Wash, Rinse, Repeat
ghostrider from the Michigan section of the OCDO forum posted a great thread about how to deal with a police interaction when open carrying. This is taken directly from the forum People who OC should strive for a short list of simple things: 1. Have a digital voice recorder with download capability, and record the whole encounter. Wal-Mart has one for about $35. Get a microphone for it for better recording quality. 2. Time the entire encounter from start to finish. (That means the second the officer approaches you. These encounters should last no more than 20 minutes. If your driving it means as soon as you see flashing lights, you start recording.) 3. Ask the following questions, and stay on those points specifically, and explicitly. Don’t waiver from them: “Under suspicion of what crime am I being detained”? (By wording it this way, you put the conversation on establishing the officer’s lawful reason for stopping you. If the officer wants to stated that the crime is “being a person of interest”, then even better since it will make future action on your part all the more easier, providing you stick to the program. No need to argue that it isn't a crime). “What is your reasonable suspicion?” (if the officer states to the effect that it’s the gun on your hip, then you might also ask if that is the sole basis of his RS, or if there is anything else to constitute RS. the reason for this is because a gun "in and of itself" is not RS to a Terry Stop). “Am I free to go?”
