NFOA MEMBERS FORUM
General Categories => Laws and Legislation => Topic started by: eelstrebor1 on January 09, 2024, 10:27:50 AM
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A lot of material that I've been reading states that you do NOT have to ID unless a LEO can express RAS. This is a "stop and identify" state but even the rules for that are the same in that a LEO has to be able to articulate that you've committed a crime or reasonably believe that you are about to commit a crime. But, I wonder how this relates to having a CHP in that this is a "duty to inform" state if you are carrying concealed. If you are involved in a traffic stop there's no doubt that you have to ID but what if you're parked somewhere or are walking around and a LEO makes contact. I understand that the duty to inform is still in play but do you have to prove you have a CHP or do you have to ID at all if you're not engaged in criminal activity? I guess part of the answer is that we have permitless carry now but do you still have to ID after informing the officer that you are CCing? You're not committing a crime just for CCing or even OCing as long as you're not in a prohibited place. "duty to inform" seems like a violation of the 4th amendment anyway and maybe even the 5th amendment. I guess to put it simply, do you have to provide ID even with duty to inform if you haven't committed a crime? It's my understanding that cops aren't well versed in constitutional rights and case law so we need to educate ourselves.
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A precise definition of the term, "contact," with respect to contact with a law enforcement officer (or comparable authority figure) is needed for those of us who pack heat. And such definition, with helpful examples, we never have had.
My uninformed guesstimate is that anything more than a casual, "Good morning, officer" while passing by should be construed as "contact," to be on the conservative side. And it's always best to be on the conservative side.
If you are packing heat, it's probably best to inform the officer at the outset and invite the officer's response and direction rather than have the officer discover the presence of a firearm later, perhaps then becoming alerted, alarmed.... All that.
Plus, failure to notify is some kind of misdemeanor here in Nebraska.
So gently notifying the officer/agent at the very outset of any kind of contact is probably the best approach, either for CHP holders or ordinary constitutional carriers.
YMMV.
sfg