Stopped by PCSO today.

[strike]

I was pulled over by a Pierce County Sheriff's Officer today on my way home from Starbucks in Spanaway, WA.

As I was pulling out onto Pacific Ave he pulled up behind me and lit me up.

As he approached my vehicle, I turned off the engine and placed my hands at 10 and 2. As he got to the window he asked if I knew why he had stopped me. I did not and replied so. He informed me that I had illegally used the turning lane to enter traffic and requested my license, insurance and registration.

Before reaching for my paperwork, I informed I was carrying. He asked where and I motioned towards my G23 on my hip at 11 o'clock. I informed him that it was loaded and he replied "as it should be." He reached through the window and disarmed me. He place my firearm inside his jacket.

At this point I handed him my license and CPL.

He told me that I had used the lane improperly and that we would use this as a "learning experience."

He placed my firearm on the hood of my vehicle and said I could retrieve it once he pulled away.

Overall, I feel it was a good experience and my CPL may have gotten me out of a ticket.



Sent from my iPhone.

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[FullCaliberII]

Hmmm. And what happens when a Spanaway crack head walking by decides to pick up your gun off the hood before you? Glad you got a warning on the driving but that seems like a poor course of action by the Deputy.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

I wouldn't consider being disarmed and having my weapon left out of reach a "good experience".

It's kind of sad how low the bar has sank for "good experiences" with officers.
Basically, if you weren't beaten, raped, or fined... it was a "good experience".

 

[206thsense]

I wouldn't consider being disarmed and having my weapon left out of reach a "good experience".

It's kind of sad how low the bar has sank for "good experiences" with officers.
Basically, if you weren't beaten, raped, or fined... it was a "good experience".

So true. Sounded like things were fine until he left your glock on the hood of your car.

A "nice" police officer would safely returned your firearm to you, grip first.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

I wouldn't care if he left my gun on the hood with NO ticket.

 

[FORKLIFT252]

Although it's nice to not get a ticket.... I never tell them I'm packin....they already know.

 

[gehrheart]

I would rather have the ticket, then be diss-armed..
I certainly would not tell him I am armed..

We all have different opinions. And I would have been PISSED off if he left my gun on the hood of my car!

 

[irierider]

i got pulled over once only told him cuz my gun was in the same spot as my ccw... he didnt even ask for my chl or even take it! love oregon

 

[Sgt Nambu]

I have avoided two tickets by way of explaining that I had a CCL and being cooperative and PLESANT! Had my hands on the door, palms up. One of the tickets would have given me a real pronging too! I had exceeded the posted limit by at least warp 3!!! I would have protested leaving my pistol on the hood and asked him to, please clear the weapon and return it. I had developed enough of a rapport with the officers that I think that there was a strong possibility of them complying.

 

[deen_ad]

Although it's nice to not get a ticket.... I never tell them I'm packin....they already know.

AFAIK in WA the CPL and drivers license aren't linked.

 

[Thebastidge]

Sounds like that officer needs some remedial training. Only an idiot would reach in through a car window across your body for "officer safety". He completely compromises himself by doing that. If you intended to be a danger to thim, that's the best time to f*ck him up. I can't even IMAGINE voluntarily doing something so incredibly awkward.

This "officer safety" thing has spurred some really dumb moves. The unthinking assumption that an officer may and should disarm a citizen during a routine stop leads to some really poor choices. There needs to be some critical thinking and some cranio-rectal extractions done in general, and most likely the only way it'll happen is through some high-profile mistake that gets someone hurt or killed. But a good step towards it would be for normal, law-abiding citizens to normalize the expectation of daily carry and to object (professionally, politely) to being disarmed without cause, even during a traffic stop.

 

[Misterbill]

Seems a little bit of an over-reach to me.

I recently got a lot of hate for defending an officer for removing a weapon from the passenger seat of a car.

THIS IS NOT THE SAME THING.

Granted, you weren't proned, and sounds like you didn't get a ticket, which is all good. But he shouldn't have removed the weapon from an on-body holster. No reason to since he can draw one HELL of a lot faster than you can in the situation. I can't make an officer safety OK on this. There doesn't seem to be any safety issue involved. Just a paranoid cop with an attitude problem.

Frankly, if it was me I'd have a talk with the Sheriff. He's actually reachable. Sounds like his deputies need a refresher on Washington law and Terry vs. Ohio.

 

[lamrith]

What is even more annoying is that his premise for the stop was false. It was documented on another site that in WA the Center turn lane if for making left turn into AND out of traffic.. It is specifically there so that the driver does not have to negotiate all lanes of traffic in a single move. So the very stop itself was BS.

 

[FullCaliberII]

What is even more annoying is that his premise for the stop was false. It was documented on another site that in WA the Center turn lane if for making left turn into AND out of traffic.. It is specifically there so that the driver does not have to negotiate all lanes of traffic in a single move. So the very stop itself was BS.

Unless the OP used the turn lane as a lane of travel, driving in it to speed, then merging into traffic. Thats how I read his post and that is something you can get pulled over for.

 

[ORSECTRAIN]

Hummm,

It appears there is a patern in these posts...

Oregon typicly you let the officer know you have a CHL (recomended since he/she can find out on MDT) and they leave the gun securely were it is.

Washington it would appear that policy is to take gun while contact is made and then return it to a location that would give the officer
time to be removed from the area.

In both states the cary issue is not a big deal it's just the way policy/officer chooses to deal with the gun.

I have experienced positive contacts in both states and the same held true. I prefer the Oregon way (if thats a policy) for the simple fact that
drawing and holstering are the most likely times for an ND. Keep it were it it and your hands on the wheel or in plain sight and follow
orders given by police officers.

Thoughts?

Respectfully,

ORSECTRAIN
"Be Safe Out There!"

 

[Blitzkrieg]

There's no requirement to inform in WA state and this was being hoisted on your own petard

 

[Thebastidge]

I have nothing against voluntarily informing. It's a personal choice either way. However, the officer's training is deficient in this matter, and given that- I will assume in other matters as well.

Officer Safety was compromised by the Officer's own actions, not the OP.

 

[hermannr]

AFAIK in WA the CPL and drivers license aren't linked.

Wrong. They are informed of your CPL status, and whatever pistol purchase transaction you have mad through a WA FFL since 1986? (If I remember, might have happened in 1994)

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Wrong. They are informed of your CPL status, and whatever pistol purchase transaction you have mad through a WA FFL since 1986? (If I remember, might have happened in 1994)

I have been told this by a person who would know

 

[ATCclears]

AFAIK in WA the CPL and drivers license aren't linked.

Sometimes when bored in traffic I'll listen to Snohomish County police on the scanner app on my iPhone (and play it through the car speakers). About a week ago I heard a typical check on a plate and a driver's license. The dispatcher replied back and noted that the individual had a CPL.

So, I don't know if they are linked, or if when they run your driver's license they simultaneously run your name/license against a database of CPL licenses too. They are doing something though...

Peter