"If you're gonna cause a public hysteria in there..." (encounter at the market)

[ViperGTS19801]

I was out and about this morning and stopped at a local grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends, and while checking the carton of eggs for any that might be cracked, a man walks around behind me and reaches for some eggs as well, simultaneously saying,

"You should cover that up."
"Excuse me?"
"You should conceal that thing."

Someone telling me what to do with something that's none of their business irritates me greatly. If someone has a concern and voices it, that's one thing, but who the hell are you to tell me what I should and should not do?

"Why?" I asked.
"Do you have a license for it?"
"Would I need one to carry like this?"
"Yeah!"
"No, I don't, and you really should get your facts straight if you're going to try to tell people what to do."
"I'm a cop, man."

I scoffed.

"Then you REALLY need to go learn the law."

Like I said, I don't have a problem with someone asking a question, but this guy was kind of a jerk right off the bat. Add to that the fact that he says he's a LEO and he's trying to spread misinformation, and I didn't have the patience to give him any more of my time. I closed the lid for my eggs and walked towards the checkout.

While waiting in the line for the self-checkout aisle, Mr. Knowitall strolls down with his cart. I gave him a half-assed smile as I moved out of his way a bit, and she scoffed, shaking his head with a condescending smile on his face.

After checking out and leaving, I sat in the car for a moment. It occurred to me thttp://forum.pafoa.org/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=144hat I was doing myself and all OCers a disservice by being so dismissive and not at least making an attempt to correct his erroneous information. I decided to make amends for being so rude, since one good turn does not make another, and to try and educate him a little bit since he claims to be a cop.

I already had my dashcam rolling, as I always do whenever my car is in gear, but for ease of capture, I figured I would also turn on my voice recorder, just to cover my ass. That's why I have it, after all.

I put on my hazard flashers and parked outside of the entrance to the store so I could catch his attention when he left.

This is the unedited recording. You may want to turn your audio down because it seems a bit loud to me.

http://www.supload.com/listen?s=h5q37b

What I was trying to explain towards the end, before he kept interrupting me over and over, is that I choose to open carry because I'm more comfortable that way, and concealment while wearing nice clothes is not always as easy as just having the right holster. But he decided he was the bigger man and walked away.

[theo]

You must have a bullseye on your forehead. I think You have had more negative encounters than the whole PAFOA membership.


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[Franky4Fingers]

You did WHAT? ... I'm not even going to watch that video I'm so embarrassed. You were doing awesome up until the end of your post there.


Stalk much?

[BimmerJon]

Typical a-hole cop... Injecting his opinion as fact, lying about the law, and talking louder than you and over you (because the person that talks louder and interrupts is the correct one)...

Maybe the cop should verbally beat you down for open kissing (OK) your GF in public, and only do that in the concealed privacy of your own home (CK), because "people dont like it"
Disgrace to the badge

You did WHAT? ... I'm not even going to watch that video I'm so embarrassed. You were doing awesome up until the end of your post there.


Stalk much?

Disagree.... The cop took it on himself to state his opinion, off duty to Viper about how he feels about OC, big deal... but this same cop LIED to a person (any person) that they need a license to OC (I'm assuming he is not in Phila). Viper was very respectful IMHO and called the cop out on the cops immature and inappropriate behavior. Last I looked, the officer took an oath to defend and support the State and Federal Constitutions, which included firearms

I think You have had more negative encounters than the whole PAFOA membership.


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I say Viper has more BALLS than the whole PAFOA membership.

Rep

[PaBimmerGuy]

dash cam ?

[ViperGTS19801]

You did WHAT? ... I'm not even going to watch that video I'm so embarrassed. You were doing awesome up until the end of your post there.


Stalk much?

I'd be a stalker if I followed him to his house to tell him more about how wrong he is.

Honestly, I felt like such an asshole after just telling him to get his facts straight and walking away. The idea behind stopping outside the store to talk with him was to 1) apologize for being rude and dismissive in the store and 2) to hopefully impart a little education on someone who's charged with enforcing the law, but made it apparent to me that he doesn't know the law he's supposed to enforce. The conversation we had really made it more obvious that he knows what's legal and doesn't care, and thinks his opinion is more valid than the law, which is why when he walked away from me, I didn't pursue it any further.

dash cam ?

Wouldn't have done any good - he was only on it for a brief moment as he pushed his cart of groceries in front of my car. Though the audio may be better quality, it's not worth the extra effort to capture and render all over again since the current audio file is clear enough.

[CHEMICAL]

dash cam ?

Yes........

[normanvin]

How do you know he was a cop? Other then he told you. Did he show a badge?

Dashcam? Cops have dashcams.

[ViperGTS19801]

How do you know he was a cop? Other then he told you. Did he show a badge?

No, I'm only assuming he was telling the truth in the store. For all I really know, he may just be some asshole with a power complex.

[Deanimator]

No, I'm only assuming he was telling the truth in the store. For all I really know, he may just be some asshole with a power complex.

I'd have demanded credentials. If he wouldn't or couldn't produce them, I'd call him in as impersonating a police officer. I'd send his department a registered letter describing his ignorance of or contempt for the law and referencing the training memo, etc.

It's not worth an official complaint, but certainly worth some embarrassment.