<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dr.Rob:
Anyone else? I'd like to hear fromn our LEO pals on this one.
Dr.Rob[/quote]
I agree. I'd like to hear what... wait!
I'm an LEO pal!
Folks, when off-duty, I carry my cop stuff in the car. If I think I need to go play cop, then I get my cop stuff. But the pistol I carry off-duty is primarily for the same reason the rest of you carry: "The Gravest Extreme." You don't carry that pistol to go out and enforce the law-- you carry it to protect yourself and those around you! While it's great if you
can arrest a violent felon at gunpoint, your goal is reached when you've
stopped him.
When I take all that gear off, I'm glad to be shed of it. One can't spend his entire life with a Batman utility belt laden with an answer to every exigency life may present. The likelyhood that you'll need to use your pistol is distant, but significant enough that it's worth carrying. The chance that you'll be presented with a need to use your pistol AND to cuff your assailant is far less likely, and far less necessary. Decreased likelyhood and decreased gravity mean you really don't need to lug restraints around on your already-heavy belt.
A
cell-phone is a far better investment in space, weight, and inconvenience, if you must carry something on you to capture BG's. If he's pursuing an act that is so disturbing that the man MUST be arrested at once, draw down on him, get him to assume LawDog's above-described position, and use your weak hand to dial 911. (Now try to find a good rest for your pistol, because it gets heavy after several minutes of extending it at the B.G. Think I'm joking? You oughta see some of the training tapes where backup was requested while a felon is held at gunpoint. Sometimes it gets comical...) You can also use it to check on movie times and call in late for work when caught in traffic. Try THAT with your Peerless handcuffs!
There's a reason that most states that issue concealed carry licenses don't issue badges; the armed citizenry are not pseudo-cops. They're in charge of their own lives, not charged with others.
For the record, I carry a Swiss Army knife, too. I might not be the coolest ninja in the forest, but my cans get opened, and my bottlecaps get lifted...