Police encounter
So, someone calls the police and says someone may be carrying a gun at a school. Because they saw her carry purse on a website. The police show up and find the gun. Which begs the question, for Liston, if having a permit is probable cause. Always refuse the search and don’t answer questions.
December 10th, 2014 at 8:56 pm
It’s worse than Liston thinks. The building in question wasn’t a school and wasn’t clearly identified as being owned by the school system. Additionally, it wasn’t posted as (possibl) required by 39-17-1309.
A reasonable person wouldn’t know they were committing a felony.
December 11th, 2014 at 2:50 pm
I know the readers here already know this, but…
Anytime any member of law enforcement asks for a voluntary search, HELL KNOW or stronger language is appropriate.
Anytime any member of law enforcement has a warrant, make sure they stay within the warrant and VIDEO TAPE the event.
Also, on person carry or a custom carry purse is sure looking like it would have been a better option.
December 11th, 2014 at 6:16 pm
That will make for an interesting motions hearing. If the Officer can articulate that he recognizes that it is a purse specifically designed for carrying a concealed firearm, than that would be able to meet the threshold for reasonable suspicion for a Terry Frisk. Consent would be irrelevant. A Terry frisk is limited in its scope, but the articulation that the bag is recognized as a bag designed specifically for conceal carry adds to the totality of circumstances and broadens the patdown, as does plain feel. We had a person get arrested for riding around the metro with an AK in a discreet carry bag a few years ago. He had two motions, one that he was allowed to transport the firearm to and from a location and the other that it was an unlawful search. The video feed and his metro card showed him riding back and forth for several hours and intentionally standing next to Officers in an effort to get stopped, and the Officer that eventually stopped him was able to articulate how he recognized the bag as being a discreet carry bag designed for rifles, as well as being able to recognize that the weight of the back was consistent with the weight of a firearm based on his experience. Even if the guy had filled the bag with strategically placed weights and there was no firearm, the Officer can still articulate that he acted in good faith.
That aside, I feel like there is something being left out. How would someone recognize the GunTotin’ Mama purse in the first place? And if they recognized that specific model, you would think they wouldn’t suffer from hoplophobia. Anti-Gun people are sometimes obsessed with firearms to the point of having intimate knowledge about them, but they usually aren’t up on niche products like this. I would lean more toward there being additional information not supplied in the write up. Either someone saw the firearm in the bag, or she described how she carries a firearm in the bag.
December 11th, 2014 at 6:24 pm
And I just realized that she posted that picture on her facebook page. Posting firearms pictures on facebook is a terrible idea. Even if you only give access to friends, you don’t know if they have agendas or motivations that you are unaware of, ranging from the afore mentioned hoplophobia to using visual analytics to predicate your whereabouts and steals your firearms. The internet is not a safe place.