Javelin Man wrote:FlyinCedar wrote:So it seems that in your mind, he should just roll up and start a conversation, and hope he's faster on the draw than whomever he is approaching. Techguy already stated that he has a nervous habit of moving his hands, and he could have easily made a movement that appeared to be toward his gun.
I have a great idea. Cops should walk around with ice cream and bubble gum, and give that out first upon contacting anyone. I'm sure it would diffuse a lot of situations, and make criminals think twice.
You guys all are about how wrong he was, because it was Techguy, and not someone meaning harm. I feel that you would have a totally different story had it been someone actually trying to cause harm, but was stopped in this manner by the cop. That situation would be nothing but a passing conversation here on this forum. The difference, is he didn't know either way, and you're all bent out of shape because it turned out in the end not to be a shooter this time. Of course, he didn't know that. He only knew there was a man loading/holstering a gun in obvious plain view of the public, headed into Target, and had at least one other person with them, very possibly armed, as he was not the driver.
As I recall, Techguy was coming OUT of Target with his partner in a casual fashion. No security alarms had been rung, no calls of armed encounters of any kind. Officer Un-Friendly certainly wasn't going to stop any robbery inside the store and there was no robbery to investigate.
The 5-0 reacted poorly and jeapordized many lives by drawing his firearm. If he felt that threatened, he should have had his AR trained on the pair and called for the SWAT team for backup.
Or maybe, just maybe, the possibility exists that incidents such as this are bound to happen in the
real world with
nobody being clearly wrong. Maybe there are actions which are perfectly lawful, but when conducted in public view and under the right circumstances, are bound to arouse suspicions. Maybe there are reactions by peace officers which seem extreme and are frightening, but when viewed in light of all the circumstances, are cautious and not unreasonable.
Yes, we all play in the Magical Land of Gun Forums® where it's either dragons or unicorns, and where bright-line rules are laid out by those who have
da oh are see at the top of their browser bookmarks with favorable case law tidbits from every gun blog known to man. But those of us who actually work in this reality on a daily basis know that the world is a lot more gray.
I have met
techguy85 and have communicated with him enough to conclude that he is an intelligent and reasonable person. I sympathize with his circumstances in this matter.
I do not know the peace officer involved. However, I know many peace officers; I know what their jobs involve; and I am frequently called upon to explain and justify their actions. They are often required to make serious decisions based on incomplete information, under limited time constraints, and without consultation. Given all the circumstances, it is difficult to condemn this officer's reaction, as imperfect as it may have been.
Feel free to flame away.
"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life."
-- Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon
"Remember that protecting our gun rights still boils down to keeping a majority in the electorate, and that our daily activities can have the impact of being ambassadors for the gun culture ..."
-- BobK
Open carry is a First Amendment exercise.