Q: Can a cop take my gun out my vehicle without me present just because he saw it in my vehicle?
I was in Walmart and the cop was at my vehicle with my 3 kids and asked my oldest (15) to get out of the vehicle and to sit in the driver's seat because he couldn't see what she was doing and felt uncomfortable. My daughter got out and went and sat in the driver's seat and when she did the cop seen my gun in my door and took my gun out of my vehicle. When I came outside to get in my vehicle I noticed my door open and my gun wasn't there. The cops didn't even tell me they took my gun out my vehicle, I had to ask and then they tell me they got it. So I asked do you want my conceal to carry and they said yes and wouldn't let me get in my vehicle with my kids till they ran it. Can they do that?
A:
You didn't indicate why the police asked your daughter to sit in the driver's seat. Did they have cause to suspect something? Other than that, it seems that you weren't really damaged by what may have been a Fourth Amendment violation. Depending on the circumstances, you might want to make a complaint with the police department.
More troubling is the fact that three children had been left alone in a vehicle with what was presumably a loaded weapon. You should definitely be sure that, if they haven't been taught about firearm safety, you do so before you do that again.
Charles M. Baron agrees with this answer
A: This would be an legal analysis under the Fourth Amendment's search and seizure clause, which depends on an examination of the full set of facts and circumstances surrounding the officers' actions, and which usually involves balancing the rights of the person confronted by the police against the steps that officers need to take for their own safety and the safety of others. There are many things officers can legally do as a very temporary measure to protect themselves and/or others, until the point at which their safety concerns are dispelled. While other facts would be needed to analyze your incident, it sounds like the officers were concerned for their safety and/or the safety of your kids when they spotted the gun, then promptly returned the gun to you when their safety concerns were dispelled. Therefore, if some type of legal decision-maker (or police internal affairs) were to look at your issue, the odds might favor approval of the officers' actions.
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