+1 for the SAPD!

[majormadmax]

Well, guess what happened this evening...

I was buying that Savage 64 BTV target rifle from Badfish, and we agreed to meet at a gas station that's about halfway between where we live and where we've done similar transactions before.

He handed me the rifle and I briefly pointed it up at a billboard to check the scope out. Ten minutes later a police car rolled up and the officer got out and asked what was going on. We told him we were conducting a private gun sale, and he said there was a report of someone shooting at the billboard. I explained that I was just checking out the scope and that the rifle was unloaded. I also asked if he wanted to see ID. He replied no, he just had to check out what was really going on, and wished us a good evening and left.

No drama, no confrontation, no being belligerent on our part or the officer's. It was a reasonable, respectful encounter that lasted less than 15 seconds. We understood he had to find out what was going on, and there was no reason for us to be hostile as we weren't doing anything wrong, and we were treated respectfully.

Were our "rights" being violated by our being asked what was going on? No. Could we have been assholes towards the cop? Sure. Would that have helped resolve matters any? No. Do you think the next individuals with a rifle that the officer encounters will get treated the same way? Probably. Had we been jerks would they? Probably not.

Sorry I didn't get video for YouTube, but I would not be surprised that similar occurrences happen 99.69% of the time and never get posted on the Internet.

It all boils down to the Golden Rule, treat others like you would like to be treated, and most times that is what will happen.

There's a lesson to be learned by some in there, I hope they get it!

Cheers! M2

 

[Vaquero]

Nice.
Thanks for posting.

 

[RstyShcklfrd]

Sounds like a great officer just doing his job. Awesome.

 

[SKYNET KC]

Hooray for decent officers. I've never had any issues with a police officer BECAUSE I'm respectful to them. What goes around comes around.

 

[GlockOwner]

Awesome post! Too bad we always hear of the negative encounters when there are plenty of positive encounters out there being had daily

 

[Charlie]

What were you shootin' at on the billboard? Did ya' hit it? ''

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(just kiddin')

 

[majormadmax]

What were you shootin' at on the billboard? Did ya' hit it?

I plead the Fifth!

 

[RandomHero]

this one time, i was doing 95 in a school zone and a cop pulled me over. i asked him if he had anything better to do like eat a donut or catch real criminals rather than go after me cause i was doing a little over the speed limit. can you believe that pig gave me a ticket!?


tl:dr **** da police

 

[Coop45]

I plead the Fifth!

A pint is easier to carry/

 

[Shotgun Jeremy]

That's great to hear!

 

[Texasjack]

TL;DR - He missed the sign so it didn't count.



+1 on the LEO doing a great job!

 

[Brains]

I was stopped when I was younger by a cop who was responding to shots fired. By myself and friends. I could easily see that stop going bad if any of us copped an attitude. I found out we were a little mistaken on the law, but we walked with nothing more than an education and a suggestion, simply because we treated him with respect.

Long story short, friends and I were shooting a couple pellet rifles and a .30-30 on a parcel of land I own, but come to find out that part of the county only allows shotguns (this was not in TX). Lady that lives next to my property heard us and called it in - it's not very often people hunt out there, go it was a little upsetting to hear. Responding officer was a little nervous, but polite, and I offered all the info I could to help ease his mind. He asked where the guns were, I told him unloaded and locked in the trunk. He asked to see them, so I handed him my car keys. He thought for a second and asked if I'd open the trunk instead. He took a quick peek, saw exactly what I'd told him, and we were on our way. His only request? To please call the department the next time we went out there in case they got calls, and to knock on the old lady's door and let her know as well so she wouldn't panic.

 

[Anger]

awesome

 

[35Remington]

Do you think the next individuals with a rifle that the officer encounters will get treated the same way? Probably. Had we been jerks would they? Probably not.

This. Thank you for behaving that way.

 

[Texan2]

Vast majority of cops have more to do than harass law abiding gun owners, despite what some more activist minded folk may try and lead you to believe.

 

[Badfish]

Lol, you are such a bad influence M2. Got the cops after me haha

Rylie was so excited to tell Mommy about our brush with the law

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

Good job SAPD!

 

[kyletxria1911a1]

Good job SAPD!

this and props

 

[London]

Sorry I didn't get video for YouTube, but I would not be surprised that similar occurrences happen 99.69% of the time and never get posted on the Internet.

That would actually be a pretty cool YouTube video.

 

[pcnotpc]

Sorry I didn't get video for YouTube, but I would not be surprised that similar occurrences happen 99.69% of the time and never get posted on the Internet.

Do you believe that this encounter would have gone exactly the same had you whipped out a camera and started videoing as soon as the officer arrived on the scene? His immediate attitude might have been entirely different, figuring you were setting him up for some type of complaint or to harass him on a public forum such as YouTube.

You've all seen the videos posted of jerks legally open-carrying but doing so just to get a rise out of the cops.

I understand that not every encounter with a police officer goes as smoothly as this one did and that a video record might benefit you in your defense, but at the same time the presence of a video camera can aggravate a situation needlessly.

Just my opinion.