Howdy Folks!
Okay, so I have a quandry.
I very much am pro law enforcement. I am also very pro-rights.
I am not an officer of the law. But I am an OC'ing citizen.
So here is my perspective.
The officer, whether having received a call or not, approaches you. Whether you are legally carrying your firearm openly has yet to be determined in his mind. He does not know you from Adam. He only knows, at that point of contact, that you are armed. What happens in those first few seconds is going to determine his attitude to the OC'er. How do you comport yourself? Are you going to be trouble for him? Cooperative? Will you be (in his estimation) a kook or law abiding citizen? He has no way of knowing without first opening contact. And he knows you are armed. Is it reasonable to assume that the officer might be just as nervous about this contact as you might be when approached?
Meanwhile, you are OC'ing in a peaceful manner, not doing anything you believe to be wrong or troublesome. Now along comes an officer that you don't know from Adam. Until the contact actually begins, you are going to profile his attitude, just as certainly as he will profile yours. Is the cop just trying to ascertain that you are not a threat to the community, or looking for a reason to arrest you? His comportment will have an affect on your attitude to him, just as your comportment to him will cause his own attitude to moderate.
I've looked at various threads on this site, seen videos on YouTube, and also visited the police officer website that folks are talking about. I see extreme behavior on both sides, with the majority falling somewhere in the middle. On one hand, the officer who initiates the contact may/may not have RAS. He may simply be inquisitive, or have received a MWAG call. If he ignores a situation regarding an armed individual, and that indivdiual does something criminal, he's on the hook for negligence. If he probes for information, he's possibly infringing on Constitutional rights. If he is right in investigating, he's lauded. If he is wrong, he gets himself or his department sued. When he gets out of that car, he has no clue what he's up against. Sure, criminals are unlikely to carry a firearm openly displayed. We cannot deny there are exceptions to every rule. How is he to know without anything to base his decision on? That's where the attitude of the OC'er comes into play.
So that first impression on both sides of the spectrum is vitally important to whether a stop goes well or badly for either side.
I've seen some officers post about how we seek attention, ergo we open carry. This is an example of a wrong headed notion that some LEOs have. I'd carry concealed, at times, if I had a CCW permit. I don't. Until I get one, concealed carry would be breaking the law. I have no intent of breaking the law, but am also unwilling to be unprotected so I carry in the only manner available to me under law. I carry openly. It ain't about flaunting authority. It ain't about showing off. It ain't about trying to be conspicuous or trying to attract attention. It is about defending my life.
Similarly, I've seen officers spoken about as if they are SS troups or Gestapo types. That ain't no way to win friends or influence people in a positive manner. This is an equally wrong headed notion, and when tarred with the same brush, unfair to the majority of cops trying to do a really tough job.
So there we are. OC'ing as we go about our business, and here comes a cop to check us out. Each side needs to be very careful of the attitude they project. Each needs to be civil to one another, respectful and reasonable. An authoritarian attitude on either side is likely to escalate tension. An officer who is confrontational is no more helpful than a citizen who is himself confrontational. If the cop treats the citizen as an adversary at the outset, he is likely to raise the stakes in an unintended manner. The same goes for the citizen. One sure way to aggrevate the cop is to demonstrate by word of deed a hostile attitude. While you may well be within your rights, the sidewalk or street ain't the place to engage the officer in that particular debate.
A great deal has been said about recording devices, and their employ may be another thorn in the officer's side. Personally, I'd rather call 911 to inform them that I've been approached by someone who appears to be a police officer, but considering we have quite a problem in our area with folks impersonating police officers, I just want a recordd of the encounter. They have it on tape, and it is out of reach of the cop on the street (unlike a recording device in my pocket). It is an official record that can be brought to court by either side. If the officer objects to this tactic, I'd simply explain that I am ensuring this is a legitimate encounter with a duly appointed officer of the law considering impersonators running around. They know this to be true, so they shouldn't bristle as much as my having a recording device. A recording device might seem to them like an attempt to entrap them. Then when I ask whether I am being detained, that becomes a matter of record that can't be lost in the evidence room somewhere.
If I am approached by an LEO (which hasn't happened yet), I'd try to put them at some ease by smiling and greeting them in a friendly manner. His response is going to be what it is, and I'll work with that in as friendly a manner as possible, with an eye toward reasonable conduct on my behalf. Knowing that I have 911 on the phone will cause him to be cautious in his interaction with me. What happens next will depend on him, much less than on me.
I'd like to see an environment where more police officers regard the armed citizen as a responsible individual who is exercising his rights, prepared to defend their own life just as they are, and a partner in helping to mitigate crime. I'd like to hope that most police officers understand that citizens are their partners in establishing peace in their community. Police need citizens to report crimes. Police need citizens to testify in court against criminals. Police need citizens to provide information with regard to specific investigations. And just as certainly, we need them. They are the folks we want around when crime happens. That thin blue line is what can prevent crimes from happening and apprehend criminals who have done crimes against citizens. The citizen isn't their adversary, but partner in keeping the peace. Where an OC'er is carrying his weapon, criminals can see it just as easily as the cops can. It may give them pause to reconsider their options. The armed citizen is a deterrent against crime, and even more so when the bad guys can see they won't get away unchallenged if they decide to commit a crime where the citizen is obviously armed. In this manner, I'd think the police would understand that we help in their cause overall.
Finally, if a crime took place and an officer responded and took a bullet, I am the type of citizen who would defend the officer against an assailtant with the use of my own weapon. I'd back him up and do my best to defend his life. Not because I'm a gun totin' kook, not because I'm a showoff, not because I'm some sort of cowboy yahoo that looks for an opportunity to fire my weapon in reckless fashion... but because it is the right thing to do. One of the reasons to carry is because I am willing to defend others against criminals who would harm them. That would include the "officer down".
But getting back to that first moment of contact. How does the cop know whether I am a criminal or not? What does a criminal look like? What distinguishing characteristics are obvious to the observer? The answer is none. The only way they'll know is to check, and it all begins with demeanor.
On both sides of the spectrum, LEO and OC'er, we need to establish a certain decorum that demonstrates respect, civility and reasonableness. If this can be achieved, we can change those encounters from adversarial or confrontational to friendly and informative. I believe there is benefit to both sides to view one another as a partnership more than the "us vs. them" sort of scenario I've seen prevalant on both sides.
Then again, by my own admission, I haven't experienced anything other than a positive LEO encounter. And it wasn't actually an encounter as all the cop did was respond to my friendly smile and wave of greeting with similar of his own. His attitude may well have reflected my own. I don't know because we never spoke.
When my own encounter arrives, and I'm sure it will in time, I just hope that a reasonable and respectful demeanor on my part will also reflect in the officer's own comportment. Ultimately, I hope that any such confrontation can be made into a cooperative exchange between a law abiding citizen and a law enforcement officer who both share the desire for a peaceful and pleasant exchange.
I will stand by my rights, but not in a manner that is aggressive or combative. That much just doesn't serve us well as OC'ers.
And yes, I recognize that these thoughts are strictly my own opinion, based largely on ignorance owing to never had an encounter yet with an LEO. Your own mileage may vary, just as attitudes on both sides. If each side can dispense with unnessary adversarial comportment, perhaps we may discover that more cops are with us than against us. And maybe the cops will figure out that more OC'ers are with them than opposed to their very tough job.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
