Interactions with Law Enforcement Session 7: How to Carry

One of the things we want to be aware of, is that this is exactly the type of lightweight shirt and if there's a gust of wind or any kind of rapid motion, this shirt could blow open and expose the gun to someone looking from the side or possibly even from the front. That exposure, could be considered illegal if open carry is not legal in your state. Your intention may have been to carry concealed, when the wind blows and someone sees that gun, it becomes an open carry moment. So thinking about how you dress, thinking about how you carry, becomes very important. Now one of the biggest advantages, of the inside the waistband holster carry method, is that, you don't have to worry about the length of the barrel or the length of the holster or the slide, the frame of the gun, it being exposed beneath your concealment garment. You might remember that, in the other section of this class and we talked about outside the waistband carry, this shirt was not long enough to cover the gun. In this case, this shirt is certainly gonna be long enough to cover the gun, as long as it reaches the line of my belt. Once it reaches the line of my belt, it conceals the gun and the holster. Now some people will point out that these clips, might be recognized by some people as belonging to a holster, and that's certainly the case and of course, it's very likely to be the case with trained observing law enforcement officers. If they're looking at you and they see a clip and they recognize this logo as belonging to a crossbreed holster company in this case. They're gonna have every reason to believe that you're carrying a gun. So keep that in mind as well. This is another compelling argument for, putting these clips behind the belt, where they're less likely to be recognized. But, with this pullover in its normal configuration where it would be, if I were wearing it on a chilly fall afternoon, I'm completely concealed. I don't have to worry about the gun showing, I don't have to worry about the clip showing, I don't have to worry about the holster showing because I am now inside the waistband. And now, when we go to the heavier jacket, this medium weight jacket. We of course are right back in the position we were in before, where when we naturally wear the jacket, we don't have to worry about any exposure, we don't have to worry about any printing because it's a heavier thicker material. Even if I move pretty vigorously, if I bend over pretty far it's very unlikely that anyone's going to see any part of that firearm protruding. Certainly, the longer the grip if I put that extended magazine back in, I then heighten the chances of printing. But again, with a thicker material and double layered material, it's much less likely to alarm anybody. As always, we know where the firearm is, if we were carrying our wallet in the back pocket. The movement towards the wallet is congruent with the movement towards the firearm and that's what could potentially alarm police officers. So, just because you're inside the waistband, doesn't mean first of all, that no one can ever see your firearm nor does it mean that it's okay, to reach quickly towards pocket or towards your waistline when interacting with law enforcement, especially because it's less likely that they've seen the gun in the first place. If you haven't told them, if for some reason you've decided not to inform law enforcement and then you reach quickly for that wallet and another officer with another angle, sees that gun or the officer you were talking to notices the front of the holster or the front of the gun itself. You could create a very scary moment, a very unnecessarily escalated situation, simply because you didn't say, "officer, my wallet with my identification and my legal concealed carry permit is in my back pocket and I'm carrying a firearm in the four o'clock position, right next to my wallet, when I reach for it, you're gonna see the gun." Follow their directions. Maybe they're gonna say, "show me the gun." Maybe they're gonna ask you to grab the front of the jacket and open it up. Maybe they're gonna say, "that's fine, I appreciate you letting me know, do me a favor just kind of move slowly and make it clear that you're going into your wallet." They may ask you to turn around, so that they can see that your hand, as it reaches into the wallet is not reaching towards the gun. There are a lot of different variations of how your interaction with law enforcement can play out, especially if they're less able to see the gun. This is one of the considerations for deep concealment. When we start talking about inside the waistband or even pocket carry, very small firearms, belly band holsters, ankle holsters, where it's less likely for the officer to see the gun. I believe it makes it that much more important that you inform the officer that you're carrying. In the case of inside the waistband, it's easier to conceal the gun. It's more important that you let the officer know and that you are especially careful when you reach towards that waistband to get anything out of your pockets or to show your ID. Now, in terms of states where open carry is not legal, there is an issue of whether you're showing a holster or you're showing a gun. But, for practical purposes if someone in the public space sees a holster? They're naturally gonna assume there's a gun in it and law enforcement that you interact with, is probably gonna feel exactly the same way. Yes, a gun inside of a purse, if that purse has a built in holster, is essentially a container for a gun and they can see the container, but not the gun. But in this case, a holster is a very specific type of container. And the only thing that people are generally carrying these holsters in, are firearms. So expect if you have an exposure like this, to have an interaction, especially in states or locations where open carry, isn't legal. This is, for all practical purposes, openly carrying a firearm in any practical sense and possibly in some legal senses in some jurisdictions. So know the law and dress appropriately. Be prepared to interact with law enforcement, from their perceptions, not just from your intentions or your understanding of the law. Let's change again. And this time, I'm gonna go right to, what is obviously an outer garment, typical jacket, medium weight jacket. This jacket, obviously conceals this firearm very well. One of the nice things about a medium or heavyweight jacket, is it's gonna give you much less likelihood of printing. Because the jacket is sturdier itself and maybe you have a liner, you have a couple layers in here, it's a sturdier outer material. You're much less likely to get the deformation of the outline of the jacket that comes with the shirt, which is a much lighter material. So with this jacket, I can even zip it up and put it... relatively close to my body, with this gun and still not have the printing issues that I had before as I move around and go through my normal range of motion. But if I exaggerate that range of motion, especially to the point where the firearm becomes exposed or the holster becomes exposed, underneath of the jacket, I'm right back in the same position. So a longer jacket or a heavier jacket is going to conceal your firearm better. Now let's say that we are having an interaction with a police officer and I am wearing this jacket and the officer comes up to me and he says, "sir, could I talk to you for a minute?" "Yes sir how can I help you?" Immediately I wanna make sure my hands are seen in this position. I wanna make sure that I'm not saying, "how can I help you sir?" And hiding my hands behind my back in a place where they can't see them, especially if, they may be thinking that I'm carrying a firearm and I shouldn't be or if I potentially pose a threat to them or other people. Keeping my hands where I can see them, interacting politely, "yes sir, sure, how can I help you?" They come over and maybe they're gonna say something to you about, where you parked your car, maybe they're going to say something to you about whether or not you've seen someone that matches a photograph or have you seen anything suspicious around the corner? Or maybe they're gonna say to you, "sir, we heard a report that you were carrying a firearm from another concerned citizen and we wanted to talk to you about it for a moment." The thing you don't wanna do is say, "Oh, absolutely sir, here it is." If you reach for that firearm before they've established that you're not a threat, that motion could dramatically escalate the circumstances. So, everyone understands that you may very well be anxious to comply, to cooperate and to say, "oh, of course I do, here it is." Make it clear that you're not hiding anything. Don't rush to show them the handgun, with your hand. Simply inform them, "absolutely, I am carrying a firearm. It's on my waist, it's under this jacket, would you like to see it?" Perhaps they're gonna say yes, perhaps they're gonna say no. They say no, no big deal. Maybe they're gonna ask you for a permit. Once again, if your permit is down by your waist, you wanna make sure that you're not gonna reach towards that waistline where you've already told them there was a firearm without making clear first, "sir, in order for me to get my permit or my ID I need to reach towards exactly where the firearm is, is that okay?" On the other hand, if you choose to carry your ID or your concealed carry permit in a pocket that is clearly far away from the firearm, you may be able to do this in a much safer way and in a way that is less likely to alarm the officer. So you could say for example, "sir my wallet is in my chest pocket, the firearms on my waist. I'm gonna reach up here, my hands aren't gonna go anywhere near the firearm." They're probably going to tell you, they appreciate that and they're gonna let you go to your pocket. On the other hand, maybe they're gonna say, "you know what? Do you mind if I reach into your pocket?" Maybe they're gonna ask you to open your jacket, slowly and carefully with one hand and expose the gun, so that they can confirm and see that in fact the gun is on your waist, there it is. Now, you and I both know that doesn't mean there isn't another gun in this pocket and so does the police officer. But once you've said, "sure I'm carrying a firearm and here it is." Now, at least they've established that, they've established your cooperation and they're probably much more likely to relax as you reach into this chest pocket... to get out your ID or your wallet, whatever it is that you want to show them, to establish that, who you are and that you're legally carrying a firearm. Now certainly in some states, it's not a requirement that you show your ID or that you show your permit unless you've been suspected of a crime or there's some other reason for the police officer to have an interaction with you. If the officer just walking up to you and saying, "sir, by any chance, are you carrying a firearm?" You may not need, to tell them legally. But, as a responsible gun owner looking for a positive interaction with my law enforcement community, I'm probably going to go ahead and tell them, absolutely I am. If I'm carrying it illegally, I've already made a mistake and probably the sooner I admit to that mistake and move past it and start to resolve the situation, the better off I am. Especially if that mistake is a sincere misunderstanding, that'll get worked out in the long run. In the short term, we need to make sure that we're cooperating and exposing that firearm to the police officer's eyes and making sure that they're aware that we're not reaching towards it, when we're reaching for that wallet, for the pen, for the ID, for the permit, for whatever it is. To this end, I think it's a great idea to stage your permit and or your ID somewhere other than where you carry the firearm. If you carry the firearm near your hip, carrying your wallet in your back pocket may not be as good an idea as it would be to carry it in this type of a pocket or maybe an inside pocket in the jacket. If you carry your firearm in a shoulder holster, it would be just the opposite. If you carry your firearm, appendix carry towards the front of your body, center line carry, once again making sure the officer knows that's where the firearm is and that you're clearly keeping your hand away from that area and going to a back pocket for a wallet, is again probably a really good idea. When it comes to carrying a firearm outside the waistband, there are a lot of opportunities for printing or for exposure, but also it's going to be very easy for an officer to see the firearm and then to access it if they feel like they need to, or to be clear that you're not accessing it or going anywhere near it if you want to reach to this pocket or somewhere else for another item. Outside the waistband carrier, is certainly comfortable and it's certainly quick access for defensive use but it carries some special considerations for concealment, so that you can be responsibly carrying and make it less likely that you're going to have to interact with law enforcement.