run in with phillys finest. asking advice.

[nathaniel.seacat]

Ok, so I had a bad-sh experience with ppd today. I was vaccuming my car out and someone called a mwag. I was carrying a g19 in a desantis cozy partner but my shirt had ended up behind the holster.

As I was finishing up and hanging up the vaccum hose i notice a cruiser entering the lot, didnt think much of it. As he got behind me he stopped, opened his door and began to say something, I turned and, to my surprise, I was at gunpoint. Now, let me just say this was a lazy, unsure, very insecure gunpoint. It was just above his holster, strong hand only draw, not looking like he was so sure of his target. This shook me up quite a bit.
He reholstered, asked me if I had a gun, and told me to put my hands on my car. I replied that I did have a gun, he then noticed it, and removed it while demanding I keep my hands on my car.
The good: he never unholstered my weapon, just unsnapped the belt loops and removed the holster, the bad, I never volunteered to surrender my firearm.
By this time the wagon, and 4 other cruisers arrived, and the original officer had removed my wallet from my pocket. A sgt walked up and told me i could sit down, and it would just be a few mins while they verified my ltcf.
About 2 mins later the original officer walked back over with my wallet and firearm/holster and told me to have a nice day.

quick recap.
The good: nobody physically or verbally assaulted me, my firearm was never removed from the holster, and it was all over in less than 5 mins.

The bad: It happened at all, I never surrendered my firearm.
The very bad: I almost left in a body bag.

What Im asking is, in this situation, what could/should I have done to flex my rights while not making things MUCH harder on myself, or getting myself killed.

[victory]

You did fine. This is how MWAG calls go down in the city. Just do what they say and, as you found out, you'll be fine.

Just pay more attention to your cover garment next time.

[phillykev]

Assuming you didn't say anything else than what you posted in the story, I don't think there's anything else you could have done. Arguing with them while you're proned out and after they'd already drawn down on you would have been a really bad idea. Keeping your mouth shut and putting up with their thug tactics was the best you could hope for in that situation. You could file a complaint with internal affairs, but I wouldn't expect much to come of it. But at least you'll have the satisfaction of having done something that doesn't put your safety at risk.

[Connal]

You have two options.

1. Request the lube next time you see the Philthy PD.
2. Lawyer up, and sue for court costs as well.

Those are really your only options, not very good sounding either way though.

[victory]

Let's not overlook the fact that nothing really bad happened here.

The police actions would likely be deemed appropriate by any judge.

[bigandy1966]

you should change your screen name to "surrender"


WRONG Open Carry is LEGAL in PA this is called official oppression. it should make every one of us sick to have to put up with this crap from the Philly gestapo SS nazi regime.

[victory]

you should change your screen name to "surrender"


WRONG Open Carry is LEGAL in PA this is called official oppression. it should make every one of us sick to have to put up with this crap from the Philly gestapo SS nazi regime.

You should change you screen name to "i don't know what I'm talking about" so we all know not to waste our time reading the content of your post.

Open carry is not legal in Philly without a LTCF. Until your LTCF is confirmed, you are being lawfully detained as a suspect in a criminal investigation. That means that you can be temporarily disarmed. As soon as your LTCF is determined to be valid, you will be given your gun back and allowed to go about your business, just as the OP was.

[tourture]

you should change your screen name to "surrender"


WRONG Open Carry is LEGAL in PA this is called official oppression. it should make every one of us sick to have to put up with this crap from the Philly gestapo SS nazi regime.

and you would have handled this encounter SO differently?

[Delerius]

To be held at gun point for something that is completely legal? I would be calling a lawyer...

[Pointman73]

Unfortunate situation with without a bad outcome. What is silly is calling for a man with a gun when you are cleaning out your car. There are no claims against the Officer for checking you out. I've encountered many armed citizens and as long as they did not pose a threat to me, I had no right to disarm them. Every call is handled by an individual, dependent on that individual Officer's training, knowledge, and experience.

When I had a similar call when a guy was at a store and got back into his car, I watched as the person got into his vehicle and then made a traffic stop. I would rather have a person seated rather than on their feet as I approach them from behind. After making contact, I would interview the driver and check ID and permit info. Of course this is when there has not been a threat or any crime committed.

Always remember, out of sight, out of mind. Be aware if you are doing something that will make your pistol print or flash. You did not almost leave in a bodybag. If your heart raced and blood pressure went up, you are calm now. Lesson learned, be safe.