[LM4300]

An Officer backs up a neighboring jurisdiction on a traffic stop, because the driver "said" he had a gun in the car. Also, the stopping officer saw some furtive movement as if the driver was going under the seat before the officer approached the car.

Long story short, the guy had a valid CCW permit, and the gun was his, not stolen. Also the officer asks to search the vehicle. (The only reason was because the guy kept the gun unholstered and under the seat). Driver agrees, and signs consent form....No contraband etc found.

Driver was going to be allowed to leave, but the mounting vehicle violations, registration suspensions, requires the car be towed. The driver has no one to get him and will have to walk home.

This is where it gets ugly... Officer tells driver he is keeping his gun and he can pick it up the next day at the police station. He has the driver sign a property reciept and allows him to leave after signing for his tickets too. Driver puts up no fight to this blatant violation of his rights, most likely because he simply didnt know any better.

The officer's reasoning was simply that the driver was now "on foot" and he "didn't want him walking around with it." He even gave that as part of his disposition to police radio when he cleared the stop.

Heaven forbid it was someone that knew their rights, it could have become a war of wills, with some real consequences down the line. I'm sure that guy did come back for his gun eventually. Unfortunately, the cop will think he did a good job, and the gun owner will have learned nothing positive when dealing with Police.

Lets just say the back up Officer was terribly embarrassed and wanted no part of the incident or the neighboring officer who opened himself and the whole department to lawsuits.