After dropping the better half at a work-related conference in the city, her daughter and I decided to go do some Pokemon hunting. She and I stopped to take a selfie to send her mom.
As we walk away from the impromptu snapshot, a loud
"Sir! SIR!" came from across the street. Three PPD officers had stepped out of a black unmarked car and were walking towards us.
I believe I turned and said, "What's up?"
"We got a call about someone carrying a gun." Of course they did - I'm sure that's why there's employees from the Federal detention facility across the street hanging out the door and gawking.
"Okay," I said.
"We always make contact whenever someone makes a report of someone with a weapon." The rhetoric never changes.
"Sure," I said, "do you suspect me of any crimes?" By this time, I had switched from my camera app to the background video recorder.
"No," replied one officer.
This is where my video app picks up.
"We're not trying to give you a hard time," said another.
"No, that's perfectly fine, I have a License to Carry, everything's fine."
"Can we see your license, please?" I have to admit, he was very polite with his request at first.
"No, that's okay. Thank you, though."
"What's that?"
"No."
His politeness was short-lived.
"So you're gonna play this all wrong?"
"It's - 4th Amendment, and the PA Supreme Court just made a decision in the Hick's case, so -"
"I understand that," he said on repeat, trying to quell my daring.
"...and I would like to retain my privacy if that's okay with you."
"It's fine, I'm just explaining to you why I'm stopping you -"
"Sure, and I appreciate that, I do. I understand that phone calls get made, that's fine, but I would prefer to retain my privacy and I would like for you to respect that."
The other officer spoke up.
"You know why we're here - someone called. We're not trying to invade anything, we're not trying to harass you, we're fully aware of the law, we're just making contact to say hello, that's all it is. We're not trying to be offensive."
"And that's perfectly alright."
"You said you have a License to Carry? The nature of the day and age, people are just concerned, and the calls come in..."
"Most civilians don't know the law."
"Absolutely. That's why I make sure I'm as educated as possible. So, if that's all, you guys have a great day."