[Pasquanel]

Originally Posted by JimRau

Take it from a retired LEO with 30+ years of experience and use some common sense!
1. DO NOT start 'messing around' after the lights come on. In other words do not try and place you PPD in the glove box or remove it from your person. This activity is considered to be VERY suspicious to the officer!!!
2. Keep your hands (both hands) on the wheel and simply tell the officer you are legally carrying a fire arm. Your exact words are up to you, but what I say is "I am a retired police officer and I am armed". It doesn't matter if this is a 'legal' requirement or not, it is just common sense!!!
3. Follow the officers instructions and cooperate completely.
4. If the officer/s acts inappropriately do not escalate the situation. If you have a 'problem' with the officer do not try and settle it there, make a complaint to his agency/supervisor and/or (if your right were violated) contact an attorney.
Hope this helped,
Jim

Rights violated? How about getting hurt or killed for your effort?
I hand you my drivers license its yes Sir/no Sir and not one other word! As I have stated here before I work daily with LEOs and most of them have advised me not to mention it. This link is one example of what can go wrong and there are many more http://www.theblaze.com/stories/you-fu-with-me-cop-threatens-concealed-carry-gun-owner-during-traffic-stop/

[JimRau]

Originally Posted by Pasquanel

Rights violated? How about getting hurt or killed for your effort?
I hand you my drivers license its yes Sir/no Sir and not one other word! As I have stated here before I work daily with LEOs and most of them have advised me not to mention it. This link is one example of what can go wrong and there are many more http://www.theblaze.com/stories/you-fu-with-me-cop-threatens-concealed-carry-gun-owner-during-traffic-stop/

They are wrong if they tell you not to mention it.

[John_Deer]

The NRA store has nice holsters for the car and you are helping a good cause.

[John_Deer]

Originally Posted by JimRau

Take it from a retired LEO with 30+ years of experience and use some common sense!
1. DO NOT start 'messing around' after the lights come on. In other words do not try and place you PPD in the glove box or remove it from your person. This activity is considered to be VERY suspicious to the officer!!!
2. Keep your hands (both hands) on the wheel and simply tell the officer you are legally carrying a fire arm. Your exact words are up to you, but what I say is "I am a retired police officer and I am armed". It doesn't matter if this is a 'legal' requirement or not, it is just common sense!!!
3. Follow the officers instructions and cooperate completely.
4. If the officer/s acts inappropriately do not escalate the situation. If you have a 'problem' with the officer do not try and settle it there, make a complaint to his agency/supervisor and/or (if your right were violated) contact an attorney.
Hope this helped,
Jim

Not being argumentative, just bringing up a weird situation. An officer that I actually know pulled me over. I told him I had a weapon. He asked to see it. It was laying on the seat right beside me out of sight. I picked it up and handed it to him. Apparently he wasn't expecting me to produce a weapon so quickly. The poor fellow almost jumped back into a busy highway. How do I avoid spooking officers?

The above incident is why I started placing my gun on the dash. I know most of the officers in my area. We only have 25 deputies on the local sheriffs dept. Likely they don't think anything about it other than I need to slow down or they are trying serve a warrant and can't find the person.

[SigArmored]

Originally Posted by 25-5

FL does not require you to show your permit, unless asked. LEO's are not stupid. If they want to know anything they will ask you. They are aware of CCW.

Under must inform officer
Statute
790.06...The licensee must carry the license,together with a valid identification,at all times in which the licensee is in actual possession of a concealed weapon or firearm and must display both the license and proper identification upon demand by a law enforcement officer.Violation with a penalty of $25,payable to the clerk of the court.
Taken from www.handgunlaw.us

[TexasBear]

Originally Posted by Krisms

thanks for all your inputs folks. lots of good stuff to learn here. my main concern is really knowing if having your firearm on your person a good idea when an LEO pulls you over. i'm contemplating if i should encase it in my dash to avoid any potential complication or if it's just fine with it being iwb. thanks again for your inputs.

If you have a permit and it's legal in your state to carry, u have the right to carry on your person while driving. When I hand him my CHL permit, I am telling that cop that I am, by full investigation of my state, that I am a good citizen for the most part. I might be an a$$hole but I am not a felon/serious trouble maker.

IMHO, if u are not doing anything wrong, other than speeding or small traffic violation, then u shouldn't have anything to worry about. I live in Texas, obviously, most times the DPS don't wanna see your gun. They ask do u have it, yes or no, that's it. It's not a big deal. As long as you are obeying your CHL laws, you have nothing to worry about.

[25-5]

Originally Posted by SigArmored

Under must inform officer
Statute
790.06...The licensee must carry the license,together with a valid identification,at all times in which the licensee is in actual possession of a concealed weapon or firearm and must display both the license and proper identification upon demand by a law enforcement officer.Violation with a penalty of $25,payable to the clerk of the court.
Taken from www.handgunlaw.us

Yes if you are asked for your CCW, you are required to provide it and ID. If you are asked for your drivers ID that's all you need to produce. To voluntarily provide your CCW is up to you, but not the law in FL and many other states. Read your statute again, it refers to a CCW situation only, not a traffic stop or howdy do.

[Doc3402]

Originally Posted by Krisms

i'm pretty new to cc and i have never been pulled over by an officer while carrying. i just want to get your opinions if it's okay to have your ccw on your person when the officer walks up to your car with my hands resting on the steering wheel of course and a show of courtesy by letting the officer i am carrying a legal firearm. any input if this is ok?

I would most definitely keep the firearm on my person. If the officer sees drawing motions while waiting for you to pull over you will not have a pleasant experience.

Keep the firearm hidden, turn on the interior light, and if weather permits roll down all the windows. Above all, keep your hands open and in plain sight above door level. If you are not alone in the car have everybody else do the same, at least for the initial meet and greet. The sooner you can knock down the officer's apprehension level the better off you will be.

Letting the officer know you are carrying a legal firearm is not the same as telling him/her that you are legally carrying a firearm. In those locales that require gun registration a convicted felon carrying a legally registered weapon is still against the law.

Whether you decide to tell the officer about the gun is up to you unless your local laws require it. You need to know them. Either way, the above advice is sound and should help you get through the incident with little or no hassle.

Personally I lean towards disclosure. I look at it this way. Some officers will get an attitude, and some won't, but if I don't disclose it and the gun is discovered later, 100% of the officers will get an attitude that could get me killed.

[dragunovsks]

Originally Posted by brandinm380

I live in Georgia and here we don't have to to inform the officer of anything. But my theory is i would rather be upfront about it than to surprise the officer. Always say you have a permit first, don't just blurt out " i have a gun". I always say "sir i would just like to let you that i do have a valid weapons carry permit and there is a firearm on my person."

+1, I always tell the Leo(s) I have a weapon when they approach. I keep both hands on the wheel. Telling them you're armed shows them you care for thier safety and will often help you out too. Case in point two weeks ago while on the way to work I get pulled over by local pd for speeding. I was going way over the limit on a residential street (48 in a 25). Yes it was stupid, but in my defense the street is long and wide and at 530 am nobody is around and 25 is painfully slow. Anyways he saw my 2A sticker and 1911 sticker on the back of my F150 and I informed him of my 1911 on my hip and of the .380 in the overhead bin. He said he figured id had one due to the stickers and kinda chuckled when he said my speed. He asked where I was headed and I told him work. He just said have a nice day. I was totally blown away that he didn't give me a ticket, I was expecting one.

[JimRau]

Originally Posted by John_Deer

Not being argumentative, just bringing up a weird situation. An officer that I actually know pulled me over. I told him I had a weapon. He asked to see it. It was laying on the seat right beside me out of sight. I picked it up and handed it to him. Apparently he wasn't expecting me to produce a weapon so quickly. The poor fellow almost jumped back into a busy highway. How do I avoid spooking officers?

The above incident is why I started placing my gun on the dash. I know most of the officers in my area. We only have 25 deputies on the local sheriffs dept. Likely they don't think anything about it other than I need to slow down or they are trying serve a warrant and can't find the person.

My experience as the 'driver' (since I retired) as been when I tell the officer I am armed they respond in different ways, but none of them have ask me to 'hand' them the gun. The last incident was just a week ago. I was rear ended in AR and when the trooper arrived I informed him I was a retired LEO and was armed and he replied "Thank you for telling me" and went on with the report. In OK when I was stopped the Deputy ask where I was carrying the gun and I told him he ask me to step out of the vehicle and ask if it were OK for him to remove the gun from my holster and I replied it was OK. He took the gun from the holster and after he took the gun he ask to see my retired ID. When we were finished he gave me the unloaded gun and ask me to load it before I left the scene.
I have had several other contacts with officers in several states, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and the all went well.
When I was working as a LEO and someone declared they were armed I handled it as the circumstances dictate, but I never did 'freak out' as I have heard tales of.
The advice I gave above is just plane common sense to those of us who have been on both sides of the fence. The last thing you want is to 'surprise' the officer with the site of a gun he is not aware is present.