You see/hear this a lot in movies when the rogue cop is suspended. Is it reality? I’ve known exactly two people who were police officers. Both of them claimed to have purchased their own service revolver. If that’s the case how could you be made to turn it in if suspended? Or is this just a movie trope?
So my questions are, do LEOs have to purchase their own guns and if so can they be made to surrender them if suspended?
I’m pretty sure larger police departments issue handguns.
They don’t get much larger than the NYPD, at least not in the US, and all the guys I know on the force “had” to buy their own gun. They do grumble a bit about the expense but the flip side of it is, they have some leeway in choosing the model.
I expect that part of being an active police officer is the right to carry a gun. If you’re suspended, that right is likely also suspended (though, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that many cops hold personal firearms permits, as well). Thus, even if it’s your own gun, it might be that you (temporarily) lose the right to carry it.
OTOH, it probably is just a dramatic trope. 
It’s just a wild ass guess, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of LEOs (law enforcement officers) do not have “private” concealed carry licenses, but rather have such authorization by virtue of their employment, and thus would be breaking the law if carrying their weapon in their usual manner while suspended. Moreover, when a LEO gets such an order he may well be about to be prosecuted for a felony, and I should think such a conviction would disqualify him from continuing to have a concealed carry license.
I can recall an episode of some show when the fictional LEO, given such an order as the OP suggests, declined to follow it entirely. Obviously he couldn’t argue about having to turn over his shield, but he pointed out that he had a CCL independent of his employement, and the gun was his personal property, and he was not accused of a crime; in short, his boss could bite him.
Huh. I thought cops had to turn in their badges and guns to solve the tough cases and get justice for their dead partners, despite the commissioner’s attempts at a cover-up.
This is so weird. I just watched The Big Heat (starring Glenn Ford) last night and THIS VERY SCENE is played out.
Boss: give me your badge and your gun
Cop throws his badge on the table and walks to the door
Boss: I said your GUN too!
Cop: this is MY gun. Bought and paid for
And of course, in Arizona, no longer is a permit required to carry a concealed weapon. Before that law passed, you could carry a gun on your hip just about everywhere.
Some offices still have “No Guns Allowed” signs on their doors.
The wild, wild west.
Some (most?) states allow anyone to carry a gun as long as it’s visible without a permit.
If its the department’s gun they can demand it. If its yours its yours. Basically, you are being stripped of your authority and its two primary symbols.
I’ve seen signs like that in Minnesota.
The mild, mild… midwest, kinda.
My FBI agent buddy had to buy his gun. Well, they gave them an allowance and they choose what they want within reason. Any cost above the allowance they have to cover.
Plus, since most ( a lot of) police dramas occur in NY, if that gun is not registered to you, you can’t even keep it in your own home, let alone carry it. So you had better turn in your police gun unless you want to be committing a felony by carrying it outside of the station.
Cite(s) please? :dubious:
AND, while it might be (technically) legal to carry a weapon, (as long as it is visible), I would be willing to make a substantial bet, that the local law enforcement will be seriously questioning you, as to why you feel the need to carry said weapon openly, in public. :eek:
(Not to mention, convincing you to not, do so. Legal or not! ;))
At least, they will, here in Houston! Just sayin’…
It’s illegal to open carry a weapon in Texas. So, no wonder police seize on that in Houston.
I don’t have a cite, but it was in today’s paper that the Wheeling, WV cops are stopping people who open carry. Completely legal, but the chief says that it is so unusual that he has the right to stop people, take the gun, run the serial number, ask questions, and then return it. A suit was just filed in federal court.
I can only speak for El Paso. But I was told by a friend at Crimestoppers here that if an officer is carrying a visible gun, he is also carrying a concealed one.
In case he/she gets in a scuffle and the holstered gun gets taken by the suspect the officer has a backup when the opportunity permits.
You need a to provide counter-cites for that and not the other way around. Open carry of guns in the U.S. isn’t given by law, it is only taken away. It certainly isn’t legal everywhere but you can openly carry firearms around freely most places in the U.S. by land area. Law enforcement can try to talk to you all they want just like they can ask where bought those cool clothes but you don’t have to cooperate if you aren’t doing anything wrong. It makes sense if you think about it. There are lots of legal guns in the U.S. and their owners often need to take them from place place to place. There are websites that break down local laws by town, city, and state but those are specific restrictions. Outside of those restrictions, you can walk around with shotguns, rifles, and handguns all you want as long as you don’t threaten anyone or cause some other mayhem. Many states have specific restrictions on gun carry inside of banks and places that serve alcohol for obvious reasons and private property owners generally have right to refuse access to refuse entry or eject people that have a gun for no other reason but it is technically legal most other places by land area.
Yup. SOP for every cop I know. The spare is for any number of reasons - from “perp grabs my official weapon” to “run out of ammo/no time to reload,” to (depending on the officer,) “never know when I might need a ‘throwdown.’”
Also, all officers I know personally do hold CCPs, and, if fired by his/her department, would be required to surrender issued weapons, but not personal firearms.
This is anecdote, not data. The officers I know well enough to know these things about are local and state police in Georgia, South Carolina, or Florida, plus a couple of FBI agents.
Depends on the department. Some police departments issue handguns to their officers, some departments have their officers buy their own handguns from a list of department approved firearms.