Ohio Carry Official Stance Regarding Law Enforcement:
Whether you are just beginning to carry a firearm, or are a carry veteran, having encounters with Law Enforcement (good or bad) is always a possibility. The goal is to make that encounter as pleasant and controlled as possible. Ohio Carry is a huge supporter of law enforcement and the job they do. We respect that they put their life on the line daily for the good of our communities. We want to have as much positive contact with these community leaders as possible. All we ask from them is to have respect for us and our rights in return.
A relationship built on mutual respect and trust is a lasting relationship. A small portion of firearm carry supporters seem like they are out to get police in trouble. We all want our rights respected, but our goal is education of the community, not to get a police officer fired or sue the city. If that is your intention, this site and organization are not for you. We do not want to be trouble makers or bullies! We can not stress this enough! We will stand firm on our right to carry, but we will do so in a respectful, courteous, and non violent way. Below we will talk about open carry and the different ways to interact.
A relationship built on mutual respect and trust is a lasting relationship. A small portion of firearm carry supporters seem like they are out to get police in trouble. We all want our rights respected, but our goal is education of the community, not to get a police officer fired or sue the city. If that is your intention, this site and organization are not for you. We do not want to be trouble makers or bullies! We can not stress this enough! We will stand firm on our right to carry, but we will do so in a respectful, courteous, and non violent way. Below we will talk about open carry and the different ways to interact.
Interactions With Law Enforcement (Open Carry):
There are a few different scenarios that could play out when approached by a law
enforcement officer. We will play these out for you and give you our suggestions on how to handle each situation. We will be referring to laws in this section but will not go into full detail on them. For more info on the actual laws, please go to our Applicable Laws Page.
Scenario:
You are walking down the street proudly displaying your firearm in a non threatening manner when a police car approaches and flags you down. I would say that 99% of the time, he/she is there to talk to you. Be courteous and wait before walking away to see if they are in fact there to talk to you. Walking away at the site of police makes you look guilty of something even if you are not.
The officer approaches you. Be polite and say hello. Remember, you have done nothing wrong, and should not be afraid. The officer will probably start out by asking you your name and introducing him/herself. Don't be afraid. I always start out with "Hi officer. I am ______ with Ohio Carry (you choose if you want to give your full name or only your first). How are you today?" This opens up a relaxed conversation. They may ask you what you are doing walking around with a gun, or why you are carrying a gun around. My reply is always "Just walking and educating people about firearms and responsible gun ownership. I am part of Ohio Carry and we are a firearm safety, education, and advocacy group. Would you like a business card?" By asking them if they would like a card, it is letting them know that I am only there for safe, educational purposes, and not to cause problems. They may take it, they may not.
They will probably tell you that the reason they are there is that they received some calls from people that there was a guy walking around with a gun and that they are there to investigate that. I usually make it clear at that point that I am choosing to open carry to educate people so that people eventually stop calling and being alarmed. They will probably ask for your ID at this point. You can go one of two ways:
1- You can ask them if they are requesting your ID or demanding it. If they say requesting it, you can either choose to turn it over to them or you can say that you choose not to self identify. This could go one of two ways, either the officer says OK, or he/she begins questioning you as to why you will not give it up. Just let them know that if you are not suspected of committing a crime, you choose not to give your ID. At that point I would also ask if I was being detained or if I was free to go, before the situation spirals out of control. If they say they are demanding it or that you are required to turn over your ID when an officer asks for it, let them know that that is only the case if you are suspected of committing a crime and ask them what crime you are suspected of committing. If they have no answer but are still demanding your ID or if they say that their reason is simply the fact that you are walking with a gun in the open, inform them that that is not an articulable reason of suspicion to demand your ID and request that their supervisor be called out to clarify. They also CAN NOT demand to see a CHL if you are only open carrying, because open carry has nothing to do with concealed carry and you do not need a license to open carry (not applicable if you are in a car, school zone, or class d liquor establishment).
2- You could let the officer know that you are not required to turn over your ID if you are not suspected of committing a crime, but that you want to be as cooperative as possible and form
a lasting relationship with local law enforcement and let them run your ID. It will obviously come back clean and you will be on your way. Either choice is perfectly acceptable.
Some other things that may happen:
They might tell you that you are alarming people and that if you do not put the weapon away, you can be charged with inducing a panic or that by carrying a gun around you were causing a disturbance and could be charged with disorderly conduct. Click here to go to our laws page and read why you can not be found guilty of these things.
enforcement officer. We will play these out for you and give you our suggestions on how to handle each situation. We will be referring to laws in this section but will not go into full detail on them. For more info on the actual laws, please go to our Applicable Laws Page.
Scenario:
You are walking down the street proudly displaying your firearm in a non threatening manner when a police car approaches and flags you down. I would say that 99% of the time, he/she is there to talk to you. Be courteous and wait before walking away to see if they are in fact there to talk to you. Walking away at the site of police makes you look guilty of something even if you are not.
The officer approaches you. Be polite and say hello. Remember, you have done nothing wrong, and should not be afraid. The officer will probably start out by asking you your name and introducing him/herself. Don't be afraid. I always start out with "Hi officer. I am ______ with Ohio Carry (you choose if you want to give your full name or only your first). How are you today?" This opens up a relaxed conversation. They may ask you what you are doing walking around with a gun, or why you are carrying a gun around. My reply is always "Just walking and educating people about firearms and responsible gun ownership. I am part of Ohio Carry and we are a firearm safety, education, and advocacy group. Would you like a business card?" By asking them if they would like a card, it is letting them know that I am only there for safe, educational purposes, and not to cause problems. They may take it, they may not.
They will probably tell you that the reason they are there is that they received some calls from people that there was a guy walking around with a gun and that they are there to investigate that. I usually make it clear at that point that I am choosing to open carry to educate people so that people eventually stop calling and being alarmed. They will probably ask for your ID at this point. You can go one of two ways:
1- You can ask them if they are requesting your ID or demanding it. If they say requesting it, you can either choose to turn it over to them or you can say that you choose not to self identify. This could go one of two ways, either the officer says OK, or he/she begins questioning you as to why you will not give it up. Just let them know that if you are not suspected of committing a crime, you choose not to give your ID. At that point I would also ask if I was being detained or if I was free to go, before the situation spirals out of control. If they say they are demanding it or that you are required to turn over your ID when an officer asks for it, let them know that that is only the case if you are suspected of committing a crime and ask them what crime you are suspected of committing. If they have no answer but are still demanding your ID or if they say that their reason is simply the fact that you are walking with a gun in the open, inform them that that is not an articulable reason of suspicion to demand your ID and request that their supervisor be called out to clarify. They also CAN NOT demand to see a CHL if you are only open carrying, because open carry has nothing to do with concealed carry and you do not need a license to open carry (not applicable if you are in a car, school zone, or class d liquor establishment).
2- You could let the officer know that you are not required to turn over your ID if you are not suspected of committing a crime, but that you want to be as cooperative as possible and form
a lasting relationship with local law enforcement and let them run your ID. It will obviously come back clean and you will be on your way. Either choice is perfectly acceptable.
Some other things that may happen:
They might tell you that you are alarming people and that if you do not put the weapon away, you can be charged with inducing a panic or that by carrying a gun around you were causing a disturbance and could be charged with disorderly conduct. Click here to go to our laws page and read why you can not be found guilty of these things.
Some Helpful Tips:
At ANY time during your police encounter, you can ask the officer if you are being detained or if you are free to go. If you are being detained, they have to have reasonable suspicion that you have committed, are committing, or are about to commit a crime. Ask them to clarify what crime you are suspected of committing. If they can not tell you what crime you are suspected of, let them know that you would like to be free to go since there is no reasonable suspicion. Carrying your weapon openly is not a crime! This can not be the only justification for reasonable suspicion!
You can legally audio and video record the entire episode as long as you are not interfering with the officer. They can ask you to put the recording device down until after the encounter is complete if they have decided to frisk or detain you, but that does not mean you have to shut it off. Put it close by and at least have the audio recording.
If you do come across an uneducated officer who either pulls his gun on you, arrests you, or violates your civil rights in other ways, be assertive in your knowledge of your rights and the law, but do not resist or fight. Trust me your lawyer will sort all that out later and you will be getting a nice apology from the police department and the city! Fighting will only make it worse though as even though the officer was wrong to arrest you, new charges could be
brought against you.
If the officer wants to take possession of the firearm and you are not under reasonable suspicion of committing a crime, let the officer know that you do not consent to any searches or seizures, and that you would like to be free to go now. If he/she refuses, request a supervisor be sent out immediately.
Most of the time the officers will be completely respectful of you and your rights. They are allowed and encouraged to question you and try to open up a conversation with you, but remember it is your choice if you want to talk to them or not! Also remember that it has been upheld in the courts that the police are allowed to LIE to you to gain your cooperation. You
can always ask if you are being detained or if you are free to go. We recommend you stay and chat, as long as it is a friendly conversation. It is the only way we are going to spread education with law enforcement and start forming lasting partnerships or relationships with police officers and communities.
You can legally audio and video record the entire episode as long as you are not interfering with the officer. They can ask you to put the recording device down until after the encounter is complete if they have decided to frisk or detain you, but that does not mean you have to shut it off. Put it close by and at least have the audio recording.
If you do come across an uneducated officer who either pulls his gun on you, arrests you, or violates your civil rights in other ways, be assertive in your knowledge of your rights and the law, but do not resist or fight. Trust me your lawyer will sort all that out later and you will be getting a nice apology from the police department and the city! Fighting will only make it worse though as even though the officer was wrong to arrest you, new charges could be
brought against you.
If the officer wants to take possession of the firearm and you are not under reasonable suspicion of committing a crime, let the officer know that you do not consent to any searches or seizures, and that you would like to be free to go now. If he/she refuses, request a supervisor be sent out immediately.
Most of the time the officers will be completely respectful of you and your rights. They are allowed and encouraged to question you and try to open up a conversation with you, but remember it is your choice if you want to talk to them or not! Also remember that it has been upheld in the courts that the police are allowed to LIE to you to gain your cooperation. You
can always ask if you are being detained or if you are free to go. We recommend you stay and chat, as long as it is a friendly conversation. It is the only way we are going to spread education with law enforcement and start forming lasting partnerships or relationships with police officers and communities.
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Ohio Carry Inc- founded 2012.
While Ohio Carry strives to bring you the most up-to-date laws and facts, nothing within this website is to be considered legal advice. Consult a lawyer when any firearm issue or law is of concern. Ohio Carry is not responsible for any legal or civil action taken against anyone as a result of any topic on this site or any of its affiliated sites. We make every effort to provide correct information, however, the legal landscape surrounding firearm laws and carry is fluid and subject to a myriad of political influences in Ohio. Therefore, any and all information you gain from this site should be independently verified!
