Don't take this the wrong way. I am an open carry supporter however I feel that I if can't open carry than this guy should either conceal it or show his badge (if he was in fact a cop).One of the thoughts I had would be to find a payphone so it could not be traced to me, call in an anonymous "man with a gun" report and then sit back and watch the fun--if they want to impose "Only One" rules on the rest of us, let them live with the inevitable consequences..
I was eating lunch [at a] restaurant...in Houston and a guy strolls by on the way to the restroom. He has his handcuffs tucked over his belt and the butt of his sub compact Glock sticking out of his pants. When he comes out of the bathroom I noticed that he had a badge holder turned backwards and tucked between his belt and pants. He definitely looked the part of a detective. I made a comment to my wife who said what business of it is mine.
My response was that if I can't open carry then he should have to carry where everyone can see his badge. I halfway felt like reporting the suspected only one to the only ones as a man with a gun incident but decided not to as I did not want to give my name and cause issue for my wife and 2 kids who were with me.
Am I wrong in feeling that the only ones should have to show their badge properly if open carrying since open carry is not legal in Texas for anyone but an only one with a badge?
Friday, July 02, 2010
What Would YOU Do?
I got the following email:
Possibly -- just possibly -- the man with the gun, cuffs and badge HOLDER was a citizen tired of being hassled, and isn't QUITE impersonating a plainclothes officer, but merely SUGGESTING to the sheeple that he MIGHT be one. In a society where there's little middle ground -- armed person is interpreted as either a gangsta killah or the heat --
ReplyDeleteThere's no law I know of against carrying cuffs, and a badge holder with no visible badge could be just that. Or maybe he has a badge, and it says Scooby-Doo Detectives Club. As long as he doesn't try to use police authority, I'd call it protective coloration. The cops could view it like parking an unmanned squad-car decoy somewhere to discourage speeders. Observance of the law goes up. It'd be good for everyone.
IF everyone were reasonable.
I salute those who open-carry in hostile jurisdictions. I'm fortunate enough to (so far) live in a state where few people poop their pants and dial 911 about it.
The payphone idea would work. If you were in 1990.
ReplyDeleteI tried to think of a payphone anywhere in my city, and couldn't find one for the life of me. I've been looking for a few days and still haven't found one.
What's your city MS? Because it only took me a few seconds to locate a bunch in Houston, where this occurred, searching from my computer in OH...
ReplyDeleteIt didn't even occur to me that there might be an internet search utility for finding payphones. After a few minutes searching, I found dozens! (I d/led the list)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the challenge, David.
Thanks for the challenge, David. I didn't even think to do an internet search for a payphone. In my mind it's like doing an internet service to make a rickshaw reservation.
ReplyDeleteI d/led the lists of my city's payphones.
In that case, just call Mr. Rickshaw with your pedicab needs...:)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.payphone-directory.org/
ReplyDeleteLiving i Houston myself I would not have a problem with any individual open carrying.
ReplyDeleteHowever I would agree with this submission that I would have a problem with this person. In the scenario you put forward this person would be impersonating an officer of the law which is illegal. It is also setting up a scenario where you are outwardly lying to everyone around you and should promote distrust. If he was infacet a leo then he is hiding his identity as a leo. This too causes distrust. If he wanted to hide his identity as a leo he should have gone concealed. If he was a leo and wanted to open carry show your badge. If he was not a leo and wants to push the boundaries past the edge of what is legal for a personal polital reason lose the fake badge or empty badlge holder and carry OWB not IWB. To make a political statement you should go whole hog with it not timidly let it poke out from the top of your pants.