qmti wrote:
Question: "IF" this was a real LEO in plain clothes and he came in and asked if employees were armed, would they have to notify. This would seem to me a gray area if the LEO was asking randomly. Full uniform dress would be different I would presume.
As far as the law, the requirement is still the same. Plus, others in the past have impersonated law enforcement, either with realistic looking uniforms, or in some cases a real uniform. (earlier this year allegedly with a real OSP uniform for example) This is however the first time that I've heard of or read where someone has asked about weapons.
IMO (not a lawyer) if someone approached you in plainclothes with only a badge, whether it was authentic looking or not, and you demanded a close look at both the badge and ID before responding, it would be a reasonable defense later if the cop charged you with failure to promptly notify. That is certainly what I would do. (confirm identity)
My concern is more about what other people might do in a different situation, like the one I originally asked a question about, than the store example. Those two guys were going to approach a woman who was a witness in a serious crime, and ask her to talk with them, possibly privately. She probably wouldn't have thought it unusual for two investigators to be wanting to do that. Fortunately they were incompetent and didn't get the chance, but what about the next time?
http://ohioccwforums.org/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=90548" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Barnhart said that Brubaker picked him up with the intention of going to Wadsworth to confront a woman who was a witness in a Medina County rape case scheduled for trial later this month,
"It appeared that the reason he was wearing this uniform may have been to intimidate this young lady to answer his questions or perhaps to go away with him to some other location," Hunter told WJW.