So, I'm heading home from my parents house this afternoon and I pull up to Warner road, ready to make a left hand turn. Look both directions, only one van a little ways down on the far right hand lane going East. So, with my blinker on I turn left (east) into the middle lane, switch my blinker to merge right into the closest lane when I noticed the van had sped up and moved over close enough that if I had not swerved he would have hit me. Very annoyed, I flipped him off and him I. I proceeded to get over and go along with my day when he slows down to get beside me and starts screaming at me to pull over. At this time, I notice the guy is huge and looks like he just got out of prison. Obviously, I wasn't going to drive straight home. Came up to a light and he got stopped at waiting to turn onto AlmaSchool, same as me. Just to be safe I pulled into the Circle K as I saw him make the corner all the while, reaching into my backpack to get my gun and slip it in my belt loop. At this point I had stopped at a pump, slipped my gun in my pants and got out not realizing that he had pulled in and was coming up on me from the other side of the pump. My first mistake was that when I jumped out of the truck my shirt tail had got hung up on the gun leaving it exposed so when I jumped out of the truck, he yells "He's pulling a gun on me!" as I quickly cover it up. He then proceeds to call the cops and tell them that I had a gun and threatened him with it. So I told him I would hang around and talk to the cops if it made him feel better.

Sorry, long post I know.. it does have a point. I promise.


Cops show up a few minutes later, one talks to me, one talks to him. I explain everything to the officer talking to me and we chatted a bit about my gun, my ccw class I took, blah blah blah. Guy was real cool and laid back, his exact words to me were "Don't even worry about it, you are completely in the clear." So we were laughing and talking a bit when the other cop came over and started yelling at me about why I had a gun, why I was carrying it, why I pulled it out of my backpack, that he could've arrested me for "intimidation" if the other guy had felt like being a victim and so I very calmly told him I didn't understand, my gun NEVER came out of the holster and the only way the guy knew it was on me was because my shirt lifted when I got out of my truck. He responded with, "I JUST F**ING TOLD YOU! DON"T SIT HERE AND ARGUE WITH ME, IF THAT GUY WAS HERE I'D TALK HIM INTO PRESSING CHARGES!" At this point, I was about to lose my cool so I just said yes sir, okay sir and he told me to "GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE" at which point I left.




Now that I am at home and my nerves have calmed I am really wishing I would have gotten his badge number to report him. He argued with me for a good 5-7 minutes about how the gun laws in AZ are stupid because people like me can carry a gun whenever/wherever I want and that he wish he could have talked the other guy into pressing charges because apparently I "intimidated him". I told the first cop when he asked why I put the gun in my belt, "I saw on the road the dude was 3 times my size and he was screaming at me... It was for my protection in case he decided to come at me with something when I stopped." He shook his head in agreement and that was it.


Did I do something wrong that I"m missing? I mean.. WTH. I've never wanted to lay into a cop so bad in all my life. From now on maybe I'll just open carry that way its' always visible, but then what's to stop the average joe in walmart calling the cops and saying I was "intimidating" people? I don't get it. Do cops get tickets for intimidating people with their guns and tazers and body armor?

Did you ask to press intimidation chages on the other driver as he was 3x your size and went out of his way to come at you when you pulled in to Circle K?

I have had some great cops and some bad ones. The bad ones always seem to be on a power trip and Im sure they were picked on in school:rolleyes:

Glad you are ok and nothing worse happened. Shrug off the bad cop and move on.

Okay cool, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.. I was calm and collected the entire time until the cop started yelling for no reason. unbelievable.


On a lighter note, I"m in the process of signing up for school for next spring.. welding certs here I come!

the bad cop probably only had an XJ growing up. It happens. ;-)

(good for you, though, for keeping your cool. You were in the right and getting angry and reacting is just what some people - like the drive or the power trip cop - are looking for to escalate thing. Well done, sir.)

You handled it correctly. I, too, wish you had gotten his badge number to file a complaint. The only thing I wouldn't have done is flip the guy off. I did that once, back when I had the Suburban, and the next thing I know the guy in the, I've got a small penis, jacked up two wheel drive pickup did was start waving a 9mm at me. Of course I didn't have anything with me, so I called in his plate with a description of the truck. Even told the cop about the Radiant Church sticker on the back of it. They said they couldn't find the truck in their database. My point is that by flipping off you unfortunately were escalating the situation with the other driver. Let it go next time. I have really had to learn that while living here. It isn't easy but I figure that my life goes a lot smoother without pissing off other people.

Oh, you have a CCW so use it.

defibvt wrote:You handled it correctly. I, too, wish you had gotten his badge number to file a complaint. The only thing I wouldn't have done is flip the guy off. I did that once, back when I had the Suburban, and the next thing I know the guy in the, I've got a small penis, jacked up two wheel drive pickup did was start waving a 9mm at me. Of course I didn't have anything with me, so I called in his plate with a description of the truck. Even told the cop about the Radiant Church sticker on the back of it. They said they couldn't find the truck in their database. My point is that by flipping off you unfortunately were escalating the situation with the other driver. Let it go next time. I have really had to learn that while living here. It isn't easy but I figure that my life goes a lot smoother without pissing off other people.

Oh, you have a CCW so use it.

Yeah, obviously returning the gesture wasn't the best idea ever, but that became besides the point a little when the cops showed up lol

Fairly confident that az recently passed a law saying you can show your gun if you feel threatened and not be charged with intimidating

Very true. Guess that is a moot point. How tall was the ticked off cop? Bet he was short and drives a jacked truck (see post in your other thread). LOL.

Lol short Mexican. Tall white cop was nice as can be. Figure huh?

See we sawed runts always have attitude. Short mans disease (SMD). That's cuz were all jealous of you tall people.

I had 3 landscapers try to get me to pull off the road a while back, I just gave them the deadest stare I could shook my head & continued onto work.
As I listen to DPS on my radio I hear them put out an ATL for a blue toyota 4dr Lic ##### owner out of El Mirage... Three of them one of me, no rude gestures on my part & they called DPS on me... Never did get pulled over and have yet to see them again.
As much as Id like to flip off alot of the drivers in this town I rarely do... well rarely do they see my finger, Some times blowing them a kiss or winking at them seems to get them to back off and leave you alone.
A guy 3x my size, Id make sure my gun was on me too, but concealed, mine usually is displayed when I exit my FJ as getting out the shirt catches on something.
You handled it right, and sucks you had to go thru the good cop bad cop crap :( but you did exactly what you should of done, say yes sir, no sir agree with him and let Napoleon think he won that war ;)

I see SO many things here that has went wrong.

1. A man got mad because he "felt" he got cut off.
2. A man flipped a bird because of a gun reaction/brain fart.
3. A white cop being nice to a white guy, taking his side.
4. A latino cop being nice to a latino guy, taking his side.
5. No one bothered to bring me a 79cent 44oz soda from Circle K.

It's ALL WRONG!!!

No one bothered to bring me a 79cent 44oz soda from Circle K. Note to self. James carries and knows guns.