In North Carolina, we must announce that we are carrying. I've thought about this a good bit before this shooting took place. Here is my plan of action:
Blue lights behind me.
- Pull over as quickly as possible, but try to be courteous and find a safe area and not just stop anywhere.
- Turn off any music that is playing.
- Roll down driver window.
- Get both hands high on the steering wheel and keep them there and wait for the officer to approach.
- When he/she approaches, say your standard greeting/pleasantries and announce "As required by law, I need to inform you that I have a concealed carry permit, and I have a firearm. I am going to keep both hands on the steering wheel and await your instructions."
- Wait for his/her instructions or questions.
- If asked to retrieve my license, even if already covered by the officer's questioning, I will state again: "So we're clear, I carry my wallet in my left front pocket, the one nearest you. I carry my firearm in my right front pocket, the one furthest away from you. Again, my license is in my left pocket nearest you, and my firearm is in my right pocket furthest away from you. No other firearms are in the vehicle or on my person. Are you ready for me to reach into my left pocket nearest you and retrieve my license?" Similar descriptions would be used for IWB such as "My firearm is in a waistband holster on my right side, furthest away from you." I think going further with the description is key and not just using left/right, because that requires some thought on the officer's part. My right, his right, which pocket did he say? When you add "closest to you" or "furthest away from you," it is immediately more clear and a good additional confirmation for the officer to check off in his or her mind that we are on the same page.
- If asked to show my license, while keeping my right hand on the steering wheel, reach into my left pocket slowly and pull out the wallet. When it is clearly in view, the right hand can come off the steering wheel to retrieve the license from the wallet.
- From this point forward, it's basically just complying with any reasonable request very slowly and with additional communication as needed. For example, if asked to retrieve registration, communicate! "My registration is in my glovebox. Are you ready for me to retrieve it? There are no firearms in my glovebox. I will move slowly."
Since we're missing the first part of the video in this recent shooting, we just don't know what happened. Maybe the officer said, "Let me see your license," and then the guy announced he was carrying, but he was already in his pocket and kept digging in his pocket while the officer started backtracking. "Wait. Stop." Boomx4! I'm sure it was a bit of a mess. The guy is likely dead because of poor communication and possibly a jumpy officer.
Salty