Had my first encounter with a cop... Interesting for sure!

[G23neverjams]

I did my normal day at work, and one of my friends picked me up. We went up to my place and I picked up my G23 when I got changed. We were heading to his place and on the way there, what should we happen upon but a vehicle accident.

Him and I are (were recently) both fire fighters with the Newberry township Fire Department so obviously, we were obligated to stop. (certainly would have anyway) We approached the accident and found that one of the vehicles was dumping gas all over the place so we went to disabling both vehicles and all that good stuff. I was OC'ing the whole time and it actually supprised me because neither of the parties involved in the accident commented on the pistol on my hip.

Shortly there after, the ambulance arrived and then, before we could even finish breifing the arriving responders, the cop arrived. We approached him as he approached us, and before we could even begin breifing him, he began with this;

Him; "Ok, first off, what are you doing with that pistol on you?" (said in a "why does someone besides me have a gun?!?!?" type of attitude)
Me; "Because open carry is legal in the state of Pennsylvania and that is the way I prefer to carry"
Him; "Well where do you live?"
Me; "I live out that way" And just sorta pointed to my general direction (I lived like 5 or 6 miles away)
Him; "well why are you here then?"
Me; "him and I are both fire fighters and in the military"
Him; "Well you need to get rid of that gun"
Me; (dumbfounded look) I just sorta stood there, almost in a bit of shock while my friend started to explain what was going on.
Him; "Well if you're gonna stick around here, you need to put that gun away in your vehicle"
Me; (still dumbfounded and now a little unhappy with the cop) I looked at my friend and out loud said "Well, are you ready to leave then?"

We decided to stay and I reluctantly put the pistol away.

Him and I did our thing when Rescue 31 showed up and then the amazing thing happend.

The adrenalyn must have disperced in the cop because he approached me and said the following:
Him; "Hey, I'm sorry about the pistol thing..."
Him; "Thanks for putting it away for me"
Me; "No problem."
Him; "I just didn't want that on my mind with the domestic dispute going on out here"
Me; "I understand. It's ok" (I could tell he was actually sorry and didn't want any hard feelings)


We just sorta continued our jobs at the accident and then he let us know that we could head out once the tows arrived and we proceded to head out, nodded to the cop and that was that.

I guess it's an up in the air thing as to if it was a good encounter or not. I guess it wasn't in the way that he had me put it away in the car but the fact that he came and later apoligized to me and explained himself (Oh, and he also thanked me for cooperating with him) was certainly un-expected and a good thing!

What do you all think? How did my first LE OC encounter go?

[GL23]

Get your flame suit on.

J/K. Every LEO encounter has it's own unique set of circumstances that are difficult to judge without actually having been there. If you feel it was best to disarm, and the encounter ended OK, then it was probably the right move.

At least the LEO didn't lecture you about OC, or try telling you it wasn't legal.

[falcn]

Good on you for stopping.

Domestic dispute? I don't get what he was talking about.

You were within your rights to tell him that you didn't want to put the gun away.

I'm not gonna second guess you here or say "I woulda...shoulda..."

You are an adult - you analyzed the situation and made your decision. It's in the past. Only you can decide different the next time. If it bothers you, call his dept and ask to have a chat or send a letter to his chief.

[G23neverjams]

Sorry, I shoulda touched more on the situation...

The accident was started by a mother and daughter arguing and yelling. The daughter pulled out of the house (way too fast) with her kids in the car and caused the accident. The mother and daughter then continued the argument, now even more upset with eachother. that was when the cop showed up.

[falcn]

Sorry, I shoulda touched more on the situation...

The accident was started by a mother and daughter arguing and yelling. The daughter pulled out of the house (way too fast) with her kids in the car and caused the accident. The mother and daughter then continued the argument, now even more upset with eachother. that was when the cop showed up.

OH MAN! You definitely should have kept your gun on your then... what the hell were you thinking!? Don't you know how dangerous mother/daughter fights can get!?!!

hehe

[ddefazio]

Great job Stopping to help. I love how the cop shows up at an accident where there is fuel on the road and people being taken by ambulance to the hospital and he has to hassel you about a holstered gun.

[gnbrotz]

Sorry, I shoulda touched more on the situation...

The accident was started by a mother and daughter arguing and yelling. The daughter pulled out of the house (way too fast) with her kids in the car and caused the accident. The mother and daughter then continued the argument, now even more upset with eachother. that was when the cop showed up.

How irresponsible of the officer to introduce a firearm into such a volatile situation!

[GregorOneEye]

What kind of holster do you use?

[G23neverjams]

SERPA CQC holster

[Pa. Patriot]

I was OC'ing the whole time and it actually supprised me because neither of the parties involved in the accident commented on the pistol on my hip.

Why? I get asked/comments only very rarely. That's the norm for me. Are you getting asked or comments as the norm?

Him; "Ok, first off, what are you doing with that pistol on you?" (said in a "why does someone besides me have a gun?!?!?" type of attitude)

Ridiculous question. People carry guns, officer.

Him; "Well you need to get rid of that gun"

Fail. No such authority to make that demand.

Me; (dumbfounded look) I just sorta stood there, almost in a bit of shock while my friend started to explain what was going on.
Him; "Well if you're gonna stick around here, you need to put that gun away in your vehicle"
Me; (still dumbfounded and now a little unhappy with the cop) I looked at my friend and out loud said "Well, are you ready to leave then?"

We decided to stay and I reluctantly put the pistol away.

Kudos for following through with the first responder stuff. I won't fault you for obliging his idiotic demand, considering you had more important things to do at the time then argue or concede(leave) with officer over-the-line.

The adrenalyn must have disperced in the cop because he approached me and said the following:
Him; "Hey, I'm sorry about the pistol thing..."
Him; "Thanks for putting it away for me"
Me; "No problem."
Him; "I just didn't want that on my mind with the domestic dispute going on out here"
Me; "I understand. It's ok" (I could tell he was actually sorry and didn't want any hard feelings)

He should be, especially after you explained you were first responders, having nothing to do with the wreck or dispute... He was totally out of line.

What do you all think? How did my first LE OC encounter go?

You did fine and get an "A"
Officer did so-so. His mistake was somewhat acknowledged and apologized for. He failed the exam but gained enough points on the bonus question to pull out a "D"