police

[Hoowil]

Back when I dealt with the SCA, I knew a couple people who had issues with police on the way to/from events. Some even had weapons confiscated. One had a dagger broken by the officer, there on the side of the road, which was 'illegal' to be carrying.

Check you local laws. Be confident, but not obnoxious about what you know. It may be that you will in fact know more about the specific code than the officer does off the top of his head. Answer fully and clearly. If things go 'bad' with the officer, step back and observe, noting what is done. Challenge the ticket not the officer, and in court. The gentleman who had the dagger broken was well within the law, and stood up for himself at a hearing, not on the street, and won a suite against the police officer for harrasment, illegal seizure of property, and destruction  of property.

Mainly, I can't think why an officer would be too much of a pain if you explain your intentions, and are able to verifiy them. If you're carrying a sword bundled thru a rucksack, thats illed with garb, show the garb, state your destination and purpose, and let it got at that.

[robert of armstrong]

One had a dagger broken by the officer, there on the side of the road, which was 'illegal' to be carrying.

See, that's just wrong.  Illegal or not, damaging that property was inapprpriate.  If the officer had that much of an issue with the weapon(s) that they didn't accept the explaination, they should have siezed the offending item and laid a charge.

I have seen more than one "experienced" officer, in dealing with someone one whom had something illegal (usually a small amount of marijuana) give that person the option of being arrested, or dumping it down a sewer.  But they gave the person the option, and were giving them a break by not taking them in.  (An example, not trying to start a legalization arguement)  It did several things:  the person was no longer in possession of, nor had access to, the illegal item, and consequently the situation was resolved with neither the person getting arrested, without the officer having to do two or three hours of arrest and drug submission paperwork.  Win-win, plus the Officer was again available to get someone else out of whatever sticky situation they had gotten themselves into.

[Black Armor]

If an officer takes the wrong action because he didn't know the law well enough then he doesn't have much of an excuse later and is definately liable.  Sounds like that officer owed that guy a new daggar and an apology for sure.  Without knowing the details of the situation, I'll bet that Robert of Armstrong is right.  That officer probably thought incorrectly that the daggar was illegal and tought he was giving the guy a break (no pun intended) by destroying it.  I can't imagine that he would have then tried to charge the guy on top of it because he would have just destroyed the evidence.  I'm sure his supervisors weren't too happy especially if there ended up being a lawsuit. 

[Poldugarian Warrior]

And so to sum it up, if your stopped by the cop for carrying swords while walking beside the road. Respond respectfully and with intelligence. And with luck you'll be let on your way. I just don't get why we have a constitution anyhow  because isn't one of those amendments in the Bill of Rights, the right to keep and bear arms, and it doesn't specify what types. But, in this day and age you can't carry any weapon on your person that would be effective if you were to be attacked by another human being and be able to defend yourself. Except for a gun of course perfectly legal if carrying a CCW.  Now I pose the question what is more dangerous a person carrying a gun or a blade. In my opinion a gun. At least with someone having a blade one has a chance to defend themselves, but a gun there is no chance. At any rate, the carrying of weapons is a right, but check with local and national law before trying to walk down the street or road with one at your side.

[Tipsy Gypsy]

I dunno, PW, blades don't run out of ammo 

[Poldugarian Warrior]

True, but guns can strike from a distance which makes it deadlier and impersonal in my opinion. In truth if allowed to carry weapons to defend oneself, both would be good to have. For example look at archers of old, the bow & arrow is good, but when the arrows run out the blade is there. And pirates too carry both. But, a blade still is less dangerous, since one can dodge a blade or block it as opposed to a bullet where the chance of dodging or blocking it is slim to none.

[Black Armor]

I dunno, PW, blades don't run out of ammo 

Sure, but you can't out run a bullet and the sword takes so much more energy to use.  In a sword fight, I could just wait until you're all tired out from hacking away at P. Warrior and then just walk over and finish you off.  Fight smarter not harder that's what I always say!

I always carry a gun and a knife just to cover both situations.  Imagine my embarassment if I were to show up to a knife fight with a gun......or a gunfight with a knife.....or whatever.

[Poldugarian Warrior]

Right on. Black Armor, Blades were fine for a simpler time, but now guns are the norm, and so they are better than swords. I carry a knife, legal length of course, but no gun never got a CCW. But, all in all always carry something to reinforce the hand in case you're ever  attacked for whatever reason.

[SirRichardBear]

opposed to a bullet where the chance of dodging or blocking it is slim to none.

Yes but I also remember the police in New York firing 72 rounds at a man standing still in a four foot doorway less than five feet away and only hitting him 4 times.  Still haven't figured out how that happen guess they don't require New York City police to take fire arm training.     

[Tipsy Gypsy]

As told to me by a police officer from Victoria Texas, in the late 80's their PD supplied the officers with 357s and 38 loads, +Ps, if memory serves. Police officer fired at a suspect and the round bounced off of his head. Ooops.

I think the PD upgraded to something with a little more muscle after that. Hope so, anyhow...

Beeboy, your original post has gone off on quite a tangent, but you've sure sparked an interesting discussion  .

[Zaubon]

True, but guns can strike from a distance which makes it deadlier and impersonal in my opinion. In truth if allowed to carry weapons to defend oneself, both would be good to have. For example look at archers of old, the bow & arrow is good, but when the arrows run out the blade is there. And pirates too carry both. But, a blade still is less dangerous, since one can dodge a blade or block it as opposed to a bullet where the chance of dodging or blocking it is slim to none.

I haven't trained in a long time, but in my younger days, if I had a knife and you had a pistol, inside of 20 feet you belonged to me. The type of weapon isn't what makes a person dangerous, it's the mindset to use it. In a blade vs gun fight the person with the gun will often hesitate because he has the percieved advantage. The person with the blade knows he has to get there first and most effectively.
Enough with the gloomy stuff. Let's get back to instruction on how to p*ss off a cop on the side of the road.....

[Lord Figaro]

Cop walks up to the driver and says "Do you know why I pulled you over today?"  Answer "Because you didn't happen to see me yesterday, while you were in the donut shop??"

[Poldugarian Warrior]

That's a good one Lord Figaro, And Zaubon yer right, I've always thought the same way if being attacked by someone with a pistol and all you have is a knife, you might as well run as fast as yuo can toward the guy/girl and shorten the distance and at least get a hit on him/her. And as far as those cops missing in New York City as mentioned by SirRichardBear, you got me. I think it's the fact that machine guns as you keep firing just become inaccurate. That's why most guns have a three round burst setting on them if auto capable. So accuracy can be maintained, but at full auto it's nearly impossible.

[Tipsy Gypsy]

How to pi$$ off a cop- tell him his badge means 'You can always trust your car to the man who wears a star".

Worked on the ex. He was a little thin-skinned, though...

[Black Armor]

I haven't trained in a long time, but in my younger days, if I had a knife and you had a pistol, inside of 20 feet you belonged to me. The type of weapon isn't what makes a person dangerous, it's the mindset to use it. In a blade vs gun fight the person with the gun will often hesitate because he has the percieved advantage. The person with the blade knows he has to get there first and most effectively.

True.  I've seen training videos that show martial artists vs. police officer where the officer has his gun holstered and the martial artist has a knife.  If the guy with the knife charges from inside 21 feet, in the time it takes for the officer to realize what is happening and draw his weapon the bad guy can be on top of him.  We call it the "reactionary gap" and are trained that if a guy with a knife gets within 21 feet, it's shootin' time.  Now if the officer already has his gun drawn before the guy with the knife hits 21 feet the knife guy is probably not going to make it.  

PW, I would say it was probably more the adrenaline from being in a high- stress situation that made them miss.  When you are exposed to a situation like that, the stress causes certain natural responses in your body like loss of fine motor skills and tunnel vision.  You're right that rapid fire was probably also a big factor.  What makes a semi-auto gun less accurate when fired quickly is the recoil that causes the gun to kick upward and its operator is unable to keep the weapon on target.