Ohioans For Concealed Carry Discussion Forums

Yesterday morning at about 7:00 AM, I stepped outside with my German Shepherd and a Glock 19 in my waistband. I live at somewhat rural intersection that is usually very quiet at that time of day except for the occasional runner or cyclist.

I noticed a small sedan parked off the side of the road at the intersection to my East. The car was completely off the road and parked in the grass. The sun was in my eyes but I could make out the silhouette of a person in the driver's seat. I watched for a while and saw no activity or movement for about 10 minutes. I was playing with my pup the whole time, so I wasn't intently focused on the car. Since this was unusual, I decuded to carefully approach to see if the driver needed any assistance and to find out what was going on. About a year ago, a drunk driver had decided to sleep one off at almost the same spot, so perhaps this was a similar situation.

I approached from the passenger side rear of the car and walked to about 10 yards from the passenger window. The startled driver eventually noticed my presence and rolled down the passenger window as I asked him if he needed any assistance. I had to squint in the sunlight and still could only see his silhouette. He identified himself as a police officer and stated that he was there because of "the race". I didn't know of any "the race", but whatever. As he shifted around in the car, I was able to pick out a black and white "POLICE" patch on his vest. I double-checked to make sure he didn't need anything, wished him a good day, then walked back to my house with my German Shepherd and his favorite Frisbee.

During this interaction, I decided that I did not need to notify because I was not approached for a law enforcement purpose. My pistol was safely tucked away the whole time and was not even a factor in this encounter. I share this trivial experience to help with the conversation. Just because you are carrying a concealed handgun, you are not automatically obligated to notify.

Do you agree? Would you have notified?

Nope. You were not approached by him for law enforcement purposes.

Curious, did you later contact your local LE to see if he was actually a LEO? Patches on a vest don't mean a lot.

I didn't bother to check his story. I had no reason to think anything differently - I didn't even ask him the name of his police department. I live in a township outside the jurisdiction of any police department, so he had to have been hired by the race for traffic control. I did see some groups of cyclists go by later and he was watching for traffic at the intersection.

Personally I see it like WY Not and yourself. But it's easy to imagine a different outlook if the officer had been there for some other purpose. Let's say he was looking for a kid reported missing for example. So, he starts asking you questions and they get sort of specific. At some point it gets into gray area as to whether the conversation became "for a law enforcement purpose ".

Notification needs to go bye bye.

I would've asked about the race. Since when does race become an issue for the police? Asian, black, Hispanic, Indian, white? Who was he going to find?

I don't think ...... no ..... wait a minute ....

sd790 wrote:Yesterday morning at about 7:00 AM, I stepped outside with my German Shepherd and a Glock 19 in my waistband. I live at somewhat rural intersection that is usually very quiet at that time of day except for the occasional runner or cyclist.

I noticed a small sedan parked off the side of the road at the intersection to my East. The car was completely off the road and parked in the grass. The sun was in my eyes but I could make out the silhouette of a person in the driver's seat. I watched for a while and saw no activity or movement for about 10 minutes. I was playing with my pup the whole time, so I wasn't intently focused on the car. Since this was unusual, I decuded to carefully approach to see if the driver needed any assistance and to find out what was going on. About a year ago, a drunk driver had decided to sleep one off at almost the same spot, so perhaps this was a similar situation.

I approached from the passenger side rear of the car and walked to about 10 yards from the passenger window. The startled driver eventually noticed my presence and rolled down the passenger window as I asked him if he needed any assistance. I had to squint in the sunlight and still could only see his silhouette. He identified himself as a police officer and stated that he was there because of "the race". I didn't know of any "the race", but whatever. As he shifted around in the car, I was able to pick out a black and white "POLICE" patch on his vest. I double-checked to make sure he didn't need anything, wished him a good day, then walked back to my house with my German Shepherd and his favorite Frisbee.

During this interaction, I decided that I did not need to notify because I was not approached for a law enforcement purpose. My pistol was safely tucked away the whole time and was not even a factor in this encounter. I share this trivial experience to help with the conversation. Just because you are carrying a concealed handgun, you are not automatically obligated to notify.

Do you agree? Would you have notified?

No holster?

I carry a G19 myself but would never shove it in my waistband or in a pocket.

BEAR! wrote: No holster?

I carry a G19 myself but would never shove it in my waistband or in a pocket.

Of course it was holstered.

sd790 wrote:

BEAR! wrote: No holster?

I carry a G19 myself but would never shove it in my waistband or in a pocket.

Of course it was holstered.

I knew the answer to that

Chuck wrote:

sd790 wrote:

BEAR! wrote: No holster?

I carry a G19 myself but would never shove it in my waistband or in a pocket.

Of course it was holstered.

I knew the answer to that

I didn't.

I
Know
Him

O
K