Notify at local event

[Buckeyedoc]

So, the wife wanted to run the kiddos down to the local 4th of July celebration & fireworks. The PD had a couple vehicles there as they always do. Anyway, the wee ones wanted to go see the "woo woos and bink binks" as they call them. So we mosey over. Of course I am carrying at the time. I notify them that I'm carrying and they hardly acknowledged it. I know it's not a big deal. What is everyone else's thoughts on notifying? Is walking up to a static display considered "an encounter?" I'm sure 99% of the cops don't care, but it's that 1% that would cause an issue.

[tbrew85]

Is walking up to a static display considered "an encounter?"

Nope. No reason to notify in that situation. Others will elaborate more eloquently than I.

[Buckeyedoc]

Is walking up to a static display considered "an encounter?"

Nope. No reason to notify in that situation. Others will elaborate more eloquently than I.

I would tend to agree with you, but with my luck lately, I would have gotten hit with a failure to notify.

[gfrlaser]

Wait... nothing was said to you.. you weren't stopped right? Why notify?? No, never do that.

[Pecker]

I wouldn't consider that an encounter for "a law enforcement purpose."

[Wulfen]

That would depend on the officer in question. A lot of departments are pushing for "community-oriented policing", which means basically being visible and making nice with the citizens when not actively making arrests or investigating.

Some officers may construe this as meaning that anytime a police officer is engaging with the public for the purpose of establishing rapport with said community, it could be seen as a "law enforcement purpose."

Thus the issue with a vague phrase such as "law enforcement purposes."

[fisher]

I have been in a similar situation and not notified.

[hank.forker]

Here is the relevant snippet from the ORC...

(snip)If a licensee is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and if the licensee is carrying a concealed handgun at the time the officer approaches, the licensee shall promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the licensee while stopped that the licensee has been issued a concealed handgun license and that the licensee currently is carrying a concealed handgun;(snip)

As it seems clear that you were not stopped or approached there was no immediate legal requirement to notify. It does not bother me that you did, but I would not have in that situation.

[Metal1]

Absolutely no reason for you to have done that. None, zip, nada.

[Brian D.]

Notification needs to go away, or at the very least be decriminalized down to littering ticket level offense. Until it does, I'm not notifying when it isn't necessary. The more some folks do that, the more some LEO's will start to believe it's always a requirement. (I've all but given up on hoping that the AG's office and OPOTA provides any training that's absorbed properly by a large percentage of officers and agencies. Oh well we have found that some CHL instructors aren't any better at disseminating data accurately...)

[Stryker74]

Did you have to inform? No, not based on my opinion of the law.

Was it OK that you informed? Sure - no law against it, and the officer did not overreact.

I am of the opinion that unless the officer approaches me to have a chat about something I am doing, or some other activity that might be criminal in nature - I don't need to inform. If I go to him, and say "Good morning! Great weather today!" - I won't inform. If he comes to me and says the same, I won't inform. If he comes to me, greets me politely - and then asks a question that is not general chit-chat - then I inform. (That last one is where it might get tricky - always good to have a voice recorder going so that you can document where the conversation went from general chit-chat to official.)


I agree with Brian though - notification needs to go away. I travel down through WVa, Va, Ky all the time. None require notification at all. Notification and tying it to our vehicle registration are some of those leftover "poison pills" that we just don't seem to be able to get rid of (though I don't know that we have tried recently to be honest).

[AmendII71]

No I would not notify. "Stopped or approached" would seem to be the key statement in the law that would negate your obligation to notify in this case.

[Glock513]

I wouldn't have notified them either. I don't think you were "stopped" by a LEO.

[MyWifeSaidYes]

If you want to volunteer the fact that you are an armed CHL holder to every police officer you pass, go for it.

If I have any question about whether an officer is stopping me for a law enforcement purpose...I'll ask him.

When I was tying down a loose load in my pickup truck on the side of the highway, a deputy sheriff pulled up and stopped behind me, then got out and asked me if everything was okay.

Checking on my safety and well-being is definitely a law enforcement purpose (community care), but he didn't stop me.

[gfrlaser]

One danger, IMO, is that you might approach an officer that is less than friendly towards your right to carry the firearm. An unpleasant scene could follow. Not that it would be right mind you. A few Youtube videos of 'friendly encounters' can verify the fact that not every notify is a pleasant one.