I had a friend who was pulled over the other day for making a U turn at the top of a hill in a park. Might sound petty, but Law Enforcement will often make a stop on what you think is a minor violation to make sure you are a squared away driver. If your license and registration come back clean, most of the time you will get off with a warning.
During the course of the stop my friend failed to mention that he had a concealed weapon in the car. He has handgun carry permit, but it didn’t cross his mind to alert the officer. The database informed the officer that he was a CCW Permit holder. You can imagine the officer’s level of frustration when he returned. He gave a stern warning and a lecture about proper procedure.
I want to remind all of our readers that Cops are generally (yes there are a few who are not, but then again there are gas station attendants that aren’t cool either so get over it) cool if you let them know. Cops aren’t afraid of guns they know about. If you are pulled over, immediately alert the officer when he approaches your car, make no sudden movements and wait for instructions.
In some places the law requires you to inform the officer. In others it is not required, but I promise your stop will go a lot better if you are considerate of the officer’s safety.
There is nothing cool about getting pulled over by a State Park Trooper.
My Ohio CCW instructor – suburban Akron police detective – said here’s what you should do if pulled over:
* Ignition off.
* Dome light on.
* License and registration out.
* Hands on the wheel at 10 and 2.
* “Hello, officer. I have a CCW permit. There is/is not a weapon in the vehicle. What would you like me to do?”