Remain Calm and Cooperative
Video Transcript: So you’re in the habit of carrying a weapon for self-defense. How would you deal with the cops if you have a law enforcement encounter while you’re armed?
My name is Brian L. Jackson. I’m an attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma with the Wirth Law Office, and today, we’re going to talk about dealing with the cops when you are armed.
So Oklahoma is what’s colloquially known as a constitutional carry state. In other words, you can carry a weapon in Oklahoma, i.e., a firearm, and you don’t have to have a permit to do it. However, there are some rules you do have to follow, and today, I want to talk to you guys a little bit about dealing with law enforcement because there’s some rules you have to follow when dealing with law enforcement.
First and most important is if you are armed and you were stopped by the police or you have a police encounter, and that usually would mean like a traffic stop or they stop you on the street or something, you are legally obliged to disclose, at your earliest opportunity, the fact that you are armed.
An easy way to handle that is when you hand over your license and proof of insurance to the cops, you might also, if you do have a permit, have that as part of that. If you don’t, then you’d hand them your license and your proof of insurance and tell the officer, “Officer, I just wanted to let you know I am armed. My weapon is XYZ place.” That’s the first and most important thing to remember.
Also, and this is usually a good safety rule anyway even if you’re not armed, keep your hands visible. This is especially important at night. A good way to do that is you put your hands here and here on the wheel and keep them there, and you make sure the cop can see your hands. At night, you might consider turning on the dome light in your car. And if you’re going to make a movement, you tell the officer, “Okay, I’m going to go reach for my insurance,” or, “I’m going to go reach for this.” Do not make a movement without announcing. And also, and this is really important, don’t touch your firearm.
If a cop ever asks to disarm you, this creates an interesting conundrum. If you consent to allow them to touch you, you run the risks that that could become consent to some kind of a frisk or a search. On the other hand, I would suggest to you, it is never in your best interest to argue with a cop when you’re armed. It’s never in your best interest to argue with the cops anyway.
So it’s a judgment call, but probably the way to handle that situation is, “Oh yes, officer, I will comply. You can take my gun, but I’m not consenting to any searches.” And verbally only make it clear to them you’re not consenting to a search. You’re going to let them take your weapon. If that turns into a search, it’s still better than the alternative because, quite frankly, if you reach for that, if they think you’re being a threat to them, you could get yourself shot or tased, and that’s an important safety rule. The same usual rules when dealing with the cops also apply. Don’t admit to things, don’t consent to searches, don’t make sudden movements, things like that, whether you’re armed or not. But those are some good safety rules when dealing with the police if you’re armed.
And if you have questions about that, if you’re interested in concealed carrying, anything like that, you should talk to a good lawyer before you start carrying a weapon because there are laws that apply to you, and one place you can find a good Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer is at makelaweasy.com.
