How not to get blown away |
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Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
October 1, 2010
At last night's right-to-carry meeting a man asked me how he could avoid getting blown away, if he were stopped while driving a car and legally carrying a concealed weapon. The example he gave me was this.
If he was carrying a gun, say in a shoulder holster under his jacket, and he got stopped for a traffic violation, he would identify himself as the holder of a concealed carry permit and tell the officer that he was armed. He would have his hands on the steering wheel, so that the officer could see both hands and that his hands were empty.
He wanted to know how he could remove his wallet from his pants pocket, upon request for identification, and how he could avoid getting shot by the officer. He wanted to know how I would provide training to deputies.
When Illinois passes a concealed-carry law, if I am Sheriff, the training would be intensive for all deputies, and there will be extensive role-playing. Procedures of other states will be studied until the best format is determined. Deputies will be full participants in the design of the procedures; they know best what to expect out on the street.
The procedure will be crystal-clear to deputies.
And deputies will learn to give short, clear, direct and polite instructions to drivers about exactly what to do (and what not to do).
A friend in Virginia who has a concealed weapon permit was stopped by a trooper there. When asked, he answered that his gun was in the glove box of the car. The trooper, in that case, told him that he was going to ask the driver to step out of the car. Then the trooper would remove the gun from the glove box and put it in the patrol car. After they were done talking, the trooper would put the gun back in the glove box. Then the driver could get back in the car and drive away.
The trooper was alert but not nervous. He expected to encounter legally armed drivers. He knew exactly how he would handle such an event, and that's how he handled it. The driver respected the trooper's position, and both went on their ways.