so...Got my car towed today

[carguy50]

I have a CCW in Texas, but work on a Federal installation. Can't carry on base, so i seldom have it with me. I was told, when pulled over, to put both hands out the window and tell the cop that you have a CCW and a loaded gun in the car as the cop approaches. Follow this instruction and there will be no problem. I have not been stopped yet, but will be sure to do this if I have it in the car.

[TRC-SS]

One reason being for breaking a gun apart for those of you who are about to cross the line into cop bashing....Put your self in our shoes for one minute....you stop a guy who was speeding(illegal) who also has window tint(illegal) who has a gun w/permit. You then hand the guy back his loaded gun in one peice and then a ticket and let him get back into a car with tinted windows....when would a cop ever hand a guy back a loaded gun while punishing him at the same time, alls it takes is that one split second that pissed a guy off enough to shoot the cop...you can have a horrendous drivers record and still be able to carry a gun...that one ticket could push him over the endge. The Very least thing all cops do is once we get the proper paperwork in hand that the gun is legal and the owner can carry, is to either unload the weapon and make it safe or break down the top rail, which is also making it safe and give it back to the owner.

We live in a world were the economy sucks and people are on edge, #1 rule for police is to look out for yourself and not to get hurt. Use common sence here people. There is nothing wrong with what he did.

[n2oSS]

Originally Posted by TRC-SS

One reason being for breaking a gun apart for those of you who are about to cross the line into cop bashing....Put your self in our shoes for one minute....you stop a guy who was speeding(illegal) who also has window tint(illegal) who has a gun w/permit. You then hand the guy back his loaded gun in one peice and then a ticket and let him get back into a car with tinted windows....when would a cop ever hand a guy back a loaded gun while punishing him at the same time, alls it takes is that one split second that pissed a guy off enough to shoot the cop...you can have a horrendous drivers record and still be able to carry a gun...that one ticket could push him over the endge. The Very least thing all cops do is once we get the proper paperwork in hand that the gun is legal and the owner can carry, is to either unload the weapon and make it safe or break down the top rail, which is also making it safe and give it back to the owner.

We live in a world were the economy sucks and people are on edge, #1 rule for police is to look out for yourself and not to get hurt. Use common sence here people. There is nothing wrong with what he did.

You stop a guy in a newer model car in a bad economy that was going on when these cars just started selling ......... hint number one to cop, the guy probally wasn't suffering from the economy.

You pull a guy over for speeding, no big deal. He sped he gets a ticket.

You then tack on a ticket for illegal tint. This can be questioned, did he use a tint scanner, was it calibrated, was it clean, was window clean .......... could go round and round with this one. You wanna give a ticket thats fine, can work that out in court either proving tint was ok or removing tint and showing proof ....... tint ticket dismissed most likely.

You see a gun in the guys car in plain sight, guy has permit for it. You can seize the gun, and run his license. If all checks out, culd of unloaded the gun, placed gun in trunk and clip in glove box ......... woot disarmed.

Towing the guys vehicle for illegal tint, then giving the go ahead to drive with illegal tint from the impound.......... flag on the play.

Write a letter to IA and the CO, this officer of the law obviously had nothing better to do with his time so give him plenty to do with it. Also question the reason for the tow and let go ......... make him think twice before he has a tow truck charge for tint.

PS Check under your car on the frame. Some of these tow companies that crank ya up on flatbeds can cut or bend the frame railings.

[fielderLS3]

Originally Posted by Big Brunsy

I rode in the tow truck the whole 3 blocks to their buisness. The cop told him there was no hold on the car and I could drive it as soon as I paid them. Nothing was changed, the tint is still on the car.

$150 for a 3 block tow, and the cop told the tow operator to let you drive it away afterward? Sounds like the tow company and the police have an "understanding" where you live. It does seem convenient that you were stopped basically right in front of their shop.

Originally Posted by TRC-SS

Ok so heres my LEO reason for your tow......Most likely you did something to irritate the police officer, normally poeple dont carry guns, and normally its not on the floor boards of the car. If you have a license to carry that is fine. Your window tint i take it was illegal in your state. If it is too dark a police officer has every right to deem it unsafe for the road and can tow your car, However this rarely ever happens. BUT....when ever a police officer tows a vehicle, per department policy you have to do an "pre tow Inventory search". this search is common practice in every police department. if anything of major value in a car comes missing, the only other person who had access to the vehicle was the tow yard.

With that being said, you being in possession of a firearm and having window tint gave this officer a suspicion, so what he did was towed your car for being unsafe...which gave him 100% the right to search your car, and ill bet my paycheck on it, that he wasnt doing it for the tow policy, he was looking for more weapons, ammo or drugs.

So in my opionion. the officer did not do anything wrong, and calling to complain to a supervisor would go nowhere but add a large target on your back whenever you are around that town. My other opionion is that yes this officer did use all of the tools in his book to take a minor traffic infraction to something out of its realm, but he was justified. was is morally right as a police officer to do?, yes, was it routine practice? No...

Dont sweat it, remove the tint so this doesnt happen again, dont leave a weapon out in the open for other to see. Leave it in a case or on your person and move on.

Wait a minute. What you are saying is the officer used a technicality to be able to do an unwarranted search without probable cause, and the driver was charged $150 because of it? And you say there is nothing wrong with that? I say it is an abuse of power at best, and police state tyranny at worst. The law is supposed to be a shield, not a weapon.

To the OP: I'd file a complaint against the officer, and even look into suing the department for the towing. You won't win, but you can probably be a big enough pain in the ass to not make it worth their while the next time.

[The Stig]

I don't know if this was brought up earlier by anyone, but did the cop check your tint with a tint meter? Because if not your tint tickets would be thrown out of court, as the cops personal decision of "too dark of tint" isn't reliable.

[2001ragtop]

You handled your situation in a very mature way.

Best of Luck

[toesuf94]

Originally Posted by LoneStarCamaro

***Note to self: Stay out of Iowa.***

Um...I am screwed...I live here. Never heard of something like this! Holy crap.

[vart]

Originally Posted by Big Brunsy

So all in all I got 2 tint tickets at 127.50 ea ...

Why did you get two tickets? One for the driver's side window and one for the passenger side? How is the wording and the law enforced? Can you at least get one of the tickets quashed? If the ticket is for operating a vehicle with tinted windows, then only one ticket should have been produced. If it says for having a tinted window, then maybe they have you there but a judge will most likely throw out one of the 2 tickets I would think.

[DevilsReject97]

Originally Posted by TRC-SS

One reason being for breaking a gun apart for those of you who are about to cross the line into cop bashing....Put your self in our shoes for one minute....you stop a guy who was speeding(illegal) who also has window tint(illegal) who has a gun w/permit. You then hand the guy back his loaded gun in one peice and then a ticket and let him get back into a car with tinted windows....when would a cop ever hand a guy back a loaded gun while punishing him at the same time, alls it takes is that one split second that pissed a guy off enough to shoot the cop...you can have a horrendous drivers record and still be able to carry a gun...that one ticket could push him over the endge. The Very least thing all cops do is once we get the proper paperwork in hand that the gun is legal and the owner can carry, is to either unload the weapon and make it safe or break down the top rail, which is also making it safe and give it back to the owner.

We live in a world were the economy sucks and people are on edge, #1 rule for police is to look out for yourself and not to get hurt. Use common sence here people. There is nothing wrong with what he did.

Sorry, but that dog don't hunt....That's like me saying, well as a cop, I am going to tear apart every persons gun that I stop, because I can....because it makes me safer...

Sorry, but I possess a license to carry, and that doesn't make me a criminal or a hothead who's going to shoot you. I've never even so much as seen a cop EVER do this...and I have 2 in my family.

They have tough jobs that put them in some really crappy and crazy places. In some ways, it's more dangerous than being a soldier. I'm not going to bash the cops, we need them....but at the same token....we don't need d-bags with badges playing the lil man syndrome on people..

[TRC-SS]

Originally Posted by DevilsReject97

Sorry, but that dog don't hunt....That's like me saying, well as a cop, I am going to tear apart every persons gun that I stop, because I can....because it makes me safer...

Sorry, but I possess a license to carry, and that doesn't make me a criminal or a hothead who's going to shoot you. I've never even so much as seen a cop EVER do this...and I have 2 in my family.

They have tough jobs that put them in some really crappy and crazy places. In some ways, it's more dangerous than being a soldier. I'm not going to bash the cops, we need them....but at the same token....we don't need d-bags with badges playing the lil man syndrome on people..

Everyone has there own opinion...but put my uniform on for a day and go work the inner city portion that i work in and hand a loaded gun back to a guy. I never said that what he did was the "right thing" to do...he did go overboard on taking out every single bullet and throwing them in a suitcase, but in my scenarios unload the gun take out the clips and hand the safe weapon back to him and usually advise him to place clips in trunk until the traffic stop is complete.


PS....Fair warning, Mods see you bashing police, thread will be closed and bashers will be dealt with by mods. Keep it Clean

[brantley847]

First... is Iowa a state that permits open carry? If it is, then yea, he may have taken it too far...

Keeping your firearm where your cluster gauge is, is NOT concealed. Even if it is a small 380 and you tucked it in the back of the console, that is illegal in most states across this country, excluding MAYBE Texas...

Just because you have side walls concealing a vehicle from SOME angles or tinted windows does not meet the requirements of the CCW courses I took...before I started my career. We were specifically instructed that it be kept in a holster and HIDDEN.... CARRY CONCEAL WEAPON. What I am reading is open carry if it is plain view of an officer...

He doesn't need have a warrant to enter your vehicle when you have a firearm or drugs in plain view. If it were me, you would have been arrested... and this is coming from a cop who is a member of the NRA who supports CCW and your right to bear arms.... I would count your blessings and move on that you weren't in cuffs in addition to those life altering citations...

... now if Iowa(or where you stopped permits open carry) than that is a completely different story..

[Overflow]

That was just uncalled for.

[CamaroSue]

Originally Posted by TRC-SS

One reason being for breaking a gun apart for those of you who are about to cross the line into cop bashing....Put your self in our shoes for one minute....you stop a guy who was speeding(illegal) who also has window tint(illegal) who has a gun w/permit. You then hand the guy back his loaded gun in one peice and then a ticket and let him get back into a car with tinted windows....when would a cop ever hand a guy back a loaded gun while punishing him at the same time, alls it takes is that one split second that pissed a guy off enough to shoot the cop...you can have a horrendous drivers record and still be able to carry a gun...that one ticket could push him over the endge. The Very least thing all cops do is once we get the proper paperwork in hand that the gun is legal and the owner can carry, is to either unload the weapon and make it safe or break down the top rail, which is also making it safe and give it back to the owner.

We live in a world were the economy sucks and people are on edge, #1 rule for police is to look out for yourself and not to get hurt. Use common sence here people. There is nothing wrong with what he did.

Yeah, towing someones Camaro, and then handing them a loaded gun, doesnt sound like a good idea to me!!!!