Policing the police

Is a cop required to show proof of ID? I had a friend that was arrested recently for a DUI, and before he began to arest her, she asked if he could please show proof if ID or a badge. He claimed that he did not have to prove anything to her, and she was scared that he was someone posing as a police officer. Once he refused to show ID, she ran to her car to call 911, but he stopped her before doing so, and called back up. Once back up came, she knew she was safe. However, they (5 police officers) decided to tazer her not once but 5 TIMES!! a 120 lb woman was tazered 5 times, while 5 grown men stood around her and laughed at the way her body was tossing around on the ground. Had proof of ID been show, this disgusting act of police brutality would never had occured. Please let me know if anyone knows the law about ID.

i live in nashua nh and i wear my piece both concealed [have a permit to lol} and in the open when i have it open i either get dirty looks like can he do that look lol people tend to be afraid of them look people tons and tons of people have guns that they have concealed y treat me any different ......the problem i c is this when you see the gun in the proper manner you run and look scared you dont say hi nor act nice but if it was concealed totally different story i get hellos and all..another example is u c it and i dont get the finger nor a rude comment u dont c it i get the finger and all ur atttude.....why r u people so scared of people with guns......should be lucky cause one day when u need the police and there 20min away and one of us helps to b a good samaratn then u'll thank us

I'm glad he was stopped theres so many wierdos out there its good to see that the police take notice, you never know what the intentions of someone could be

i was recently arrested for possession of alcohol and supposedly driving under the influence. The NH state trooper "Storm" ran a field sobriety test on me to see whether or not i was under the influence I had 5 beers in my pocket so it didn't look to good. I am being completely honest when I'm saying i was sober. I passed all the test with flying colors besides the pen test which is bullshit anyway. The officer was very nice and professional with me. I was arrested for having the alcohol and refusal of the Breathalyzer. After receiving the the police report from my lawyer i was shocked to see that the trooper had lied about the events that took place that night. He stated that i stumbled while walking the line and reversed the direction i was walking he also stated that during the stand on one foot test i placed my foot on the ground six different times. Now my situation looks terrible from the outsider because i was under age wit 5 beers in my pocket. What am I to do about the un-just report? Its a shame that an officer of that law that is sworn in by the government could be so corrupt.

As a retired police officer and strong supporter of the second amendment, I have no problem what you were trying to do. It was the guy with the beard that destroyed the point you were trying to make. I think if he would have shut his mouth and showed the respect the officers deserve, your point would have had more impact. Give the guy some prozac on your next adventure.

You people should pack up and try Montana. You are a laughing stock in NH and make everyone in the state look as crazy as you people seem to be.

I am grateful for my second ammendment rights and in fact, exercise them; with a concealed carry license. You point was lost on me. A man walking down the street with a side-arm strapped to his hip attracts the attention of an officer. If this officer had ignored you and you in fact were not a law-abiding citizen,bu a criminal; we'd all be crucifying that officer for negligence. You made a few valid points (intentionally, or not) first, officers are trained to spot potential trouble. Secondly, this officer illustrated the first point. Third, you know your rights. What's your point? You asked yourself only, "Can I?" when a more pertinent question would have been, "Should I?" Should I make this officers job, dare I say his, duty, more difficult? Why? Your point could have easily been made and just as effectively by cooperating with the officer. Why not give him your drivers license? No, as you stated, you aren't required to do so, but what's your point? Why make an enemy of the police department? You enjoy your freedom to open carry--it doesn't come without responsibility. Remember, you don't carry open or otherwise, to protect yourself from the police, but from criminals. I hardly think that making teh police departments job more difficult is going to make your point, or help preserve the right of open carry.. remember those guys vote, too.

While I believe in my second ammendment right and in fact, exercise it; with a concealed carry license. I don't get your point here? If the same police officer had ignored the fact that a man was walking down the street with a side-arm strapped to his hip and he had not been (Dave) or another law abiding citizen, but had been a brazen criminal; we would all be crucifying the police officer for negligence! Why make an officer's job more difficult than it all ready is? Why make an enemy of the police department? Do you think that your right to carry (which was not violated by the officer(s)), trumps his duty to protect and serve? He had absolutely no way of knowing what you were up to. It seems prudent not to ask yourself the question, can I? but should I? Really, you proved only that an officer is trained to spot potential trouble and did; and that you know your rights. You could easily have made your point, "I can carry openly according to state law. I am not required to give you my drivers license etc. But as a responsible person who can appreciate your job, I will." Remember, we do not carry to protect ourselves from police officers, but from criminals. You enjoy your right to open carry--protect it by keeping the good guys on your side!

I live in Ferndale, Michigan. I went out one night and after the police saw me pull out of the bar they pulled me two or three blocks. Their excuse because I wouldn't turn of my brights. I always drive with my brights so that I can see better and never have been pulled over. I drive a Honda. I give everything to prove that the car was legal. Then I passes his tests with flying colors. When I refused to take the breathilizer he told me that I was under arrest for DUI. At the station he told me that if I refused the breathilizer he would take my license for six months. I had somebody else in the car.

way to go.... you 2 guys look like douches. does "showboating" your rights make you feel better about yourselves?

The guy with the beard needed to calm down. You can get your point across without coming off like a lunatic, just takes a little composure.

Well done Denis. We need more citizens like you to educate the policy enforcement agents. They have taken an Oath of Office and need to be held to that oath.

This is interesting to me from the UK. We lost our right to carry guns (which is in our Bill of Rights from which the US Bill of Rights was largely derived- unfortunately ours is modifiable at will by government).

The guy who was stopped behaved impeccably. It is astounding that the police don't know the law - then again they assume you don't know the law as well.

The guy with a beard was unhelpful though. He should have kept clear and calmly talked to people explaining what was going on.

Just something to check on - what do the police need to justify stopping someone? Does it need to be suspicion of law breaking or 'intent to break the law' or just at will? Do they have to justify it?
That's an important metric of state power in my opinion. Once the police can stop you and detain you without giving due cause then you effectively have the makings of a police state...

First of all, I would like to commend Dave for conducting himself in a calm, professional and dignified manner. Well done.

That being said, I have a few comments to make about the bystander whom I will refer to as "Neckbeard."

Dear Mr. Neckbeard,

Nice going! Not!

People like you are the reason that left-wing gun grabbers are rubbing their hands with glee. You made yourself the perfect caricature of what they hate about us.

I understand that you probably love to hear yourself talk and that you simply could not help yourself when you saw that a camera was rolling. Next time, please just STFU and allow those with cooler heads (like Dave) to deal with the situation at hand. Before you start screaming "censorship" at me and reminding me of your sacred 1st Amendment rights, please allow me to remind you that you also have the right to remain silent and that anything you say on camera can and *will* be used against you in the court of public opinion.

By acting like an asshat, you made us all look like asshats.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

People like you are the reason I left the FSP.

Cheers!

--
Ka-bar
Manchester, NH

Eeeek. This is why I'm still wary of openly carrying. While it is technically safer to conceal when carrying, as far as you probably won't be shot by a combatant first if you're concealed, I see the necessity of openly carrying through this incident. Concealed carry is great, but to anti-gunners, if they don't see a weapon, they're going to assume nobody has one. By making carrying a part of everyday life, we can begin to change peoples mindset when they see it everywhere they go. But like everyone else, I hate run-ins with LE and would rather conceal.

I'll have to look up that law on identifying yourselves. In my past experiences with LE, they say, "I need to see some ID". While you may not have to show it, but expect the runaround if you don't. In this case as well, the more people who respectfully decline, the less we'll have police gladly assuming new authority.

It disgusts me when people pull the 'just doing my job' routine. Nazi soldiers in concentration camps were 'just doing their jobs'. That's no excuse. Either get a new job, or admit that you simply don't care.

It's a shame people don't get it. Dave, you are an inspiration. Where I live, only the criminals can carry guns (and there are a lot of criminals) Bravo!

Some people have nothing better to do than to try to stir crap. These same people would be the first ones to call when someone made them feel uncomfortable by acting "Wierd" around them and having a gun on. If you want to carry would it not be better to conceal it so everyone is not made uncomforatable because they don't know YOUR intentions. If you truly are doing it for protection then I would think you would not want the bad guys to know if you have a gun or where it is. As for the BIG mouth that stayed on camera most of the time in my state and city he would have gone to jail for interferring with police. Then there would have been no more disturbance on the sidewalk. Geeeeez bleeding heart liberals.......what are you going to do huh?????

Do you think this will make alot of people move to NH?

Your emotional friend is a detriment to your cause.

Why on earth would you need to carry a gun around in NH .

Got to here through digg. Just wanted to say I think what you guys are doing is awesome. Nice to see that some people are still standing up for their rights.

Thank goodness there are some people willing to confront the police on this crap. Officers DO NOT have the right to harass people on the streets for exercising their rights under the law. The police are not allowed to pull you over in your car and demand identification "just because" and they should not be allowed to detain and threaten you (And yes the police were behaving in a rather threatening manor in this situation) for exercising a right "just because" not many people exercise that particular right. Yes, they guys in this situation were being relatively rude, but that from my understanding, again, is not against the law and would not have even been an issue had the police not initiated the whole incident.

God bless you and the state of New Hampshire.

Keep the faith guys. Nice Work.

Ridiculous. The freedoms Americans enjoy aren't just supposed to be methods for snotty, entitled people to abuse police officers. I feel pretty confident that you have no real need to carry a weapon, beyond needling cops. To then smugly pretend you're somehow a champion of civil liberties is laughable.

Grow up, and consider fighting a fight that has an outcome other than making you feel superior.

I'd like to commend you Granite Staters for having the open carry right.
We here in WI are stuck with an anti-everyone else's rights governor who has vetoed this in the past.

A couple of other comments I'd like to make are that David was exceptionally businesslike and forthright.
He was knowledgable about the laws and was absolutely respective of the state trooper in the entire conversation.
I have to also say that the state trooper and the 2nd Manchester officer were professional as well and treated Dave with respect.
The one negative in the entire incident was the motormought in the awning shirt.
Someone should have decked him and shit his damn mouth.
It's jerks like him that give us freedom lovers a bad name.
We are NOT hysterical gun nuts and, one like him makes others think we are.
Dave needs to talk at/to this clown and explain it assertively.

It's funny that cops don't even know the rights of their own citizens.

Is there some kind of law that Bush passed that supercedes your state rights or something that would make cops feel like they're in their right to do this even if they 100% understood the state gun carry laws?

I'd like to start by saying that I am a pro gun enthusiast. I have worked hard for CCW in Missouri and I am a Police Officer. I do take issue with how he handled himself, that is to say Ridley and the issue of not having to identify yourself. Law or not, that contact turned into a situation because you made it. Had you told the officer that while you are not mandated to show ID because that is the law, you would to expidite the situation and to educate the officer on the law. Our job is difficult enough without people like you exasperating the situation.

How is the officer supposed to figure out if you are legally carrying if he can't positivly identify who you are. Not really your problem because you didn't write the law, but you could have done better to resolve the contact.

Becareful where you try that tact.