Thank you Mt Juliet Police

[Guest bulletproof]

About a week ago I was driving from Lebanon to Old Hickory on 70 at night. I knew my brake/turnsignal light had just burned out so I stopped at Auto Zone in Mt. Juliet to get replacement bulbs. And wouldn't you know it, at the next red light I looked up and I had a police car stopped behind me.

When the light turned green I pulled off and knowing he was going to nail me, I got over in the right lane. He lit me up with the blue lights and I turned into a street and stopped. When he came up I already had my Handgun Permit and license out to give him. He seemed impressed that I had given him my permit. He said a lot of people don't do it.

Him: Do you have your handgun with you?

Me: Yes sir, I do

Him: Where is it?

Me: Down there (pointing rather comically like something was going to bite me toward my console)

Him: Ok, just don't reach in that direction.

Me: No problem.

He then went back and ran my license.

When he came back

Him: Were you on your way home?

Me: Yes sir, I was trying.

Him: (laughed) Have a good evening

Me: Thank you.

No ticket!

Thank you Mt. Juliet for treating me with respect and for NOT getting me out of the car and unloading my weapon and handing me back the weapon, bullets and clip just before you drove off like Metro does!

[saintsfanbrian]

A lot of people don't do it because they don't have to. Only if the officer asks for it are you required to present it. Unless your gun was on your hip in plain sight, there was really no reason you should have had to give him the permit.

That being said, I think it does tell the officer, "Hey, I'm a good guy." But that is just my opinion.

[Guest steve24]

I know that you don't have to show your permit unless asked, but I think that it's a good idea to go ahead and show it to the LEO up front so that there's no misunderstandings later.

As soon as he runs your DL he's gonna know if you have a permit or not anyway.

[Mike.357]

So do you give out the HCP even if you are not armed?

I wonder about this as I have not been carrying but I do still hold a permit.

[Guest Medic908]

While you do not have to arbitrarily present your permit - a law enforment officer will certainly appreciate the fact you present it along with your driver's license upon a traffic stop. Law enforcement officers are taught to react upon encountering the mere sight of a weapon. One of the worst things that can happen is for a weapon to be revealed as a surprise upon someone reaching for their registration/proof of insurance/driver's license or during a vehicle search.

My HCP class was taught by a former LEO (now a federal security contractor for the DOE) and suggested that if you are carrying a weapon in your vehicle or on your person, presenting your HCP with your driver's license will most likely help prevent an unpleasant situation for both you and the law enforcement officer.

Another caveat, make sure you use the appropriate choice of words when telling an officer you are carrying:

Bad Choice: "I've got a gun in the car..." or "I'm armed..."

Good Choice: "I have a handgun permit and I do have a weapon in the vehicle."

Should law-abiding citizens have to do this? If it wasn't for current legislation the answer should be no.

Is it a prudent course of action with current legislation and today's society? Probably.

[Guest GlocKingTN]

Trust me on this one. If you go ahead and make it a habit to tell the LEO as soon as you are pulled over, then you take a less chance of forgetting to tell him and him telling you to get out of the car for some reason, and him noticing it on his own. That would NOT be a pretty sight!

So far, I haven't hit a road block or been pulled over since I got my permit. But when it happens, it will be one of the first things I tell him!

[Guest bulletproof]

I was told in HCP class to always present your permit with your license whether you have your weapon or not. Things work out better that way. When the police officer runs your license he will know you have a gun permit anyway. Just makes sense.

I was just happy he didn't do the Metro police thing and get me out of my car, unload my gun and give me the bullets, clip and weapon back just before driving off. I could rant on that for a while.....but I think I'll go to bed instead. :-}

[Guest GlocKingTN]

And Im guessing he would give it all back in seperate pieces right?

[towerclimber37]

Thats a fine example of a PEACE OFFICER...not a POLICE officer.

hats off to the Mt. Juliette P.O.

[Marswolf]

I have a friend who is a North Carolina police detective. Before that, he was an officer who made the normal traffic stops and grunt work. There you do have to tell the officer that you are armed, BTW. He routinely let speeders go if they had a carry permit.

[shaftbass]

The Metro cop must have been a special case. Or maybe mine was. I was pulled over a day after my tags expired, show him the permit and he didn't care. I just told him immediately I knew why he was pulling me over and that I was getting tags the next day.

[Guest GregRN]

I was told in HCP class to always present your permit with your license whether you have your weapon or not. Things work out better that way. When the police officer runs your license he will know you have a gun permit anyway. Just makes sense.

+1

My class was taught by a THP officer who said this as well.

[Guest sermon8r]

I was told in HCP class to always present your permit with your license whether you have your weapon or not. Things work out better that way. When the police officer runs your license he will know you have a gun permit anyway. Just makes sense.

SNIP

My understanding as well

[Guest Fuel]

Wow. You got pulled over in Mt. Juliet and didn't get ticketed. You are a lucky man.

[Guest Len]

Definitely. +1

My understanding as well

[molonlabetn]

"Here is my ID and Permit, I am currently using the permit."

[Guest bulletproof]

It surprised me too that I didn't get a ticket but I had just bought replacement bulbs about 5 minutes before and had the receipt.

[Guest bazookazilla]

Am I wrong or does the carry permit not have the same # as your driver's liscence? Why would you not tell the LEO that you have a permit and/or a weapon. Surely they know, but why would you want to try and hide that from a LEO as a law abbiding citizen?? We are not talking about anything but speeding or something similar right?

[Marswolf]

As I understand it, the LEO doesn't necessarily know you have a permit. They have to ask for that info.

But is a really good idea to tell the officer you have a legal gun in case it becomes uncovered during a stop. Cops just hate surprises.

[Guest Medic908]

Depending on the agency, some departments with MDT (mobile data terminal) capability will show a notation in the screen when checking a DL status electronically.

[Marswolf]

Depending on the agency, some departments with MDT (mobile data terminal) capability will show a notation in the screen when checking a DL status electronically.

That's what I thought, but some LEOs have told me otherwise. I don't know.

[Guest Medic908]

May vary from agency to agency, but ours does...

[Guest db99wj]

I was just happy he didn't do the Metro police thing and get me out of my car, unload my gun and give me the bullets, clip and weapon back just before driving off. I could rant on that for a while.....but I think I'll go to bed instead. :-}

That's when you grab your spare magazine, slam it home and rack the slide back, re-holster......., just kidding, that would probably get the asphalt beaten to a pulp by your face!

Trust me on this one. If you go ahead and make it a habit to tell the LEO as soon as you are pulled over, then you take a less chance of forgetting to tell him and him telling you to get out of the car for some reason, and him noticing it on his own. That would NOT be a pretty sight!

So far, I haven't hit a road block or been pulled over since I got my permit. But when it happens, it will be one of the first things I tell him!

I have been pulled over, armed, by a Memphis officer, and told him that I have a permit and I am armed. He asked, I told him where, he said ok, leave it there, went back to his car, wrote my ticket. I asked him how I handled it, he said fine, he said that the worse ones are off duty cops that don't show a badge and they get out of the car, armed, he said that makes for an interesting situation, because they are trained to react.

[Guest DonRickles]

I was headed to work the other morning on the Brileybahn and just after I pass Opryland Hotel I look up and lo and behold Metro cop lasered me doing 77 in a 55. I pulled directly over to the shoulder and got out my license,registration and proof of insurance. We bought a new house about two years ago and evidently the address on my license was different than that on my registration. I pulled out my HCP which had been renewed earlier this year and had my current address. He thanked me went back to his car and returned a few minutes later with a speeding ticket. He informed me how to take an online traffic school and thanked me for my good attitude. He could have easily written me up for reckless driving but did not. He never even asked if I had a gun. All in all I thought it wasn't so bad just to get a ticket.

[shaftbass]

I got out of a MJ ticket tonight.

47 in a 35 on Nonaville - I was coming down a hill. He was coming at me in the opposite lane and turned on his lights, so I went past him and pulled into the next street on the left.

He pulls in behind and turns off all his lights which I thought was odd, but anyway..

"47 in a 35, I flashed my lights at you and you speed up!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." (coming down a hill)

"License, insurance, and registration"

"OK, I want you to know I have my handgun permit"

He said thank you before I got out of my mouth that I had my gun in addition to the permit, and his demeanor changed immediately. I was sure he was giving me a ticket before I told him about my permit, then he turned into mr nice guy.

I handed him my permit, license, and insurance. I didnt even get a chance to get my registration out before he asked me "how my license was" and I told him "fine." He handed me my stuff back and told me to be careful. That was it.

That's at least three tickets in the past 4-5 years I've gotten out of because of a permit