Originally Posted by Hkmp5sd
I was stopped for speeding by a county deputy. I informed the deputy that I had a CCW, that I was armed and where the firearm was located. The deputy and his partner removed me from my car, removed the handgun, searched me for other weapons (where they removed two knives). They unloaded my handgun and ran the serial number against their list of stolen firearms. After everything checked out, they wrote me a ticket, handed back all of my weapons and let me go.
Since that time, I do not volunteer to LEOs that I am armed.
Yep, they violated your 4th amendment rights straight up. They had no RAS that your lawfully carried firearm was stolen, and therefore it was an illegal search for evidence of a crime by running the serial number of the gun. If you had the money, you would probably have a pretty good civil rights case against them, IF you had proof they actually called the serial number in. That would be the tough part - obtaining proof that they did it that would stand up in court.
Police that so readily violate persons rights as a matter of routine really leave a bad taste with me.
BTW - consider this. When you get pulled over and the cop asks you if you know why you were being stopped or asks if you know how fast your were going - they are asking you to provide information against your 5th amendment rights to not incriminate yourself. The easiest answer is, "No, officer I do not." If you really want to be completely within your rights, you can also state that you are invoking your 5th amendment right against self incrimination.