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If You Carry Concealed, Carry Concealed
When you carry a concealed weapon it is your responsibility to make sure that it is concealed.
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If You Carry Concealed, Carry Concealed
By Ruben Chavira
Many years ago, back in the days when police officers still carried revolvers, I was a young police officer, in terms of police experience and not chronologically. I was working a plain-clothes assignment in the Downtown Los Angeles streets, working transit crimes. I don't remember the circumstances that led to the pursuit of the suspect, he got away after all, but I do remember the aftermath. That was a learning experience.
I was on foot, chasing a suspect along an alley just off of Main Street between 4th and 5th streets, at that time a very nice part of town to be in, if you were a police officer looking to make an arrest. Not a very nice part of town if you were employed by one of the many businesses in the area. I was chasing the suspect and I had my beloved, recently pitted, 2" Smith and Wesson Chief Special in my right hand. The suspect, who was running for his liberty while I was running because it was my job, was putting considerable distance between himself and me, while the distance my partner was behind was growing considerably also. I watched as the suspect reached 5th Street and turned east, into the midday crowds. Just as he did, a couple of uniformed Los Angeles Police Officers jumped out of the suspects way, narrowly avoiding being run over by him. The natural curiosity of a police officer compelled them to look into the alley to see why the man was running, jogging while fully dressed not being a usual activity in that part of town. So what should come to the officer's attention? A short, stocky male of Mexican descent, dressed in dirty Levi's jeans and oversized T-shirt and carrying a snub nosed pistol in his right hand. This seemed to raise the ire of the officers, as it should, who immediately drew their pistols and pointed them at me, ordering me to the ground.
Things then started happening rather more quickly than they had been before, which were already accelerated considering that I was chasing a suspect I thought dangerous enough to have my pistol in my hand. Upon being faced with two police officer pointing their guns at me, my first thought was to raise my hands then reaching for my badge to display to the officers. That thought vanished from my mindjust a quickly as it entered. You see, even though I was a young police officer (in terms of police experience and not chronologically), I was not a cherry boysan. I grew up in Watts, now known as South Central Los Angeles, so this was not the first time I had been confronted by persons wielding a gun. I realized that raising my hand, for a portion of the time, would appear as it I were raising the gun to point it at the officers. Aggravating the situation, that portion of the movement would occur before the portion that would appear as if I were putting my hands up in surrender. Take a little time and think about it. What happens to the gun as you are raising you hands? If it's you on the other end are you going to wait to see if the person is going to surrender or will you fire when you feel you are in danger?
I kept my hands down, put the gun on the ground, pushed it away from me, took the prone position and let the officers handcuff me. After I was handcuffed and all guns were holstered, I told the officers who I was and where my police ID was. My partner, who had spent considerable more years in police work than I had, had prudently chosen to stop running and wait until police had me in custody before he approached with his identification in his hand.
Several years later, I was working at another police department. I responded to a call of a man with a gun in an upscale pizzeria, in an upscale part of town in this Los Angeles suburb city. The caller, the manager of the pizzeria, reported that a man had entered the pizzeria, looked nervously around, and then ordered a pizza. The man kept looking around the store, watching customers and employees as the moved around the establishment. There was a noticeable bulge behind the man's right hip, under a loose shirt he was wearing. The manager feared a robbery.
I arrived at the location and several other officers arrived to assist me. After coordinating the officers so that all exits were monitored, another officer and I moved towards the front window from which we could look inside. Sure enough, there was the man, near the register, head on a swivel as he constantly looked around, and a tell tale bulge under his shirt.
The officers assigned to the rear door moved in, as they could enter the location without being seen. As they rounded the corner of the counter, they confronted the suspect. At that time, my partner and I entered through the front door. Complete surprise. The suspect went to the floor in obedience to our commands. He was taken into custody without incident and we recovered his gun. As we stood him to his feet he said, “I'm a Deputy Sheriff."
He could have told us that earlier and avoided all of the hoopla. Or could he?
In both of these incidents we see that the person with the gun took the correct action. Although both men were police officers and authorized to carry a gun, both me were confronted with law enforcement officers who had no idea who they were. If either of these men has insisted on pursuing their perceived rights, they would have violated the rights and responsibilities of the officers they were confronted by.
Think how simple it is to say that you are a police officer, or that you have a concealed weapon permit. Persons who were not authorized to carry a firearm could say that just as easily . The police officer that would take your word for it without confirming it first is not much concerned for his safety, or that of others around him. He is inviting a shootout.
So why am I telling you about police tactics. Here's the deal. If you carry concealed you have a responsibility to ensure that your weapon is concealed. Although you may be authorized to carry a weapon, others do not know that you have that authority. Whether rightly or wrongly, they may fear armed persons. Business owners do not know if you are authorized to carry a weapon and are wise to assume you are a bad guy and call for police help, or arm themselves, rather than wait for you to prove you are a bad guy. Police have a responsibility not only to keep themselves safe but also to ensure the safety of others. Remember, every shot a bad guy throws out there has to land somewhere. If it doesn't hit the officer, does it hit Mrs. Jones next door?
Your responsibility, when carrying a concealed weapon, is to keep it concealed, until that time that it needs to be displayed to prevent loss of life or serious injury to yourself or others.
And if the occasion arises that you have to display your weapon and law enforcement arrives on the scene, be prepared to identify yourself and your authority to carry a weapon. But above all, be prepared to do exactly as law enforcement says. If they are wrong and you cooperate, you always have the recourse of filing a complaint or law suit against the officer . If they are wrong and you refuse to cooperate, you may end up suffering serious injury or worse, and you will have caused a law enforcement officer to commit to deadly force when it was not called for.
Carry your firearm in a quality holster that is designed for the type of clothing you are wearing. If your firearm should be displayed, either intentionally or unintentionally, take a lesson from the two officers we mentioned above. Have your ID ready for presentation but don't reach for it after officers have arrived. Be prepared to surrender yourself and your weapon temporarily. Once you have been identified, your weapon should be returned. If not, take legal action to restore your rights.
Here's an idea. Contact the NRA (http://www.mynra.com/), Gun Owners of America (http://www.gunowners.org/), your local gun organization, like the California Rifle and Pistol Association (http://www.crpa.org/) or a firearms training organization, like Tactical Response Systems (http://www.trs-usa.org/). See if they have some concealed weapon training available in your area. If not, work with those agencies to organize some training. You have a right to carry a weapon. With that right comes the responsibility not to violate the rights of others.
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