Updated Off-Duty Carry SOP

Attention fellow deputies!!!:

Please dont shoot me when you respond to the call of an armed individual at some public location. It will just be me carrying my gigantic glock 22 in the approved safariland holster sticking out from under my shirt for all the world to see. At least I will be in compliance with the new SOP.

I will follow the rule.

Thank you for another well thought out SOP from our stellar command staff.

[The Nitely Blog]

You are mandated to carry a firearm all the time unless you are engaged in specifically defined activities.

I think I am going to become a nudist. :wink:

No problem at all Sheriff. I will no longer carry any firearm off duty thanks to this new SOP. I will now just walk away and not intervene in any potentially violent situation I witness on the street when off duty. In essence, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't after reading this new ridiculous policy. Between the unbelievably large credentials wallet with mickey mouse sized badge that doesn't fit into most pants pockets, to the latest issuing of the large Glock 22 and the accompanying unrealisticly updated off duty carry policy........I will be leaving everything at home. When something happens and questions begin to get asked why a Hillsborough Deputy did not take action off duty, I will be sadly covered by another one of the offices anti-law enforcement policies. Why do I feel that many of these changes are being based on how the Feds do things and specific leaders that want to run the office just like a private corporation, which I believe was also mentioned in one of the above posts. Once again, criminals & private citizens with concealed weapon permits have much less restrictions on carrying a firearm on their person then Hillsborough Sheriff Deputies do...... :shock:

All I can say is, this office never used to be like this. It used to be a LEO friendly place to work, where leadership at most levels still cared for the troops and made common sense decisions to keep the Deputies safe.

Can it possibly get any worse? I have a strange feeling the answer is YES!

Hate to burst your bubble, but your plan of defiance won't work. You are mandated by SOP to carry your credentials all the time. You are mandated to carry a firearm all the time unless you are engaged in specifically defined activities.

Hence the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" statement. The office SUPPOSEDLY wants it's deputies to carry a firearm off duty, but then comes out with a new SOP that makes it ten times harder to do so? Honestly, does the sheriff actually read and approve of these changes before signing his name to it? I would like to know WHICH OUT OF TOUCH SCHOLAR at the office decided upon these changes? If it wasn't such a serious matter, it would be nothing short of comical.

Attention fellow deputies!!!:

Please dont shoot me when you respond to the call of an armed individual at some public location. It will just be me carrying my gigantic glock 22 in the approved safariland holster sticking out from under my shirt for all the world to see. At least I will be in compliance with the new SOP.

I will follow the rule.

Thank you for another well thought out SOP from our stellar command staff.

I will have no choice but to join you. I wore it out on the town tonight and it popped out several times from underneath my shirt. I freaked one person out as it happened in a dept store and had to immediately tell her I was a deputy. She just looked at me funny & quickly walked off. I wonder if a s-13 call went out about that one.... :snicker:

And dont shoot the detectives who are mandated to carry the Gl**** 22 and carry it in such a fashion as to not be seen. Word has it even if you elect to purchase a Glock 27 you will not be allowed to carry it as an alternate primary even though the Sheriff can authorize it. But, I need to look at the big picture........................................... ...............

REF: SOP550.00 Page 4, Item H.1(d)..."Any other personally owned firearm authorized for off duty carry must be the following specifications.
1. Pistol or revolver with 380 - 45 caliber
2. No Single acation
3. Inspected prior to qualification.

Am I missing something with this discussion. Appears to me that off duty you can carry anything from 380 to 45, pistol or revolver, that you qualify with. I can understand the secondary weapon being a 40 so you are only carrying one caliber ammunition, but off duty you are free to carry just about anything.

REF: SOP550.00 Page 4, Item H.1(d)..."Any other personally owned firearm authorized for off duty carry must be the following specifications.
1. Pistol or revolver with 380 - 45 caliber
2. No Single acation
3. Inspected prior to qualification.

Am I missing something with this discussion. Appears to me that off duty you can carry anything from 380 to 45, pistol or revolver, that you qualify with. I can understand the secondary weapon being a 40 so you are only carrying one caliber ammunition, but off duty you are free to carry just about anything.

Thank you to the above poster. For the record, I don't agree with the new SOP covering off duty firearms. I am more concerned with concealment than being armed with a howitzer since there are very few circumstances I would draw a gun in public without benefit of a uniform, badge, and body armor. However, before complaining about it, people should at least read it so they understand what has changed.

You are free to carry any gun of any type, color, and caliber in accordance with law. That is your right. However, as long as you are a law enforcement deputy with the HCSO, you will also need to carry a firearm in accordance with the above listed guidelines. Further, it can only be black, blued, olive drab, or aluminum and may not reflect unduly upon the HCSO. It does not have to be the Glock 22. That is the rule. You can get in trouble for not obeying the rules. Will this ever be an issue? No. That is, not unless you have to use the weapon off duty. Then it very well may be an issue.

Insofar as detectives, they may check out a Glock 27 from the armory to carry in their plain clothes assignments, however, when in uniform they are required to carry the Glock 22 on their belt. Also, when conducting raids/search warrants/other similar activities they are supposed to carry the Glock 22 if possible.

As far as qualifying, check with the range. If you can qualify during on duty quals, great. If it's on your own time, I doubt you will be compensated. The range will provide you with .40 cal ammo. You will need to bring your own ammo for different calibers. I hope this helps answers some of the questions. Again, I don't agree with it since myself and a lot of other deputies probably carry perfectly serviceable and perfectly deadly off duty weapons that are no longer permissible, but we should at least know what the SOP says.

Insofar as detectives, they may check out a Glock 27 from the armory to carry in their plain clothes assignments, however, when in uniform they are required to carry the Glock 22 on their belt. Also, when conducting raids/search warrants/other similar activities they are supposed to carry the Glock 22 if possible.

The only detectives that will be issued the "27" are undercover detectives. A detective otherwise can carry a "22". There is no "if possible" for raids/search warrants, it specifically says "22"

You are free to carry any gun of any type, color, and caliber in accordance with law. That is your right. However, as long as you are a law enforcement deputy with the HCSO, you will also need to carry a firearm in accordance with the above listed guidelines. Further, it can only be black, blued, olive drab, or aluminum and may not reflect unduly upon the HCSO. It does not have to be the Glock 22. That is the rule. You can get in trouble for not obeying the rules. Will this ever be an issue? No. That is, not unless you have to use the weapon off duty. Then it very well may be an issue.

You left off the part if approved by the sheriff.

And as it stands right now for detectives the SOP on carrying a firearm does not permit open carry.

Publication of the SOP was done oh so quietly but it might as well have been put out like a decree--------

It is hereby enunciated and decreed by the power vested in me as your High Sheriff that you will here and obey my order to carry and only carry the issued firearm of my choice, and that choice will not be subject to any modifications...... ad infinitum

How about you just carry what ever you want, and if by slim chance you have to use it then deal with those chips when they happen. Better to be tried by 12 then carried by 6. I was allwas told its best to be the worlds best witness then its to get involved. Think about all the dead cops that get killed by friendly fire, when they pull out and start shooting in plain clothes. Maybe you can go ask the Baltimore cop that was killed this month, when he started shooting in plan clothes and was mistaken by the cops responding. I'd hate to think of the drama your family would go through if you got into a shooting with them allong side you and you end up either shot or dead. I'm thinking if your the target and you pull out what ever and it doesn't met SOP and you safe your life and your familys life, the man isn't going to say a thing, other then good job.

How about you just carry what ever you want, and if by slim chance you have to use it then deal with those chips when they happen. Better to be tried by 12 then carried by 6. I was allwas told its best to be the worlds best witness then its to get involved. Think about all the dead cops that get killed by friendly fire, when they pull out and start shooting in plain clothes. Maybe you can go ask the Baltimore cop that was killed this month, when he started shooting in plan clothes and was mistaken by the cops responding. I'd hate to think of the drama your family would go through if you got into a shooting with them allong side you and you end up either shot or dead. I'm thinking if your the target and you pull out what ever and it doesn't met SOP and you safe your life and your familys life, the man isn't going to say a thing, other then good job.

Heck, were even being told by some supervisors on the east side, that even while onduty, its best to be the worlds best witness, then it is to get involved.. :?: Cant even imagine the verbage out of their mouths if they responded to a offduty deputy shooting where the deputy used a gun that he or she had not qualified completely with. Everyone in patrol already seems too afraid to do any hands on police work out of fear of getting into trouble. Its almost the 1st thing every deputy says now when you mention anything about going after a bad guy. They are so full of apprehension & hesitation caused by repeated lectures from 1st line supervisors & shift commanders that they will become the command staffs "example" if anything goes wrong. The overwhelming majority, especially the newer deputies, read this as "dont do anything you haven't been specifically dispatched to or told to do when you are handling a call, dont even think about doing anything that may cause your supervisor to have to fill out paperwork. This on top of calling off every deputy who even thinks about pursuing a fleeing felony vehicle unless maybe there are body parts hanging out of the trunk. What it comes down to now, is that it is extremely difficult to currently get any support from supervision because they are in ABSOLUTE FEAR that they will make a bad decision, which is perceived by them as a demerit toward making the next rank. I can never remember a time when so many different levels of experienced deputies & supervisors were so afraid to make a decision on the street. Therefore it has become standard practice for everybody to do as little as possible in order to avoid the constant lectures & threats of lawsuit, suspension, counseling, loss of master status or termination. What total joy!