Same here in IN. I have informed, but I won’t anymore.
Why? Because of what happened last time.
The writing was on the wall when I was told why I had been stopped. He stopped me because the area I was driving through would begin construction next week and I would have been speeding had I come through there then. Believe it or not, that was the second time I had been stopped for the same reason.
When informed, he asked me to step out of car, then asked me if I would hand him my gun. Since he turned his back and walked away as I was getting out, I thought this was a casual friendly thing. Maybe even a gun chat on a nice Sunday morning. I obliged on handing over my gun, which turned out to be a mistake as you will see.
I was carrying a Browning HiPower, like I usually do. He proceeded to attempt to unload it “for our safety”. Hmmm. Curious, but fine.
Like a 1911, the thumb safety of a BHP locks the slide closed. Since the thumb safety was “on”, he couldn’t open the slide.
In hindsight this might have looked amusing in a slapstick kind of way, but it sure wasn’t funny at the time.
He pulled and tugged and tugged and pulled, as his muzzle control went from fair to terrible as his frustration rose. The school we were in front of, the houses across the street, his car, and me, were all muzzle swept multiple times as he jerked and waved my gun around.
All the while he’s repeating this was “for our safety”.
Over and over I’m saying “You need to take the safety off”. Eventually he did, although I think was by accident. The slide opened and slammed shut again.
Since he had not removed the magazine, it ejected one round and chambered another.
He deflated like a kid told it’s time to hand the puppy back.
Eventually he got it unloaded “for our safety” but he looked like he went a round or two with Mike Tyson. I probably looked about the same, or at least aged a few years. I think our combined heart rates would’ve been off the charts.
Although this was done “for our safety” I wasn’t feeling very safe. If any of the neighbors had been looking out their windows they wouldn’t have either.
I had been on my way to a 3-gun match when he stopped me, so with a backup for each gun, I had a minivan full of guns. Once he caught his breath from The Battle Of The HiPower, he suddenly froze and thought to say “You don’t happen to have any other guns with you, do you?”
Yes. Yes, I do.
I explained.
Again, the kid with a puppy look.
He gave up at that point. Handing my gun and ammo back, he told me to keep it unloaded until out of town and sent me on my way. I was to reload my gun while driving down the road “for our safety”.
So I will inform if required, but will never again inform out of courtesy. Not after that. If I were a police officer I would want to know, so can I appreciate that fact, but I can’t do it now.
The risk if I don’t inform is the officer sees my holstered gun and puts his hand on his own. Maybe he even draws on me.
That’s the risk, but i feel it is less risk to me than what I experienced that day.
