Well, I had an eventful day, filled with plants, blades and police officers. Here we go...
Seeing that my garden of 34 tomato plants has been depleted by gophers to only 15 plants, I decided to head over to Home Depot for some starter tomatoes to try and get some more tomatoes in before the frosts.
Since I can't carry my firearm to the Home Depot in Escondido, I decided to carry my tomahawk. Why my tomahawk? Well, there has been a bit of discussion about the legality of carrying a tomahawk on CGN as of late and many have come to the conclusion that it is entirely legal. Further more, I am of the opinion that the tomahawk is even OK to conceal carry. (I AM NOT A LAWYER NOR ARE MY THOUGHTS LEGAL ADVICE, SO DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK!)
Getting back to the story... my Home Depot trip was pretty much eventless. I did strike up a conversation with a guy about what tomatoes to get for bagels and we talked about gophers and such. He even made a joke about my tomahawk being used for whacking gophers. I ended up walking out with a 6 pack of Early Girl and a 6 pack of either Early Girl or Sweet 100 (it's a mystery! DAH DAH DAAAH!)
Now, I realize that carrying a tomahawk to a home improvement store is kind of cheating... what about a shoe repair shop? Or perhaps a sewing machine repair shop? Well, nothing happened in those either and no one asked questions!
Now, to the story du jour...
Leaving the sewing machine repair shop in my car, I was pulled over my Esco's finest for using my cell phone. The police officer stated that even doctor's calls are not exempt (which is not true and I shall be vindicated) and asked for license, registration and insurance. In the course of me retrieving my papers, I had to remove a box of ammunition (*smirk*)...
-Umm, what is the ammo for?
-Oh, I go shooting sometimes
-Is there a gun in the car?
-There is nothing illegal in this vehicle.
-Is there a gun in the car?
-There is nothing illegal in this vehicle.
-You're not answering my question. Is there a gun in the car?
-There is nothing illegal in this vehicle.
-Sir, please step outside of the vehicle.
-Alrighty.
So I got out and sat down on the curb, not saying anything. After about a minute I can see the other officer peeking into my windows to check for weapons, (tomahawk on the back seat, knife on the front seat...) at which point that I clearly stated "I do not submit to any warrantless searches," to which the officer responded that they wouldn't be searching my car. The officer then asked me where I was going, to which I responded "Somewhere."
After the secondary officer got done talking with whomever he was talking to (maybe they know me down at Esco?) I was given my ticket and I left.
Things that I could have done better and learned.
1) Roll up your windows, lock your doors and take your keys with you. I didn't do that and my window was down... no bueno.
2) Only roll down your windows PART WAY.
3) If asked if you have any weapons, politely ask "Am I legally required to answer that question?" If they say yes, then request the penal code citation requiring your compliance. If no, then stand on your 4th and 5th amendment grounds and say nothing and don't permit any warrantless searches. This is crucial because if you say "I have nothing illegal," you are making a very broad statement as to the legality of the items in you car. If something should happen and you are searched and something is found to be questionable or illegal, then you can be on the hook for lying.
Bottom line: SAY NOTHING, ADMIT NOTHING, STAND YOUR GROUND!
4) Point 4 will be explained by my brother Sam when he has the time and the inclination. (Sam, this is about getting the first word and all the subsequent talking points.)
Finals are coming up, time to study!
CARRY ON!
-N8
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3 comments:
If they know you, then they should know not to harass you with falsely issued tickets pending an IA investigation. Let Sgt. Healey know the corruption in his department is spreading.
hilarous!
"to the feeling man, life is a tragedy. To the thinking man, life is a comedy!"
Laughter gets me through the day!
Been following your Blog for a while and wanted to comment.
First, much gratitude for taking up the "Bring Back Open Carry" as common in our daily lives as is the ease of exercising our right to drive, pursue happiness, and live as Americans with our inalienable rights.
The problem is most Americans don't want to put up the fight let alone the inconvenience of exercising that right because of the inherent perception that it would send out an invitation by law enforcement to overly exercise its duty "...to protect and serve" the public; hence, your diary of "eventful" encounters with law enforcement. Most Americans in California don't want encounters with LE in such examples and that's a problem.
Second, a close friend of mine who's a damn good criminal defense attorney and a gun advocate would advise you: "NEVER ever talk to Cops. There are over 11,000+ combination of ways your disclosure of information can be used against you by the cops to prosecute you." That alone should make all of us leary of disclosing anything to LE.
Carry On!
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