Cop encounters open carry advocates – and result is uneventful
Posted by Richard on March 3, 2014
At The Blaze, Jason Howerton calls attention to a video that deserves to go viral:
As we’ve noted in previous reports, sometimes things can spin out of control when open carry activists and police officers meet. That was certainly not the case in Austin, Texas, when an officer responded to a call about “suspicious” men openly carrying rifles.
In a video posted on YouTube in January by the activist group Come and Take It Texas, an officer is seen approaching the armed men in a non-aggressive fashion.
“Just checking you guys out,” he says in the video. “I already know the law.”
The officer, which the group identifies as Mark Dale with the Austin Police Department, even jokes with one of the men about his holstered squash. The man said he was openly carrying the squash as a joke because he’s unable to openly carry a pistol in Texas.
“I saw that, I was laughing did you hear me?” the friendly cop says.
Dale then shakes the men’s hands and lets them go about their business. The officer also lets them know he doesn’t mind if they video record him and assures them he will talk to the person who made the 911 call to make sure there’s no problem.
…
The exchange certainly isn’t very exciting or eventful, but it is always good to remember how many good cops there are out there who know the law and are entirely respectful to the people they serve.
Amen to that. Check it out; it’s unexciting, uneventful, and a real pleasure to watch.
Richard Shultz said
The only problem I have with the video I just watched is that I have personally NEVER met a cop like the one in the video. He is a perfect example of what a cop should be if we just HAVE to have them. (A proposition of which I am still not convinced and probably never will be.) You see, the only cops I’ve EVER met were NOTHING like that guy. They were ALL, without exception, drooling hydrocephalic Neanderthals who were drunk with power. I could respect and get along with someone like him, but I’ve never SEEN one like him. I’ve been harassed, abused, and outright assaulted by cops for my entire adult life and I have NEVER done one damn thing to deserve it. When I say that, people look at me with this disdainful, unbelieving expression and sneer something like: “Well you must have or they wouldn’t have gotten on your ass, beaten you, Tasered you”, etc. ad nauseam. And I’ve had all those things happen. And I have NO record of a conviction for any type of violent crime of any sort. I have been charged with everything from disorderly conduct to aggravated assault on an officer, and never once have I been convicted. They have wound up dropping the charges every damn time and expunging my record. If you are assertive and you insist on your rights it will get you treated like a criminal whether you are one or not. The day when all cops are like the guy in the video is the day I will stop resisting them. A “constitutional carry” bill was introduced in the Tennessee state legislature in 2011. In summary, it says: This bill authorizes any resident of Tennessee who is a United States citizen or permanent lawful resident, who has reached 21 years of age, and who is not prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm under state or federal law, to carry a firearm in this state except as otherwise prohibited by law. A handgun carry permit would not be required to carry a handgun in this state if a person meets these requirements. When the day comes that that bill passes, I will strap on that FN57 of mine and every cop that has ever given me trouble, and that’s pretty much ALL of them, is going to know the day has come when he won’t be able to push my ass around any more.