Advice for Both Sides of the Blue Line

Written by Daniel White

Monday, 12 January 2009 05:30

All too often it seems there is a barrier erected along the thin blue line separating the police from the citizens that results in an "us vs them" mentality from both sides.

Police officers spend much of their day dealing with some of the worst elements of our society, as well as being the target of anger from ordinary citizens caught breaking traffic laws which can understandably result in some jaded perspectives by some in law enforcement.

On the other side of the equation, poor behavior in isolated incidents (Willowick and Northwood, for example) can result in the misdeeds of a few being projected on the rest of the police community by the citizens they are sworn to protect and serve.

I admit that when I first started reading Steve Denney's article Citizen Concealed Carry Concerns: Coping With Concealed Carry I was expecting to see one sided advice.

When I read, "First, the armed citizen should know and follow the laws that are applicable in their state or particular circumstance," I immediately thought back to the aforementioned incidents and thought, "so should the police!". I gave Denney too little credit, for when he finished giving his advice for the citizenry, he followed it with "First, the police should know and follow the law. Sounds familiar, yes? You'd be surprised how many officers don't know what the laws are that apply to carrying firearms in their jurisdictions."

Hallelujah! What's good for the goose is indeed good for the gander. In the Willowick incident, we had on tape several examples supporting Denney's statement "I've heard some things said by officers that are simply made up on the spot." One piece of advice I'd give to anyone, LEO or not, is that if you don't know for sure, verify. If you're a police officer and there is a chance that the citizens you're confronting might be correct, a supervisor is just a radio call away. And for a private citizen, if there is any chance at all you might have misinterpreted something, find out first before arguing your case on the side of the road.

One particular paragraph stood out for me, and made me think in particular of some of the members of the Ohio CCW Forums.

I can assure you that many people who are carrying have researched the law and some know it better than the officers. It's good that the citizens make that effort, and it is essential that the police do their homework as well. If this doesn't happen, I expect to see an increase in lawsuits when officers violate the law themselves, whether unintentionally or otherwise. One thing I always try to get across to officers whom I talk with is that citizens are doing their research and it can be embarrassing, at the very least, when the citizen knows more about the law than they do.

Nobody likes to be proven wrong. That sting is even worse if it is followed up by a reprimand, suspension, lawsuit, revocation of a CHL, fines, or even jail time. Both sides owe it to each other to be as well versed in Ohio's firearms laws as they can be, and to be open to the possibility that you might not know every little nuance of our complicated laws. Trust, but verify, as they say. We're all in this together!