Originally posted by Vudak
Look, Steve, I really don't want to get into it with you...
The police do what they want. Sometimes they get caught, many times they don't. Do you really want to make that gamble to prove a point?
Wouldn't it be wiser to just get off the unlawful charges via the courts rather than try to be a hard*** right back to the cops and escalate the situation for, basically, nothing but pride?
Then again, maybe cops where you live are different than the ones up here. Who knows.
Again, not trying to strike a nerve or dispute you. Technically, you are of course right. But, c'mon, what do you honestly think the average joe who tries it is going to find?
I certainly wouldn't let a situation to escalate to the point of deadly force merely to prove a point, of course not.
The cops where I live are quite accustomed to open carry so they wouldn't make the same career ending mistake as Xmarine says he would.
And, the next step in our discussion is what you brought up. How badly does one need to be right? in other words, I think the circumstances would dictate how far one would want to take a confrontation about wrongful arrest.
I think most circumstances wouldn't warrant serious resistance but what about something unknown/extreme like this: You are eating at a restaurant outside w/ your wife and 4 young children. You have opted to carry open because you are in Wisconsin and there is no concealed weapons allowed but you can carry open legally, no permit required. A person in uniform approaches you and demands your firearm and says he wants to talk to you.
I'm not sure what you would do but I can tell you that short of a gunfight, he's not going to get mine. This "cop" has just asked me to disarm myself, unlawfully, while he himself is armed with a gun. For all I know he is not a cop at all, since he obviously doesn't know the law. I'm not going to render myself unable to defend my family with an armed person confronting me, simply because he has a nice police uniform on.
Certainly the above is extreme. Just as certainly, things like this HAVE happened.
Finally, let me make something clear, I have no interest in getting in a scuffle w/ the police, I appreciate the job they do and I am "pro" cop. I have no dreams of being a tough guy or being put in any kind of situation that we've discussed. I'll be happy if I never again have to pull my weapon.
I just do not like the way the govt has chipped away at the second amendment and continues to do so.
Steve