I dont, simply because if the vehicle is stolen, and they get stopped, they cant BS an officer that they borrowed it, blah blah. Nothing to help them, or direct them to my house. No insurance or registration. I keep them in my wallet.
I dont, simply because if the vehicle is stolen, and they get stopped, they cant BS an officer that they borrowed it, blah blah. Nothing to help them, or direct them to my house. No insurance or registration. I keep them in my wallet.
The ones who don't look are the grazing sheep. Any crook will tell you, the only people who stare at others in public are crazy people, or cops.
Years ago just after we were married, my wife and I took a trip to New York. We were walking in lower Manhattan, looking for some Brazilian restaurant she had read about. I spotted a couple of "yutes" walking toward us on the opposite side of the street, like a block and a half away. They keyed on us, and changed direction, heading across the street toward us. My wife noticed them when they were within half a block, then noticed the pause, stuuter step, and sudden change of direction as they veered quickly away. She looked at me and said, "What just happened!?!" I watched as Thing 1 and Thing 2 mad the corner heading away from us. Then I said, "I guess they realized the guy with the short haircut with female company who noticed them a block ago didn't look crazy, and realized they were about to get shot."
I normally keep my reg and insurance id in my wallet but since it won't fit in the Graith USA Strike Face wallet I'm testing out lately, I've locked them in a safe, (Lock'er Down), inside my 4Runner.
The officer will just have to be patient while I open it for him (or her) and explain the reason for the slight delay while I keep my hands in view.
(This way if the vehicle were to be stolen and subsequently stopped, the perp wouldn't have access to the docs.)
Last edited by blues; 06-02-2018 at 02:08 PM.
Several years ago I was out walking my dog and noticed a guy walking on the other side of the street. Out of nowhere the guy crosses the street heading straight at me. I turned to face him and put my hand in my coat pocket (where my gun was). I never took the gun out or do anything to overtly suggest I had one but the second I did that the guy turned around and went back across the street.
It never ceases to amaze me that people don't realize they walk through Walmart (or Best Buy) with people like the guy in that video everyday.
The dog walking scenario is usually in my head whenever I look at J frames. Somehow I think I’d feel better pocketing a small revolver than a G43.
Anyway, back on topic, good thread. It certainly serves as a reminder to keep your eyes open. Seeing ‘something odd’ about a person’s behavior as far in advance as possible just gives you more time to observe and if needed, react.
These days I will definitely change my path as needed to avoid intersecting random people.
I'm a night watchman, they literally pay me to watch people and (sometimes) report. After 10 years of doing it I've learned to spot abnormal behavior. At work most people walk right by me and pay me no mind. It's the ones who are watching me that I pay attention to. After a while of watching people you pick up on the clues.
Even in a less than ideal state of mind and body following a night imbibing more than a few in a Greenwich Village pub, I still had the presence of mind while crossing Washington Sq. Park to react to oncoming footsteps by stepping under a streetlamp and pulling out a knife from my pocket.
Making sure the blade caught the light was enough to cause those footsteps to retreat and move off in a different direction.
More than one life lesson was learned by this much younger version of myself some four decades ago.
BTW, Rich, the J frame is a very good dog walking gun. I carry mine for that purpose daily. (The J is only for local walks from home. Not for town or excursions far from home.)
Would a digital image of your registration and insurance stored on your phone be adequate for LE interactions? One could take pictures of your documents, IF your phone was secure or not likely to be stolen. Regarding the latter, I tend to use other peoples old (non-smart) phones, mostly they are many years out of date. Not immune from theft, but not worth anything, so may be less likely to be targeted. Many people laugh at my phone, including the phone people when I bring one in to get turned on for my number. "Uh,..are you SURE you want to use that old of a phone?"
Last edited by Malamute; 06-03-2018 at 09:43 AM.
I took pics of my LEOSA qual card, NC Pistol Permit, and ACLDN / LEOSA insurance cards and kept them on my iPhone while traveling through unfriendly territory last summer...NY, NJ, MD etc. Figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
Haven't done the same for my license and reg...though I have for my vehicle service agreement. Good idea, Malamute.
Last edited by blues; 06-03-2018 at 09:36 AM.