If you have a particular encounter with another citizen or LEO, post it here.
 #89024  by Brandon
 
Well I was a little skeptical about ocin today while taking my fiance and little girl to the peach festival. I decided no laws were bein broken so I went ahead and decided it was just fine. Got there and ran into alot of her family members and ha a few chats a few of the younger kids said hey he's got a gun and one even tried to touch and and I looked at him and Told him with a firm voice do not touch that please( he is actually my fiances little brother). Anyway we walked around and I first notices a camden police officer and I am not certain he noticed me so I continued to browse around the tents. About twenty minutes later the same police officer walks right in front of me as close as he could get face to face and asks me how I am doing today. I responded not to bad sir... How about yourself?? I asked....he than looked down and started to as it seemed text on his cell phone still face to face standing firmly right in front of me. A few secs go by and he didn't say anything so I said can I help you? With a normal tone but firm voice. He than looked up at me and said no your fine I just wanted to let you know that I saw you were carrying a gun and that sometimes people get uncomfortable when they see someone carrying a Gun without a badge. He than told me that if someone does feel uncomfortable and mentions that to him that he would have to ask me to leave. I responded with a yes sir I completely understand and we both walked away smiling. I was a little nervous at first but remembered that I was doing nothing wrong and felt confident towards the end of our conversation. I think my fiance was a little more nervous than I was while this was happening. But this was the first time I cop has actually spoke with me about my firearm and I figured I would share it with you guys
 #89028  by Mr.Skellington
 
I just wanted to let you know that I saw you were carrying a gun and that sometimes people get uncomfortable when they see someone carrying a Gun without a badge. He than told me that if someone does feel uncomfortable and mentions that to him that he would have to ask me to leave.
That is not how that works. Someone who is uncomfortable around something which is lawful is not grounds to have that thing removed in order to satisfy an their irrational fear or desire. A persons preferences do not trump anothers rights.
 #89031  by Bullpup
 
If the cop asked him to leave based on someone else there feeling uncomfortable, would he have to leave? Would he have broken any laws had he refused to leave at that point? The cop was not the property owner. And it doesn't sound like he would have been speaking for the property owner, just someone else attending the festival.

BTW Brandon, good job! I haven't yet been question by a police officer, but when it happens I hope I handle it as well as you did.
 #89032  by SR9
 
Maybe some of the people are not familiar with the Town Of Wyoming and the Peach Festival. This annual event is held in the public streets of town, not on a persons property. I believe if someone was to comment to a police officer about some one O/Cing, the police officer needs to ask if the O/Cer is bothering or threatening any one or just minding their own business. If there a no to either question, the police officer should tell the complaintant that the carrier is legal to carry a gun and to go on about their business, as it is legal to O/C in Delaware. It is no legal to arrest someone for carrying in a public place, unless posted. If an officer was to arrest a person simply for carrying, they could be charged with false arrest.
 #89033  by Mr.Skellington
 
Bullpup wrote:If the cop asked him to leave based on someone else there feeling uncomfortable, would he have to leave? Would he have broken any laws had he refused to leave at that point? The cop was not the property owner. And it doesn't sound like he would have been speaking for the property owner, just someone else attending the festival.

BTW Brandon, good job! I haven't yet been question by a police officer, but when it happens I hope I handle it as well as you did.
In a public place you may be asked to leave but the request is not backed by force of law and you may choose to ignore that request.

In a private place which is open to the public, the owner or an agent acting on the owners behalf may ask you to leave the premises at which point you can either comply with the request or be subjected to trespassing charges.

Any officer taking it upon himself to act as an unsolicited representative of a private business is grossly over stepping their role. An officer making the similar remarks while on public property has gone off the reservation and is in need of a remedial refresher course in criminal justice.
 #89035  by Brandon
 
Thanks guys and yeah I didn't start to think about all of this untill after but my brother had mentioned it to me I was on public streets I was not on private property and that police officer doesn't have any right to tell me to leave. However I also went to fifer orchards right down the road and that is private property and I was prepared to leave if asked but there were no cops out there. I think the cop just wanted to acknowledge me I think he just wanted to be the one in charge. But I have ran into cops three times since I started carrying never did one talk to me but they all did see me and my firearm and didn't seem to be to concerned. By the way if a cop ever does pull me aside and unlike the one today who didn't ask my name or anything does ask for Id I plan to give it to him just to keep the peace and I plan to be respectful to that officer untill he disrespects me. Idk what your guys thoughts on that would be.
 #89044  by dave_in_delaware
 
Mr.Skellington wrote:That is not how that works. Someone who is uncomfortable around something which is lawful is not grounds to have that thing removed in order to satisfy an their irrational fear or desire. A persons preferences do not trump anothers rights.
This is EXACTLY what I thought after reading the OP's story.

WTF!? :evil: