Carrying OTF knives

[AdvancedLaser]

And you're saying that a cop was just walking by, saw the knife, stopped you, then threatened you and took the knife? And you were just walking down the street without impairment? And you elected to not pursue the incident further?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[thperez1972]

I was walking down the street with a group of people. I did not see the officer. He came out of no where. I was taught since a child to not mess with NOPD. That they are criminals. My interactions with them has not done anything to make me think otherwise.

Apparently police are trained to look for pocket knives. I had the same thing happen at disney walking in the parking lot headed to the gate. But in this incident the officer kindly notified me and I went back to my car to put it up. Sticking a clip knife to the inside of my pocket is like second nature to me and I forget often that I should not have it.

I won't make a blanket statement. Every organization can have bad people in their ranks from bus drivers to welders to police officers. So I will not say, with 100% certainty, that the incident didn't happen the way you've described it. It's certainly possible. It's also possible that I could win the lottery tonight. The chances are so slim to the point it's almost guaranteed I won't win. But the chance of winning is there.

So if I understand the story with all the facts as presented so far, you and a group of friends were walking down the street. You weren't drunk. You weren't engaging in a fistic encounter. You weren't disturbing the peace in a tumultuous manner. You weren't causing a scene. All of a sudden, a cop came out of nowhere and threatened to put you in jail if you didn't give him your knife.

Let me go off on a tangent for a bit. It's relevant to this discussion. Before the consent decree in New Orleans forced the creation of the Office of Police Secondary Employment, any officer could coordinate a detail. If I frequented a store and the owner decided they would like to hire officers for a detail, he could ask me about it. From there, I could get the detail approved and I would be the coordinator. I would arrange to get interested officers and handle the scheduling.

There was a detail where the person who hired the officers kept making excuses instead of paying for the detail he hired. At some point, the coordinator, while in uniform, went in to that to the guy. The guy paid the officers. Then he went to PIB and made a complaint. He said that he only paid the officers because he felt intimidated by the coordinator. PIB looked into the incident as an armed robbery committed by the coordinator. Louisiana law defines armed robbery as "the taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, while armed with a dangerous weapon."

Back to your alleged incident. Thank you for adding more context to the initial post. But I have to believe there's more to the story than an officer just walked up on you out of the blue, committed an armed robbery in front of multiple witnesses, and nobody in your group did anything about it.

 

[Fugum]

So legal to own but cant carry it in your pocket?

I always thought it weird that I can be trusted to carry a concealed handgun, but I would be dangerous with an automatic knife?

 

[swampfoxx]

I was at Mardi Gras sometimes around 1977/1978 and had a Buck 110 in my pocket. Cop walked by and brushed against my pocket, then detained me and told me to give up the knife. I told him that it was not illegal, ands he said that the cops determine what is illegal in NO, not the state. I told him that I wanted a receipt for it because it was not illegal and he told me that if I wanted a receipt, to follow him and get in the back seat of his car. I handed over the knife.

 

[Xeon64]

I was at Mardi Gras sometimes around 1977/1978 and had a Buck 110 in my pocket. Cop walked by and brushed against my pocket, then detained me and told me to give up the knife. I told him that it was not illegal, ands he said that the cops determine what is illegal in NO, not the state. I told him that I wanted a receipt for it because it was not illegal and he told me that if I wanted a receipt, to follow him and get in the back seat of his car. I handed over the knife.

Yep. Similar was told to me. My knife take was a Buck Crosslock 180. NOPD must have a thing for Buck Knives.

 

[Kraut]

I was at Mardi Gras sometimes around 1977/1978 and had a Buck 110 in my pocket. Cop walked by and brushed against my pocket, then detained me and told me to give up the knife. I told him that it was not illegal, ands he said that the cops determine what is illegal in NO, not the state. I told him that I wanted a receipt for it because it was not illegal and he told me that if I wanted a receipt, to follow him and get in the back seat of his car. I handed over the knife.

I crossed the lake with friends in my youth, we used to hit Pat O's, Cat's Meow, Goldmine, and World Beat drinkin' and dancin'. Always carried a Buck 110 in my pocket back in the day, and as I was entering World Beat one night, same thing, cop at the door must have noticed the shape in my pocket, bumped his hand against it and reached right in without any words, took it out, and asked what I was doing carrying that. I told him I always carry a knife, out of habit, I lived "across the lake" and it was no big deal, he said come see me later when you're leaving. Saw him on the way out and he gave me my knife back, I went on my way. No threats, no attempts to keep it, no problem. We always hear about a shooting if it happens on Bourbon, but I bet they regularly get cuttings that don't make the news.

 

[AustinBR]

I tried carrying an OTF for a bit, but it was just too damn bulky. I just am spoiled with my lightweight Benchmade Bugout. I've been contemplating getting one of the Benchmade Claymores, but again, it's a bit heavier and thicker.

As for the legalities of carrying something in your pockets...so long as you aren't doing anything stupid the likelihood of anyone ever knowing what is in your pockets are uber slim.