Pulled over with CRKT Rescue Tool

[IronPriest 2]

I finally got around to posting this, even though it happened about three weeks ago.

 

As I was driving from Woodbridge to Fords, I was pulled over for what has become my annual expired registration ticket (one day I'll remember to renew on time). Anyway, while I was digging through my glove-box in search of my paperwork, I (accidentally) exposed my CRKT Rescue Tool and here's the conversation that followed:

 

Cop: What's that?

 

Me: It's a CRKT Rescue Tool.

 

Cop: Is that a knife?

 

Me: No, it's a CRKT Rescue Tool.

 

Cop: What?

 

Me: A CRKT Rescue Tool. It's not a knife.

 

Cop: I can arrest you for that.

 

Me: It's not a knife.

 

Cop: It looks like a knife. I can arrest you for that.

 

Me: Even if it's not a knife?

 

Cop: It looks like a knife.

 

Me: It's not a knife.

 

Cop: You can't have that in there (glove box).

 

Me: Even if it's not a knife? It's a rescue tool. Can I put it in the trunk, then?

 

Cop: (puts it on the roof, moves on to the registration, blah blah)

 

Cop: Open your trunk.

 

Me: Huh? Oh. Right.

 

So I get out, open my trunk a crack (even though I have nothing incriminating, I still don't feel like giving a show) and he tosses the CRKT tool inside. I get a ticket for my expired registration and I go on my merry way.

 

Now... I can't imagine that my rescue tool is illegal in any way, shape, or form. I'll post pics below. I would have loved to have had an argument with him, but as I was in no mood to be detained and he was already doing me a favor by not towing my car away for the expired registration, I kept my mouth shut beyond what I said in the above conversation.

 

Link to the tool: http://www.crkt.com/McGowan-MAK-1-Multiple-Access-Knife

 

They call it a knife on the website, but I don't think this is what comes to mind when someone says "knife".

 

Any thoughts? LEOs, please feel free to respond.

 

 

 

 

[Holeshot 3]

Looks like a heavy duty bottle opener.

 

 

 

That's not a knife, This is a Knife!

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLS3RGesIFQ

[Petes 0]

Is that a cutting edge?

[seamusSU 0]

Is it actually illegal to have a knife in the glovebox/center console? This is the first I've ever heard this and if it's true then I need to do some serious car cleaning. I know I have at least 1 knife in the glove box and probably 2 in the center console. And another 2 in the trunk, plus a box cutter.

[9X19 125]

Might be dangerous if you are a can of Benjamin Moore paint.

[Blacksmythe 71]

New Jersey forbids you from extracting yourself if your trapped in a vehicle.......

[IronPriest 2]

Looks like a heavy duty bottle opener.

 

 

 

That's not a knife, This is a Knife!

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLS3RGesIFQ

 

Getting detained might have been worth it just to re-enact that scene. Haha.

 

Is that a cutting edge?

 

It does have a cutting edge on the bottom, yes.

[Smokin .50 1,907]

30 years ago I had an Old Bridge Cop tell me that my holstered "Penney Sizzors" and tweezers were a weapon and that he could arrest me. This was in the Cop Shop, within earshot of the Desk Sgt. I put out my hands so he could cuff me, and said in a loud voice, that I guess every First-Aider & Paramedic in town better surrender themselves since we all wore the same equipment in the same holster. Desk Sgt. just shook his head and told the Cop to go back to work.

 

Moral to the story is you have a defined, LEGAL PURPOSE for having your "tool"..........but I wouldn't try convincing the A-Holes at a TSA checkpoint that it's just a seat belt cutter, lol!

 

They can arrest the new Pope, but that doesn't mean that the charge will "stick"!!

 

Dave

[voyager9 3,434]

Looks like a heavy duty bottle opener.

 

 

 

That's not a knife, This is a Knife!

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLS3RGesIFQ

 

That's all I could think of read this. Did OP reply to the officer in the Aussie accent?

Honestly, it looks like a knife to me.. but I don't see why that would be a problem in the glove box or center console.

[AS350Driver 56]

New Jersey forbids you from extracting yourself if your trapped in a vehicle.......

 

This is true, you must wait for the police, fire, rescue to show up prior to exiting from any vehicle entrapment.

[IronPriest 2]

Is it actually illegal to have a knife in the glovebox/center console? This is the first I've ever heard this and if it's true then I need to do some serious car cleaning. I know I have at least 1 knife in the glove box and probably 2 in the center console. And another 2 in the trunk, plus a box cutter.

 

First I've ever heard of it, too. I also have what amounts to be a box-cutter in my center console and a couple of knives in the trunk. I keep my backpack in the car/trunk and it has a knife and a Leatherman Skeletool (with blade) inside. Back-up for my back-up.

 

New Jersey forbids you from extracting yourself if your trapped in a vehicle.......

 

I knew that had to be the problem. I was trying to prevent my untimely demise at the hands of a burning vehicle, which is clearly messing with fate and, therefore, forbidden.

[Blacksmythe 71]

Then he really would of had a hoot with my tool.

[dajonga 396]

I got pulled over a couple months ago. I was going the speed limit. I had a failed inspection sticker on my 1992 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon. I show the cop the paperwork that says I still have another 3 weeks to make the repairs. He hands me back my papers and then the questions start.

Cop....... So, Where are you going? Wawa. What for? To meet a guy. Who are you meeting? At this point I got annoyed by his useless questions that have NOTHING to do with anything that is his business. "I am selling a guy some camera bags that I advertised on craigslist. They are in plain sight, in the back of car. Look and see".

 

Then he starts to grill me on the LL bean keyring nail file, tweezer, toothpick, knife, flashlight combo in my center console.

Whats that? A multitool for a keyring. What do you use it for? I use it to clean my nails. Can I go now?

 

He then wishes me a nice day. Yeah, right back at ya.

 

Can you imagine if I had been on the way to the range with a trunk load of guns?

 

[IronPriest 2]

Oh yeah, Blacksmythe. You wouldn't even have had half of my argument (but it's not a knife!) because yours is actually a knife. Haha. But like Smokin' .50 said, it has a legal purpose. I really wanted to take the time to explain that 1), it wasn't a knife, and 2), it had a legal purpose, but I was on thin ice with the expired registration. Losing the argument was probably necessary to keep my car.

[Blacksmythe 71]

First I've ever heard of it, too. I also have what amounts to be a box-cutter in my center console and a couple of knives in the trunk. I keep my backpack in the car/trunk and it has a knife and a Leatherman Skeletool (with blade) inside. Back-up for my back-up.

 

 

 

I knew that had to be the problem. I was trying to prevent my untimely demise at the hands of a burning vehicle, which is clearly messing with fate and, therefore, forbidden.

I'm not waiting for anybody. 55 years ago a knife saved my grandpa in a turned over pickup on a dark virginia trail. I follow his example because if he didnt have it I would not have been born.

[Ray Ray 3,566]

I never would have even cracked open my trunk, but that's just me.

[Secret Squirrel 3]

I carry a SOG Escape all the time, just gotta have a reason for carrying a knife.

[IronPriest 2]

I also subscribe to the "why wait" theory, which is why had the thing in the first place.

 

I would have stayed to argue and refused to open my trunk, but again, not getting towed away was paramount.

[High Exposure 5,661]

To be frank, keeping any weapon, object that looks like a weapon, or can be used as a weapon, in a part of the car that you need to reach into for any Police interaction is dumb, even if it is not illegal.

 

That being said, the knife probably scared the Cop. When we get scared we get defensive (that whole "cops are part of the human race too" thing). For all you knew, last week some douchebag pulled a knife from the glove box and took a swipe at him.

 

Believe it or not, people don't always like us. Some people don't like us so much that of given the chance they will stab/shoot/bludgeon/punch/kick etc... This makes us wary. Sometimes that comes off as being gruff or rude - please don't take it personally. It isn't you, it's us.

 

Consider it professional detachment due to heightened situational awareness when something doesn't feel right. It gets more noticeable when a situation goes from "routine" - traffic stop for unregistered with a guy not making the spidey senses twitch to "exceptional" - WTF was that? A K-Bar in the glove box that he just reached in?

 

Think about your job. How when something out of the normal happens and you need to pay closer attention to figure it out. You get focused sometimes to the exclusion of social niceties.

 

Is that tool an "illegal" knife. No.

 

Can you be arrested for reaching for it while on a traffic stop? You bet your bippy.

 

ETA: Your tool looks a lot like a big brother to my Böker "Cop Tool" that I carry at work and in my personal car.

Edited April 4, 2013 by High Exposure

[BlueLineFish 615]

First off when I think of rescue tool that is not what I envision. Secondly..he might not have iked the fact that he saw the " knife" while you were digging. Maybe if you notified him that something was in there before you went reaching. Cops do not like surprises, especially sharp ones. I would have stopped you from digging and removed the knife. Then questioned what it was. Once you provided me the rescue tool explanation once the stop was over you would have been given it back.

[IronPriest 2]

To be frank, keeping any weapon, object that looks like a weapon, or can be used as a weapon, in a part of the car that you need to reach into for any Police interaction is dumb, even if it is not illegal.

 

If I didn't carry it in my glove box, it wouldn't be within my reach. If I can't reach it, why carry it at all?

 

Is that tool an "illegal" knife. No.

 

Can you be arrested for reaching for it while on a traffic stop? You bet your bippy.

 

He reached for it. He was on the passenger side of my car (I was alone) and while I was sorting through a stack of papers, he reached into my open glove box and took it out. I get that cops are people, too, but if anyone should have been afraid, it should have been me. He was now "armed" with my "weapon". I did not reach for it and explained many times, while HE was in possession of it, that it was not a knife.

[Kingsoverqueens 10]

Another reason to keep your license, registation and insurance ID card in your wallet. They can't see something in the glove box until you open it.

[vladtepes 1,060]

sure its a knife.. and a rather large one at that.... and you can call it a rescue tool but I have a similar one... and it would make one hell of a weapon... unfortunately in NJ the knife laws are super vague.. and at the end of the day it is up to the officers discretion..

 

you can have a knife with a reasonable explainable lawful purpose..

 

im willing to bet if they pulled that out in front of a jury it would be a tough call...

 

why did you get pulled over in the first place?

[plode 0]

First off when I think of rescue tool that is not what I envision. Secondly..he might not have iked the fact that he saw the " knife" while you were digging. Maybe if you notified him that something was in there before you went reaching. Cops do not like surprises, especially sharp ones. I would have stopped you from digging and removed the knife. Then questioned what it was. Once you provided me the rescue tool explanation once the stop was over you would have been given it back.

 

I carried one of these as a firefighter, and still have one in my car. It's all I need(short of jaws of life) to get myself out of the car. To me, yes I would consider your rescue tool as a knife since it has a cutting edge. My tool has a cutting edge for the seat belt, but it is covered by the plastic piece so it cannot be used as a knife. Has a window punch, works as a spanner wrench and has a spot to shut off gas valves on houses.

[Dave_D 0]

I'd say all the LEOs opinions so far are fare enough. I keep my papers in the glove box but rescue tool/knife/flashlight in the center console for this exact reason.

 

The last time I got pulled over I realized I have too much sh*t in my glove box to begin with. During a traffic stop I want to be done ASAP and digging through expired insurance cards and registrations just leads to extra hassle.

[e80hydro 120]

Next time tell the cop you are on your way to or from your moms house to make a balony sandwich with the knife. Just don't make any unreasonable deviations from your intended course of travel. I think your allowed to get gas, take a piss and maybe pick up some mayonnaise, nothing more. Same basic rules apply for transporting handguns.

[IronPriest 2]

Was it a local cop or a gay Hitler?

 

Local cop, Woodbridge. Likely why he didn't tow me, but he was young and I figured he'd realize I wasn't trying to stab him with the pry-bar that wasn't even in my hands.

 

First off when I think of rescue tool that is not what I envision. Secondly..he might not have iked the fact that he saw the " knife" while you were digging. Maybe if you notified him that something was in there before you went reaching. Cops do not like surprises, especially sharp ones. I would have stopped you from digging and removed the knife. Then questioned what it was. Once you provided me the rescue tool explanation once the stop was over you would have been given it back.

 

I don't mean to be a jerk, but what do you think of when you think rescue tool?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rescue tools come in many shapes and sizes. I saw no need to alert him of an object that posed no danger and he saw the glass-breaker tip and handle while he was standing there. I had already removed my hand from the compartment when he reached in to get it.

[fishnut 2,358]

I was involved in 2 traffic stops like this. I keep a medium sized fixed blade(blade is about 6 inches) in the map pocket of my driver door. It is a knife that I custom made my self and I keep it there to use to cut my seat belt or break the window if I need to. Each time while pulled over cops questioned me on what it was I told them why I had it. each time the cop took it and put it on the hood for the duration of the stop and gave it back to me with no questions asked at the end of the stop. one or the cops was even checking it out and liked it so much he asked me if I could make him one to buy but no one has ever given me a problem about having it. But then again my hands are no where near it during the entire stop.

[BlueLineFish 615]

i think of the life hammer type.as a rescue tool.

[High Exposure 5,661]

If I didn't carry it in my glove box, it wouldn't be within my reach. If I can't reach it, why carry it at all?

 

OK. So think outside the box. Keep everything you would need in the event of a traffic stop someplace else then. A lot of people keep that stuff in their wallet, the visor, in a center console.

 

 

He reached for it. He was on the passenger side of my car (I was alone) and while I was sorting through a stack of papers, he reached into my open glove box and took it out. I get that cops are people, too, but if anyone should have been afraid, it should have been me. He was now "armed" with my "weapon". I did not reach for it and explained many times, while HE was in possession of it, that it was not a knife.

 

So, the tool was in the glovebox? Your papers were in the glovebox? You put your hand in the glovebox to grab the papers? The same glovebox that the tool that looks like a knife was in?

 

That's "reaching for it" for all intents and purposes. The cop doesn't know you. Doesn't know what kind of person you are or what your intentions are.

 

I would have removed it from the glovebox too and given it back after we were done.