Open Carry Trouble - New Mexico (settled out of court)

On January 15th 2010, at approximately 7:30PM, in Artesia, New Mexico I was traveling on highway 285 with my wife and 2 young daughters, ages 4 and 1. I came upon a DWI checkpoint operated by the City of Artesia police department. An officer (name unknown) approached my drivers window, informed me that they were conducting a DWI checkpoint, and asked for my license, registration, and proof of insurance. As I handed him my insurance card, I informed him that my wallet was in close proximity to my sidearm. The officer said "O.K, I need you to keep your hands on the wheel for me, O.K?" He was polite and I did as instructed. The unknown officer called for another officer, later identified as Lt. David Spencer, and told him "We have a weapon here." Lt. Spencer approached the vehicle by the drivers side with his hand on his weapon and asked where my weapon was. I informed him that it was holstered on my right hip. Lt. Spencer, then in a loud and demanding voice, ordered me multiple times to "Keep your hands on the wheel!" and "Do not take your hands off that wheel!" Then he ordered me to pull my vehicle over to the parking lot of the Masonic Lodge next to the checkpoint, where he told me to put the vehicle in park. I was too afraid to reach for the gear shift, so I asked my wife to do it for me. I shut off the vehicle and Lt. Spencer ordered me to "Get out of the vehicle and keep your hands where I can see them." I asked if this was all really necessary, the only response from Lt. Spencer was an order to turn around and put my hands on the vehicle. At this point I was standing in front of the rear drivers side window, in full view of my children. Lt. Spencer approached me from behind and removed my pistol from its holster. The moment I felt him pull on my pistol I told him that I did not consent to any search or seizure of my person or property. His reply was "I'm not searching anything, this is for officer safety." He then sat my loaded firearm on the curved trunk of my car. My wife informed me after the event that when Lt. Spencer removed my weapon my 4 year old cried out "DON'T SHOOT MY DADDY!" Lt. Spencer began to question me about why I carry a firearm. I told him for self-defense. He balked and asked "Why, is someone after you?" My response was "I never know when I might need it." He asked if I had a concealed weapons permit. I told him no, and informed him that New Mexico was an open carry state, and I did not need a permit to openly carry a sidearm. Lt. Spencer argued with me telling me that if my jacket falls over the gun it is concealed. I reminded him that the firearm was not concealed, but New Mexico allows concealed carry in a private vehicle by non-permit holders. I then noticed another officer by the passenger side of the vehicle, Later identified as Sgt. Jarod Zuniga, who informed me that it was still not allowed if the weapon is on my person. Lt, Spencer the re-iterated his opinion that I needed to get a CCW permit. He asked if I was a felon, I replied that I am not. Sgt Zuniga asked who the pistol was registered to. I told him I purchased it new, so it would come back registered to me. Sgt Zuniga then proceeded to write the serial number of my firearm on a pad. I said "So, Now your going to search my pistol?" He was looking down at the vehicle, and I was able to make out "I have every right to do this" or "I am perfectly within my rights to do this." At this point the officers asked for the registration for the vehicle. My wife looked, but could not find our copy. We told the officers that we had misplaced it, but the license plate had a valid sticker. Sgt Zuniga said that the state could revoke registration, and they needed to see our copy. Then returned to his cruiser. My oldest daughter Julie was still crying, Lt. Spencer said I could get in the vehicle to calm her down. I opened the rear drivers door and re-assured my daughter that everything was O.K. She immediately calmed down. I asked Lt. Spencer if he could place his hand on my pistol so that it would not fall off the curved trunk when I shut the door. Sgt Zuniga returned with a citation for no proof of registration. I signed the citation in the area for court appearance. I was told I could secure my pistol and be on my way. Both officers had their hands on their weapons as I retrieved and holstered my own. The entire incident lasted between 30 and 45 minutes.

I did some looking and found that Spencer is the troop leader for the New Mexico Mounted Patrol. Troop 18 in Artesia New Mexico.

....already signed the settlement papers. Just waiting for the check to clear. Sorry about not using paragraphs, It never occured to me.

Yeah, Got a lawyer. We did sign papers to settle out of court. My daughter would ask every time she saw a cop if they were going to come and shoot me, So I called a friend of mine who is an Alamo officer to meet us at McDonalds in uniform and talk to her..... She's not afraid of cops anymore. Thanks Officer Thompson.

I’ve also had a few experiences with law enforcement that id like to share and I believe is useful. I’m from Albuquerque but I’ve been living in Virginia and North Carolina following work. I’m a big gun enthusiast and usually carry in my vehicle for personal protection. This incident was in September of 2010. It was in the small town of Fletcher, NC. Some friends and myself were going on a camping trip over the weekend and we were going to drive my truck up the mountain to where we would camp. I had six firearms with me because we were going to target shoot during that time. I had the rifles and shotguns in cases in the bed of the truck and my handgun was (UNLOADED)in a holster in the bed as well. I have a 1978 F250 single cab and its jacked up and has been restored. My point being it draws a lot of attention. There were five of us. Three in the front and two in the bed
(all of which were of age). I pulled onto the town road, after about 5 min I saw blue lights so I pulled off on a little off road to get off the main road. I stopped and the officer came up to the end of my truck and asked me to step out. I understand the first thing you are supposed to say if your carrying a gun is tell the cop about it. Which I should have done before I opened my door, my mistake. But I thought yelling out that there were guns in the vehicle with five people would agitate him so I figured id go back there and tell him at that point. Lesson learned!! My trucks interior is Rhino Lined so things slide around when I’m driving and it just so happened that when I opened my door an empty pistol mag fell out onto the street. He turned around and saw it so I went ahead and kicked it back onto the side of the road so it would not be run over. At this point he started to ask the two girls in the bed of the truck where the gun was. He was understandably nervous. so I went and put my hands up in the bed of the truck and told him they were in the bed. He then instructed everyone to get their hands in the air. he asked one of the girls where it was and she started to point to where it was. He then pulled his gun and pointed it in the direction of the two individuals in the back and called for backup. In about 45 seconds two more squad cars were at the scene and he then instructed everyone to get out of the vehicle. He trusted me because I had remained calm and respectful during this thing so he told me to climb up in the bed and get the gun. I picked it up with my pinkie by the trigger guard and handed it to him and told him who it was registered to seeing I am under the age of 21 and cannot purchase a handgun from a registered dealer. He told me that I wasn’t even supposed to have the handgun in my possession being that I was not 21 years of age. I told him that I wasn’t intending to create any problems but it was my understanding that I could have it as long as I was 18 or older. He said that I was wrong and that he would go back to his car and look up the law for me. At this time he had calmed down and the other police officers were talking to the rest of my friends. After about 10 min he called me over to his cruiser and pointed something out on the computer that had something to do with conceal carry. Even though it was out of direct reach and access of the girls in the back he said it was still considered concealed. He never mentioned anything about the “law” that said I wasn’t supposed to have the handgun. He was very nice to us after that. He gave me my handgun back and said he liked it very much and would have loved to keep it but he acknowledged that I was within my rights. He asked what the other guns were that were in the cases. He said he was just curious and that they were fine because they were in cases. Among others I mentioned the AR-15 and he didn’t even care. he just said “you’ve got a good collection and you seem to be a law abiding citizen and we like to see that in kids your age” he told me good luck and happy camping. He said he was very impressed with my knowledge of the law. I told him of my future goals in law enforcement and he said if I ever needed any advice to call him or if I ever had any problems with anyone else in NC with my guns to give him a call and he’d vouch for me. At first I thought this guy was going to be the typical bully cop and not listen to anything I had to say which id imagine would have been the case. But he said my polite attitude and respect for authority helped me out more than an arguementive attitude would have. A big thanks to Fletcher Police Dept. I sincerely believe that if I had been pulled over by the State Police I would have done some unlawful jail time. I was pulled over for my plate lights being out.
I understand there are officers that do not remember that they swore to serve and protect. But we cant forget that we have people out there that do care about our country and rights. We must support these cops because it seems as though its not a popular thing in law enforcement to really help people. Also if we expect to retain the right to bear arms we have to show ourselves responsible. It is a great privilege that not many other countries share anymore but this is why America is great. “When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”
Thomas Jefferson
It is so important that all Americans vote for your local Sheriff. It sounds like a little thing but most Americans do not realize that your Sheriff has more power in your county than the President. Our forefathers set it up this way as a check and balance so that governors, senators, politicians and even the president would never have so much power to rule your very existence.
Last month (November 2010) I had another incident, this time with the North Carolina State Police. I had been in a construction accident in which I almost lost my thumb. I had been to the doctor and he put 25 stitches in the thing. He told me that if it started to bleed again within 24 hours I should go straight to the ER. that was at 10 pm. the next morning I saw that it was bleeding through the bandage so I took the thing off and blood started to squirt everywhere because I had cut the artery. I jumped in my truck and put the emergency lights and took off. The speed limit was 35mps and I was going from 45 to 50mph. I passed an unmarked trooper going in the opposite direction, I saw him hit his breaks so I pulled over and waited for him. He pulled up and I held my hand up to where he could see the problem. He immediately got out of the car and came up. He asked me what the problem was so I unwrapped the bandage to where he could see it without letting blood go all over the place. he said that any injury did not condone going “64 in a 35”. I told him that I had already lost a lot of blood and I didn’t have time to argue but I told him I didn’t believe I was going 64. he then asked for my license and registration and went back to his car. he took about 10 min. by then my clothes were covered in blood. He proceeded to tell me that “ In the state of North Carolina we have something called an ambulance service”. he said I should use it next time. He handed me a ticket stating that I was going 65 in a 35 and said I had to show up In court December 6. Long story short I hired a lawyer and went to court. I didn’t get a court hearing and my lawyer said that my only choice was to go with 49 in a 35 and take a point on my record. This being my first traffic violation. The DA was very unreasonable. Looking back the reason they took care of my case in the back room during court recess was because they knew it would make them look bad in court. Especially with the pictures I took right after I unwrapped my hand when I got to the hospital after being pulled over. I was very disappointed in the $250 I spent on the lawyer. I went to the Fletcher police station and told the Police chief there what happened. He simply told me that some officers forget their pledge to protect and serve the people of the United States. He said that’s not how he would have wanted any of his men to handle things but there’s nothing we could do about it. Again I’m not degrading law enforcement as a whole or the State Police. Every agency has cops in it that are nothing more than high school bullies that graduated and found a way to make an occupation at seeing other people suffer. I hope and pray that when I make my way into the world and make steps to become law enforcement officer myself that I wont forget my duties to the people. The people is what makes this great country and I hope to God it can withstand the evils that wishes to prevail over all that which is good.
Again a big thanks to the Fletcher Police Dept, Hendersonville Sheriffs Dept, and all law enforcement agencies. We all do really appreciate your dedication to uphold the Constitution and serve your fellow man.

I apologize for the length of this, random thoughts, and also for the lack of good grammer.

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