Easy. Concealed means concealed. Don't sit in a folding chair in the middle of the room with people behind you, and then retrieve your wallet while sitting. Either carry your wallet someplace different, or stand before retrieving your wallet (so your shirt doesn't rise as high) or wear longer shirts. Also, if you consistently need to pull your shirt back over your weapon when you stand up or get out of a vehicle, you're doing something wrong. Buy some longer shirts, or carry a different handgun/holster combination.blue wrote:OK. Now, has anyone got any ideas how to ? :
1) Prevent this happening again?
2) Severe penalties to those intiating/causing this sort of thing happening?
3) Automatic TOTAL removal from records when innocent.
4) Other?
2011 is comming soon, we need to get some laws to PROTECT CHLers. We walk the tightrope and certainly should be protected from what Handog has gone thru.
Our law is written that if you intentionally reveal your weapon, you're in violation of the law, but accidents are okay. However, the bottom line is that cops don't make the rules, they just enforce them. If someone calls 911 and says she saw a gun, a cop is going to investigate. They're not going to assume the person has their CHL. The police officer may have just decided to let the judge decide if the person is guilty or not, especially when the 911 call stated that the caller was "in fear for their life." I would guess that a lot would factor into a LEO's decision on whether or not to arrest, such as how familiar they are with CHL law, the attitude and demeanor of the person under suspicion, and even other factors such as if the cop is busy or not or about to get off their shift.
I disagree that the cop should be sued or even that the cop did anything wrong. If a police officer is in doubt about the law, I would much prefer that he arrest somebody and let the judge sort it out, than potentially let someone go who WAS in violation of the law. It's not his job to decide if you're guilty or not, it's his job to just decide if there's reason to suspect you MIGHT be in violation of the law.
This was unfortunate that handog had to go through his ordeal, but in the end the charges were dropped, and his weapon and CHL were returned, and he was only out some time and money. Hopefully we've all learned a valuable lesson. Keep it concealed, don't get cocky, and remember that even though we live in the Great State of Texas, not everyone that lives here is pro-Second Amendment.
Just my two cents, of course. I tend to see the cops as the Good Guys with difficult jobs, and if I do my part to keep it concealed, then I won't have any trouble with them. And yes, I have been arrested before and spent the night in jail, and I still see the police as the good guys.
MojoTexas
