! But seriously, would you not prefer to secure the weapons? Do you folks expect these LEOs to do what you yourself would fear to do?

The officers in this instance were respectful, polite, and professional—based on what I read in the OP. They tried to establish a reasonable working relationship with the OP by engaging in small talk while taking care of business. Did they violate the law? Probably; I will take your word for it and not challenge it. But can you blame them for it? Again, would you want an angry (or potentially angry) person holding a firearm as you discussed something that you know is going to make them even more angry?

Just a thought.

I know that if and when I ever become an LEO, which I hope to do one day, that if I ever pull over a person for speeding or a busted headlight, that if there are weapons in the car, one of which an assault weapon, I know I'm making damn sure that those weapons are secure and don't pose even the slightest threat, no matter how friendly or courteous the driver is.

 

[iChokePeople]

I know that if and when I ever become an LEO, which I hope to do one day, that if I ever pull over a person for speeding or a busted headlight, that if there are weapons in the car, one of which an assault weapon, I know I'm making damn sure that those weapons are secure and don't pose even the slightest threat, no matter how friendly or courteous the driver is.

 

[Robert Richardson]

I know that if and when I ever become an LEO, which I hope to do one day, that if I ever pull over a person for speeding or a busted headlight, that if there are weapons in the car, one of which an assault weapon, I know I'm making damn sure that those weapons are secure and don't pose even the slightest threat, no matter how friendly or courteous the driver is.

Do yourself a favor and learn the definition of " assault weapon" before you put that badge on,ok?

 

[Bunnykid68]

They snatched your wallet and your gun off your person without even so much as asking.
Douche Baggery at its finest.

Big -1 for the 2 officers