LEO Off-Duty Open Carry

[blutch]

Was at a very nice restaurant the other night (Cheevers) and noticed a guy at a table with his family who was dressed in plain street clothes and was open carrying. Not a duty rig.. just gun on the right side and extra mag and cuffs on the other side.

It was noticed by someone else at my table which surprised me. I noticed it right away but didn't mention it.

I assume this guy is a LEO, but there was no indication of that other than the gun and cuffs. Is it legal for off-duty LEO's to open carry like that?

One of the things that this shows is that people didn't freak out that there was a guy in the restaurant open carrying. As he walked out I watched the room and as far as I could tell, no one but me even noticed he was carrying even though it was clearly in the open.

Just curious as I haven't seen it before.

B

 

[SMS]

Not sure about the rules for off-duty carry, but it's not safe to assume he was off duty either.

LEOs work shift and meal break with family doesn't necessarily equal "off duty" does it?

 

[Michael Brown]

Was at a very nice restaurant the other night (Cheevers) and noticed a guy at a table with his family who was dressed in plain street clothes and was open carrying. Not a duty rig.. just gun on the right side and extra mag and cuffs on the other side.

It was noticed by someone else at my table which surprised me. I noticed it right away but didn't mention it.

I assume this guy is a LEO, but there was no indication of that other than the gun and cuffs. Is it legal for off-duty LEO's to open carry like that?

One of the things that this shows is that people didn't freak out that there was a guy in the restaurant open carrying. As he walked out I watched the room and as far as I could tell, no one but me even noticed he was carrying even though it was clearly in the open.

Just curious as I haven't seen it before.

B

It is not legal for an LEO to carry openly, off duty, without the prescribed uniform.

However, there two issues:

1) How did you know he was off-duty?

2) What is the "uniform" for his daily assignment?

If his daily uniform is a plainclothes assignment, he is in uniform however displaying a gun and no badge is not a good decision.

If he was on-duty, no issue either way other than the previously mentioned problem.

When I was assigned to plainclothes, I concealed my firearm just like off-duty as I believe open-carrying out of uniform to be a poor decision.

Many do not agree but if open carrying out of uniform is the worst tactical decision I see an officer make, I will be a happy man.

Michael Brown

 

[Glock 'em down]

I used to hafta look cool and open carry while "off" duty (a real cop is never truly 10-7) to like required schools and such, until I started pocket carrying a Smith & Wesson J frame as a EDC/BUG.

Since then, I've matured a lot. I always have my sidearm with me in the car but I don't carry it in on my hip (open carry) in the classroom, unless it's firearm oriented, like qualification day or something. Just the EDC/BUG in the pocket. I feel like cops who think they need to open carry are just kinda showing off.

 

[ChrisC]

Mike, aren't we required to display a metal badge? Anytime my guns exposed my badge is on the belt next to it.

 

[aestus]

I'm sure everyone assumed he was LEO. Now if it was one of the Paseo hipsters, a biker, or someone in baggy hip hop style clothes open carrying a gun, I have $20 that says every other person in the restaurant would have either complained to the restaurant managers and/or called the police.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

If I recall correctly, it's in either Title 70 or Title 21 or both, a LEO in plain clothes is required to wear the badge in close proximity to the weapon and remain concealed. This is abused quite frequently, especially by younger officers.

It's also required that the officer have a comission card and cleet card in possession as well.

 

[Glock 'em down]

If I recall correctly, it's in either Title 70 or Title 21 or both, a LEO in plain clothes is required to wear the badge in close proximity to the weapon and remain concealed. This is abused quite frequently, especially by younger officers.

It's also required that the officer have a comission card and cleet card in possession as well.

Most cops don't carry these two items on their person either.

 

[ldp4570]

Loose cut blazer solves most of those issues. When I was an LEO in Georgia we had lots of young ones out looking cool. Of course it didn't take to long before some found their way to a supervisors office because of it. We had one idiot in our department who would wear our issue T-shirt that had the badge monogramed on the front, and Sheriff on the back, with out a weapon. You just can't teach stupid!!

 

[blutch]

I don't know if he was off duty, but it was obvious that this was a "special meal" for his family and extended family. I think it would be odd that he would plan a meal in a restaurant like that while on duty... but who knows?

He was not a "hipster." He was about my age - 50 or upper 40's in a short sleeved striped shirt and khakis. He didn't have a jacket. Now.. there COULD have been a badge right next to the gun. I actually didn't get a close look at the gun from my angle, so I guess there could have been a badge. Sure didn't look like a cop except for the two holsters he had on. The only thing that made me think he was probably LEO was the cuffs. There was nothing else on his belt that I could see.

B