High Ranking Police Folk Allegedly Behaving Badly

[Eaglelord17]

My club is primarly handgun users. I know a lot of LEOs who hunt who aren't club members. Long gun laws are pretty simple once you take the time to understand the nuances of storage and transportation. Restricted are not.

I got stopped about 6 or so years ago during my birth month right after pulling out of the gun club. Cop asked if I had any firearms in the car. I said "You saw me pull out of the range." "So, yes" he says. "Properly secured, unloaded and in the trunks" says I. "Good" he says,"I'm not worried about those, just the people with them under the front seat." I'd been stopped to ensure my registration was up to date as I hadn't yet put my new sticker on the plate. We had an amicable chat and a few months later he was sitting in a new member class.

The other side of it is the completely ignorant cops who try to pretend they know firearms law and proceed to hassle and harass you insisting on incorrect answers being the law.

I got pulled over after shooting on crown land at a known gun pit. Safe backstop, non-restricted firearm (in this case a bolt action 91/30 about as clear cut non-restricted as it gets), cleaned up my brass and targets, etc..

Basically there is a guy who bought land for dirt cheap nearby this area who always calls on people shooting there because he wants his property value to go up.

I pack up, put the rifle away with a trigger lock on it, and go to leave to be lit up by lights.

Cops get out, give me the 5th degree over whose land am I shooting on (crown land), is there handguns in the vehicle (starts patting down parts of the trunk without permission), demands to be shown the rifle which I do. Says the bolt must be removed as well, even though legally the trigger lock isn’t even required for transportation.

After realizing that everything I am doing is legal tried arguing over littering (which is a legitimate issue at the site, however I had a small trash bag with my waste).

Ultimately wasted a hour of my time over absolutely nothing.

Ignorance of the law isn’t a excuse until your the officer expected to enforce it. I was very mad after that. I complied nicely, had everything legal, and still given the 5th degree by some ignorant cop who ultimately just wasted my and their time over their ignorance.

 

[Halifax Tar]

The other side of it is the completely ignorant cops who try to pretend they know firearms law and proceed to hassle and harass you insisting on incorrect answers being the law.

I got pulled over after shooting on crown land at a known gun pit. Safe backstop, non-restricted firearm (in this case a bolt action 91/30 about as clear cut non-restricted as it gets), cleaned up my brass and targets, etc..

Basically there is a guy who bought land for dirt cheap nearby this area who always calls on people shooting there because he wants his property value to go up.

I pack up, put the rifle away with a trigger lock on it, and go to leave to be lit up by lights.

Cops get out, give me the 5th degree over whose land am I shooting on (crown land), is there handguns in the vehicle (starts patting down parts of the trunk without permission), demands to be shown the rifle which I do. Says the bolt must be removed as well, even though legally the trigger lock isn’t even required for transportation.

After realizing that everything I am doing is legal tried arguing over littering (which is a legitimate issue at the site, however I had a small trash bag with my waste).

Ultimately wasted a hour of my time over absolutely nothing.

Ignorance of the law isn’t a excuse until your the officer expected to enforce it. I was very mad after that. I complied nicely, had everything legal, and still given the 5th degree by some ignorant cop who ultimately just wasted my and their time over their ignorance.

Keep this with you.

You're lucky you got away with just some lost time. I find these people get rather touchy and angry when they are wrong.

 

[Halifax Tar]

A more readable version:

 

[Jarnhamar]

Just to clarify, Parker didn't 'somehow' get possession of the USB. After the other officer (Donovan) assaulted him, pulled his baton, and then went for his gun, Parker drew his own gun and shot Donovan. Parker was then initially charged with attempted murder. Crown was obligated to provide disclosure to Parker to defend himself against those charges, and he was provided with the SIU investigative materials as required by Stinchcombe.

After Parker's charges were dropped, and Donovan was going to trial on his charges of assault a peace officer, well, Parker still had his copy of his SIU disclosure. When that came out as a surprise during Donovan's trial, that trial was derailed by it. It definitely should have been disclosed early on so crown could be aware of it and gauge how to handle it.

The issue was not him legitimately receiving that disclosure in the first place, it was subsequent dishonesty when it became a trial issue for the other guy.

Nice thanks for the added context. That explains why he had the USB (not slid to him by a buddy like I was suggesting).

OPP forensic dudes discovered Donovan lied about not accessing the USB and he was charged for perjury. The perjury charges against him were dropped because the judge didn't think he meant to lie on the stand. Goofy but at least the judge didn't buy the PTSD attempt.

If Donovan is still working would he have to include the perjury charges in a McNeil report since he did lie about it even though it was dropped? Because it speaks to credibility?

 

[Haggis]

@Halifax Tar and @Eaglelord17 I keep a copy of that document along with a copy of every registration certificate for all my handguns, whether they are with me or not (so I don't forget one) in my range bag. I also carry a spare trigger lock in case one fails or I lose it.

As if our own firearms laws weren't complex enough I also have to deal with in-house policies such as Departmental Memos (D-Memos) and there is one on importing and exporting firearms and other weapons.

Back on topic, though, in my experience conservation officers/game wardens and BSOs to be the best educated on firearms laws as they tend to have the most interactions with lawful firearms owners. Street cops tend to deal with the unlawful ones more often.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Back on topic, though, in my experience conservation officers/game wardens and BSOs to be the best educated on firearms laws as they tend to have the most interactions with lawful firearms owners. Street cops tend to deal with the unlawful ones more often.

I have to agree here. I've dealt with our COs a few times and they have always been personable and reasonable folks.

More often I find they are interested in the firearm(s) and can and want to talk guns/shooting/hunting.

Old man ramble alert...

Years ago my FIL and I went hunting in a blizzard. We took my F150 4x4 back to the stands for the morning watch. Later that morning on the way out of the woods we happened upon some COs in their F250 coming in the woods. We stopped, rolled down the windows and they came alongside. I asked if they wanted to see the guns or our tags and they laughed and said no, they wanted to meet the fools who were hunting in this weather as they were following our tracks. Then they asked if they could follow us out as they didn't have a 4x4 truck.

We all laughed and I waited for them to fall in behind me and I lead them out with a wave at the end.