[ilbegone]

They began giving me conflicting orders because they weren't at all in sync, but I yelled out that I have a hearing problem and told them that they were not being consistent. You know, one guy is yelling don't move, and another is yelling put your hands out away from your body, etc, etc.

I'm surprised you didn't get a fatal case of lead poisoning - all it takes is just one of those paranoiacs to set off the rest, and you'd wind up resembling Swiss cheese.

Then they would write in the report that you made some sort of threatening move towards them - you died because they feared for their safety.

THEN THE MEDIA GETS INVOLVED TO LIBEL YOUR MEMORY. Gun nut anti-immigrant racist loon with ties to Neo Nazis and fundamentalist Christian militias who snapped ala Falling Down, preparing to shoot "immigrants" or sniping the state legislature, whichever you got to first.

I believe you to be a very lucky man. You're a free adult, but please don't do it again. If you feel the need to "test" yourself, please put on the Elmer Fudd hat and all the rest if you must and take your round trip hike -> leaving your rifle in the trunk of your car <-. Then upon returning to your vehicle DRIVE to the range where you won't be accosted by gun carrying nuts on the public payroll.

If you insist on the trip carrying your rifle, maybe putting a trigger lock on it might give a visual clue other than leaving the bolt open.

Every so often one would come and tell me it wasn't going to take long.

Usually a lie which prefaces an unpleasant trip to a pre-trial detention facility a great distance from home where they put the clothes you were wearing in a bag (making sure to damage any hat or cap you were wearing, mash your shoes and put the soles against your wadded up shirt) and give you orange clothing in exchange. And when you are discharged, it will usually be in the middle of the night and out the door in your now funky smelling and badly wrinkled clothing - and any ride you may have arranged for will either have been waiting for hours past your stated release time or you wait for hours to be picked up because the phone is a pay booth just outside the exit.

After a bit someone came and asked where I lived, home address, because I don't have that on anything I had with me. My license has a PO box, and they found that stashed in a side pocket of my little camera case...

As soon as they run your license, your physical address comes up on the screen of the dash mounted computer.

They asked if the gun was registered to me at that address

They will know this. I listened to the dispatch tapes concerning my last free ride in a police car. Not only was the original 911 call greatly exaggerated by the police dispatcher (I heard the 911 tape as well), the officers were advised of registered firearms in my name, and I believe it was before subject contact - on my name only, before they had a DL to run.

By the way, a petty argument with a vindictive person can lead to a spurious 911 call, being thrown on the ground, experiencing purposefully applied, excruciating pain from take down to being seated in the patrol car, spending the night in jail, and putting out a lot of money for an attorney to tell the DA to shove that bogus charge and their onerous plea bargain up their ass because they don't have a case.

And you were walking through town in front of God and everybody else with a rifle slung over your shoulder. The wonder of it all.

One smart ass cop

The vast majority of them are smart asses, just some are bigger asses than others. A lot of times they are trying to rile you up to get a reaction so they have a legal excuse to beat on you for a while or taser you. Then if the ride to jail wasn't likely before, it's a certainty now along with some prosecutable charges.

I was allowed to gather up my stuff, re-sling the rifle

I know this is getting into a personal fuzzy area concerning the right to bear arms (I'm not that well versed), but I'm surprised they didn't find some reason, however contrived, to confiscate your rifle. I'd think they would at least try to keep the ammunition.

It's been years ago, but my home was searched without a warrant and my firearms were confiscated. When I reclaimed them after the ordeal was over, they tried to get me to sign the receipt before I could verify that everything was present and accounted for, but I made them show them before I signed. My ammunition was not returned.

The overall experience was enhanced by my driver's license, credit cards, and cash on my person (which should have gone on the books) disappearing between intake processing and release.

my good pair of glasses were scratched up pretty good while I was down on the pavement

Cops don't care in the slightest and I believe some would be disappointed in retrospect that more damage was not done - once you pop up on their radar you are prey.

I'm going to cease before I launch into a full blown rant - I'm still pissed after all these years. I hold police officers in very low regard as an evil necessity to a functioning society, and the last time I was about to be pressed into a jury I would have stayed and screwed up the prosecutor's conviction effort if I didn't need money through employment. I'm a registered voter and I don't care in the slightest about their early retirement taken away from them...

I'm glad you're safe, all it takes is just one of those knuckleheads thinking you weren't complying and therefore a threat or an accidental discharge and you would be full of holes.