> You say you are a former LEO. In your training did you perchance ever happen to hear mention of the Constitution or the Law.
Well of course. In particular, the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments, over and over. It’s right before you take penal code. I’m not saying the guy wasn’t within his rights to carry the weapon but it’s appearance would make most officers take notice. You have to take into account that most folks don’t walk around with that type of weapon every day plus the fact that it’s been in the spotlight in the media in the past few months. The officer may have wanted to see if it was fully automatic as well which would have changed its status as to whether it was a legal carry or not.
“The officer may have wanted to see if it was fully automatic as well which would have changed its status as to whether it was a legal carry or not.”
The officer may want to do a lot of things, but legally he had no right to confiscate or even inspect the weapon. The cop had the right to conduct a consensual encounter, which is completely voluntary on the part of the subject. In other words, he does not have to stop or talk to the police. Unless the officer could provide articlable facts that rise to the level of reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred or is about to occur, he had no legal standing to detain or confiscate.
In the words of our PRESidENT "The police acted stupidly".