CCW while carpooling

Housezealot

New member
I carpool to work with three coworkers. I do NOT want them to know I carry, and I have wondered if a LEO would handle the situation with discretion. I don't belive that the people I carpool with would no what I was talking about if I informed the officer "I have a ccw the item in question is on my right hip"
Has any one had any experiance with this type of situation? In the past I have never had any trouble being stop while carring, I have been suprised by how curtious the and easy going the Officers have been after I tell them I am carring.
 
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Now that's an interesting question.

I can't imagine that there's a way to keep it secret if you have to inform a LEO.

It would seem to me that everyone in the car would either know what you were saying or ask "What the frigg are you talking about?"
 
wow..umm, i guess the LEO could ask you to step to the back of the vehicle, but that's going to garner even more attention.

i've never been presented to a CCW quite in that way. i don't think you'd be able to keep it a secret once stopped though, just don't see how.
 
I guess I should clarify. I work in the financial department of a charity. two of the people I transport work in a seperate branch, they are developmentaly disabled, I don't belive that they would really understand as long as it was not to obvious, the person riding shotgun is my wife so no biggie there.
 
When I was pulled over with a car full of children, I simply handed my CPL (permit) to the officer along with my driver's license. The officer chose to glance at it and ask questions only about my registration & insurance, for which I was grateful.

On another occasion, I was pulled over with a friend in the passenger seat. I handed the permit over alongside the driver's license. Upon seeing the CPL, the officer immediately asked, "Do you have 'it' with you right now?" and I responded in the affirmative. He asked, "Where?" and I said, "On my belt, right side." He said, "Please keep your hands away from that area. I need to see your registration and proof of insurance ..." My friend did not appear to notice, and I appreciated the officer's discretion.

pax
 
Ah, yes, that does change things. You might be alright. In my experience the LEOs don't make any issue of it.

It generally goes:

You: "Officer, I have a concealed carry permit and I have my gun with me. It is in a holster on my right hip."

Officer: "Alright, just keep your hands on the wheel. I need to run your license and registration, I'll be right back."
 
I can't understand all these questions of carrying concealed here and there with this group or that group.


If you are carrying conceal, its concealed and no one would know, if they know, you talk too much or it isnt concealed.

Folks, CONCEALED IS CONCEALED, no one but you should know.
 
thats exactly my point, I would like it to stay concealed but have a legal obligation to inform LEO regardless of who's with me
 
kraig ~

Agreed. But a traffic stop is a special case, since in many states permit holders are required by law to notify the officer of their carry status. And many of us even in non-requirement states still consider it an important courtesy to notify the officer.

So it's perfectly reasonable to ask how to notify an officer without notifying the people in your carpool of your carry status.

pax
 
OK I can understand the police & that it may be required at traffic stops etc.

But that should be it.

My delima is I carry under HR 218. I get caught speeding, I should pay the concequences for my actions. Yet if I notify the officer, he's gonna want to see my permit and/or ID. I show him my Retired LE ID card, I dont get the ticket. I dont really see that is right.

Right or wrong, most cops wont give another cop or retired cop a ticket.

But back to topic, except as listed above, no one needs to know if I'm carrying.

As a cop I assumed, and taught my trainies that EVERYONE IS CARRYING.
 
When I first got my permit (10-12 years ago) we were informed in the class that "anytime any LEO asks for ID, we MUST hand over our permit and inform him/her that we are carrying". In the last couple of classes I've taken for renewal (every 2 years) we have been told specifically NOT to hand over the permit and only to notify the officer if we are asked to step out of the car.

I've only been pulled over once while CCW'ing (after the change). I forked my permit over with my driver's license anyway and he just handed me the permit back saying "I don't need to see this". I suppose there are instances where it doesn't happen, but most often LEO runs your vehicle license number before you even get your vehicle stopped. Then, the registered owner gets ran & the officer knows that you have a CCW & how many DROS are on file in your name before he gets out of his cruiser.
 
It's foolish to think there is a one-size-fits-all answer to this hypothetical. Individual officers have individual attitudes toward armed citizens, and will react accordingly, regardless of the specifics of the law in that state. The best advice I can give is to comply with the law as you understand it in your state. If the law says you must inform the officer of your CCW status and that you are carrying a firearm, then you had better do so. If the law says you aren't required to do so, then you should use your best judgement based on the demeanor of the police officer and the conditions of the stop.
 
I suppose there are instances where it doesn't happen, but most often LEO runs your vehicle license number before you even get your vehicle stopped. Then, the registered owner gets ran & the officer knows that you have a CCW & how many DROS are on file in your name before he gets out of his cruiser.

Fast40: Do you know this to be the case, or do you just suspect it to be so? I've not ridden along in a cruiser in CA, but I spent many years in the Fire Dept there and heard countless requests for DL and Registrations ... I never heard a single report on the number of firearms registered to an RO of a vehicle ... is this something new with the more advanced digital links to cruisers? Or maybe this only happens with a CCW holder ... there are so few in CA that I suppose it is possible that I never heard one of them get a traffic stop.

Just curious ...
Saands
 
When I was pulled over by AST (Alaska State Troopers) the very first question that was asked was, "Are you carrying right now?"

In Alaska you do not need a ACHP (Alaska Concealed Handgun Permit) to concealed carry; however, not that many years ago up here it allowed one to be NICS exempt. No longer the case. So, while not needing an ACHP it used to be helpful, and some states in the lower 49 do have reciprocity with AK concerning the permit.

I am assuming that once the LEO puts your car's license plate number into the computer, it will spit out whether or not you do have a CC permit. Especially since up here the Department of Public Safety (Agency that issues the permits) essentially is the AST.
 
Fast40: Do you know this to be the case, or do you just suspect it to be so?
I'd heard the responses to background checks on my scanner including "multiple DROS on file" numerous times. I've trained at least a couple hundred LEOs and trained with a couple dozen. The subject of traffic stops comes up pretty frequently and they verify the scenario.
 
kraigwy would be the only allowed to carry concealed in my state, illinois. we honor noones permits. that said, if you don't tell us, most of us won't know. don't fidget a bunch though, and if you are honest up front and have your permit, typically (well, this is all i do) all the happens is that your gun is unloaded, ammo placed with you, weapon placed in trunk.

but even in this state, i treat every traffic stop as though everyone in the car is carrying. mostly because we won't get owner info on every stop. yeah, by the time i'm at your window, your plates have been ran, and if there is z5 info on the RO (registared owner/s), i have it. but if there isn't, then i'm walking blind, so to speak.
 
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