If you have a particular encounter with another citizen or LEO, post it here.
 #26332  by Tate
 
December 12th 09,

I left work in Millsboro a few minutes early, as i was heading North Bound on 13, i saw a police car with its lights on, i pulled over to let him pass but he pulled in behind me. I was not open carrying that day since my wife was home, and i left her my firearm, since my brother in law has our Ithaca Shotgun. I put my hands on the steering wheel as he approached he told me that my registration was expired, i told him i had no idea (which i honestly did not). I then informed him that inbetween the seats i had an empty holster with a magazine of ammo, he said ok, it was no big deal. He then went back to his car, about ten minutes later he returned, asked to see the holster, then proceeded to ask me where the gun was, i ecplained it was at home. He thought it was odd that i have 2 holsters, i explained that i simply transfer the gun from my Blackhawk Serpa holster to this holster when i open carry in the car. He asked me what type of gun it was and what it looked like, he asked if i had any weapons in the car, i said in the trunk in a cooler inside of my tackle box there was a bait knife. He then asked for me to get out of the car so he could search me. So hands up, i exit the car, they ask me to turn around and search me. Im all in the clear, then they tell me i am clear to go, with a warning about the registration. Over all next time i wont say anything, i just thought i was doing the right thing by telling them.
 #26335  by stephpd
 
Kinda relates to this story;


viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3059

Better to just give the minimum information then to give out extra stuff for the police to 'investigate'.

Can't understand why anything you said would or could be used to have them remove you from the car and be searched.

Part of your last sentence are words to live by:
Tate wrote: Over all next time i wont say anything,
 #26354  by Boots
 
Tate wrote:... he told me that my registration was expired, i told him i had no idea (which i honestly did not). ....
The cops are looking for expired registrations now because DMV is no longer sending out renewal notices. :(
Tate wrote:... I then informed him that inbetween the seats i had an empty holster with a magazine of ammo, he said ok, it was no big deal. ....
TMI, as you found out. I'm guessing he ran your name in his computer and found you didn't have a DE CCDW. Therefore, he assumed you were just hiding the gun somewhere.
 #26360  by Tony T
 
Boots wrote:
Tate wrote:... he told me that my registration was expired, i told him i had no idea (which i honestly did not). ....
The cops are looking for expired registrations now because DMV is no longer sending out renewal notices. :(
Tate wrote:... I then informed him that inbetween the seats i had an empty holster with a magazine of ammo, he said ok, it was no big deal. ....
TMI, as you found out. I'm guessing he ran your name in his computer and found you didn't have a DE CCDW. Therefore, he assumed you were just hiding the gun somewhere.
Boots, you can still opt in for email or phone notification.

https://citizen.dmv.de.gov/public.ejs?c ... cationHome
 #26361  by Tony T
 
Boots wrote:
Tate wrote:... he told me that my registration was expired, i told him i had no idea (which i honestly did not). ....
The cops are looking for expired registrations now because DMV is no longer sending out renewal notices. :(
Tate wrote:... I then informed him that inbetween the seats i had an empty holster with a magazine of ammo, he said ok, it was no big deal. ....
TMI, as you found out. I'm guessing he ran your name in his computer and found you didn't have a DE CCDW. Therefore, he assumed you were just hiding the gun somewhere.
What strikes me as odd, is that they proceeded to search the individual but not search the vehicle. So were they really that concerned about a concealed weapon? Weird stop imo.

Imo they had no cause to believe a crime was being committed. Reminds me of the stops that occur in Maryland. Can't remember if it was a member here, or MDshooters.com. , but a member received everthing but a cavity search over an empty holster in the parking lot of Big Elk Mall.
 #26383  by Tate
 
It was weird, but i just went along with everything, i had nothing to worry about. They strangest part was they wanted to know, what type of firearm it was, the style, etc.

In all the years ive always recieved a letter in the mail, notifying me that my registration was going to expire, same with the drivers license. Guess they dont want to spend the money on stamps. I did sign up for the Email though.
 #26385  by cappilot06
 
Tony T wrote: Reminds me of the stops that occur in Maryland. Can't remember if it was a member here, or MDshooters.com. , but a member received everthing but a cavity search over an empty holster in the parking lot of Big Elk Mall.
Reminder to self...make sure my empty holster is on the dash when visiting parents in Elkton at least twice a month. :twisted:
 #26386  by Mr.Skellington
 
This post got me wondering if there is any reasonable way that an empty holster on a dash could be used via the plain sight rule to conduct a search.

I wonder if there's any way or circumstances this could be done without violating our rights.

Thoughts?
 #26390  by stephpd
 
Mr.Skellington wrote:This post got me wondering if there is any reasonable way that an empty holster on a dash could be used via the plain sight rule to conduct a search.

I wonder if there's any way or circumstances this could be done without violating our rights.

Thoughts?
Without RAS they can't legally detain you. Being pulled over for expired tags doesn't rise to the level of Suspicion that a crime is or about to take place.

The whole event was a violation of his rights. Being asked to get out of the car is the first step in detention. Searching the person is the second.

Just because you haven't done anything wrong is no reason to permit your rights to be violated. It's something the police do way to frequently and is often the excuse for them to ask to search. The 'If you have nothing to hide then you shouldn't object to a search' is often used to bypass your 4th Amendment rights or the need to acquire a search warrant. Most folks comply hoping to just end the experience. Walking away, without being arrested, is such a relief that most can't grasp the concept that their civil rights were just violated. Or that they had just given up their rights.