first time getting pulled over with permit...

I got stopped in Mass with an empty 222 Remington case on the floor several years ago. The State cop asked me if I had a gun in the car. I had forgotten the case on the floor and said no and then asked him why he would think that I did. He said you've got a round on the floor. I picked it up and showed it to him and when he saw it was 222 he calmed down. The state police in Mass that I have dealt with all carry a real snotty attitude. I have dealt with them on different levels as I worked down there for many years and in my last job as a Business Manager I had contact with some whereby I was helping them out and they still sucked.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are NH State Police as I have never meant one that wasn't a complete gentleman. You treat them with respect and you get it back in return.

NH law doesn't require you to inform an officer if you are carrying and I probably wouldn't if stopped.

I can't say they are all that way just the ones I've dealt with. In my last job I was the Business Manager for the Covanta Energy Facility in Haverhill, MA and I was driving in the front gate one snowy morning. We were off a state maintained road and parked in our driveway were two plow trucks and a police cruiser all side by side across the front of the driveway. As a waste to energy facility we had about 250 trucks coming and going between 2:00AM to 6:00 PM each day. As I was entering that day a truck came barreling out and forced me over on the shoulder because the plows and the state trooper were blocking the driveway. I motioned the officer to come over and politely asked him if he could move out of the way. He started screaming at me and told him I never should have motioned to him, ya,ya,ya. I did it to avoid asking him in front of the others. I then went to my office and called the barracks he was out of and told them that that I wanted to file a complaint against one of their officers and explained what happened including name, cruiser # and told them I didn't need his bad attitude. I never heard anything else and I didn't push it because I had to drive to and from each day on state highways.

About twice in the 10 years I was there they were looking for one of the drivers (they were either independents or affiliated with a waste company we did business with) for some offense committed and they would just come in and stand in the scalehouse without asking permission from management to come onto the property much less wait in a building. My scale operators were smart and cooperated but quietly let me know what was happening. A phone call asking to do what they did would have gone a long way to demonstrate that they didn't think like the gestapo.

I'll get off my soap box as I'm way off topic.

Anytime a cop of any description forgets that he's out there to keep the peace and help people...he's subject to a sorry-ass attitude....I know what the Supreme Court says, and I know what the people expect....two entirely different things....98% of the citizens expect the police to respond to any call for help and, if they can't help, know who to call to help...they expect them to scare away the boogey man at night, catch the bad guys, sort out the traffic, and work the accidents....in short, serve....and if a cop doesn't want to serve...spends his day saying "I don't have to do that"....in my opinion, he's a sorry cop....my daughter and granddaughter recently had a flat in Miss.....a state trooper stopped, took off his gunbelt, and changed it for her.....now, there's a cop....that day, a hero....noone likes a cocky, rude, pushy attitude...I don't care what they put up with....that doesn't stamp every citizen's forehead with "One of Them".....each contact should be treated as it warrants....I taught my rookies to start friendly...get tough only if they had to...that defuses a lot of trouble....most people respond to respect.....