Boots wrote:Yeah on second thought it does kinda come off that way. Perhaps it would be better to skip straight to asking if I can leave. The bold part I picked up off one of those "what to do if you get stopped by the cops" vids. I think it was actually done by the ACLU.astro_wanabe wrote:... For better or worse, I probably would have ended up saying something to the effect of:The bold part is good, but the 'nothing further' part might be received as confrontational.
"Because it's my Constitutional right and lawful under Delaware law. I am not resisting however I do not consent to any searches or seizures of my person or property. I have nothing further to discuss with you. Am I free to go?"
I don't actually carry yet (as mentioned elsewhere, due to funding) but I do practice going through the motions for drawing / presenting to get the "muscle memory" started, in case I ever need to use these skills I want them well ingrained. I know some people have spent a lot of time trying to come up with the perfect wording for what to say to the police if they are involved in a SD situation. Trying to memorize a paragraph of legalese just seems counterproductive. For any random stops I'll just stick with the bold line above, and ask if I'm free to go / being detained. For a SD situation basically I've just got 2 lines:
1. Shouting STOP while drawing, because I don't want to say the first thing that pops into my head and I probably won't have time for much more.
2. After the cops arrive, just saying that "I was in fear for my life or the life of another, HE/SHE is the BG, please look for XXX evidence (i.e. he shot at me, so they look for casings, or he had a knife so if he ditched it they'll hopefully find it)."
To the OP, that sounds like a fairly odd stop! He stopped you at gunpoint, questioned if you were part of a protest, then complemented your gun What if you had been part of a protest? I wonder if he has an extended version of "the talk" ready to go.
"Be Prepared"