I disagree. Prosecutors are reluctant to charge honest citizens, especially in cases where they are unlikely to succeed at trial. And LEO's are unlikely to arrest honest citizens who are unlikely to be charged.ballistic wrote:Frankly I am beside myself with wonder and amazement regarding the pre-legal CCW interactions with LEO's some people have posted here. I don't question anyone's truthfulness. I just don't understand why anyone wasn't arrested on these occasions. While it is true the "officer on the scene" can exercise discretion in a given circumstance, the overwhelming majority (i.e., 99.99%) of LEO's would never let a person carrying a concealed weapon simply "walk." (Scene back at the station: "What! You mean you stopped a person with a concealed weapon and you didn't arrest him?") The prevailing attitude would be "Tell it to the judge." That is what "Klein v. Leis" was all about. I can only conclude these posted incidents are truly the rare exceptions to the rule. You should acknowledge yourselves as a extraordinarily fortunate group.
Very few law abiding Ohio citizens who were charged ONLY with carrying a concealed weapon have been found guilty by a jury where an affirmative defense is presented. Most Ohio convictions for carrying a concealed weapon in Ohio were in 1) plea bargains 2) cases where jury trial was waived 3) cases where the concealed weapons charge is one on a much longer list of charges 4) cases where an affirmative defense was not presented 5) cases where an affirmative defense is presented, but the defendant is not eligible (under 21, already a felon, subject to restraining order, carried in prohibited area).
The vast majority of law abiding citizens who are not under disability and were charged only with carrying a concealed weapon and insisted on a jury trial in order to present an affirmative defense either got the charges dismissed or were acquitted by the jury.
In addition, many LEOs have a healthy respect for the 2nd amendment and aren't willing to trample citizen's rights regardless of department policy. Even LEOs who don't fully respect the 2nd amendment realize that Ohio's RKBA is even broader, and neither LEOs nor prosecutors were eager to create high-profile test cases for the Ohio's concealed carry laws by dragging honest citizens into court. The more the general public became aware of how hard concealed carry convictions are to get, the more the general public would be emboldened to pack heat under the affirmative defense laws. The best way to keep concealed carry acquittals out of the news was not to bring charges.
Our local department was really fond of searching vehicles and made a large number of concealed weapon arrests as a result. The local prosecutors didn't want to touch the cases where the only chage was carrying a concealed weapon, the citizen had a clean record, and there was a hint of presenting an affirmative defense.
And even most of the LEOs who don't care about the above concerns simply have better things to do than the paperwork and court appearances generated by arresting honest citizens. Almost all LEO's have a healthy respect for the fact that their job is to get the bad guys off the street, and they aren't real eager to waste time hassling the good guys. The only LEO's who tend to arrest a citizen when concealed carry is the only factor are those anti-gunners who truly believe that mere possession of a firearm makes someone a menace to society. And even these jack-booted thugs get the message when prosecutors don't bring charges, judges dismiss, and juries acquit.
Michael Courtney