Forest Service caught Red Handed
This popped up on one of my Jeep groups, found it interesting and perhaps something that might be going on elsewhere. Forest Service caught Red Handed in Pitkin, Colorado The old historic mining...
Forum Discussion
A few years back we had an interesting encounter with a BLM officer trainee and her trainer. We were out in a group of Jeeps and were stopped getting ready to head up a trail. They pulled up (she was driving) and she got out and asked to see our registrations.
I asked her to articulate her probable cause for the request. She just looked at me, and then said she just wanted to make sure they were in order. I asked her if she could see the license plates and month and year stickers. She said yes. I said "then you have everything you need right there."
Her trainer was behind her, nodding, and said "I told you". She gave some attitude that you could tell he wasn't impressed with. He told her she doesn't really want to antagonize folks like us. She wanted to know why.
I asked her if she could see all of the antennas on my Jeep. She said yes.
One of the radios I have is a scanner that I have checking various systems, talkgroups, and frequencies appropriate to where ever I am. I asked her if she knew where her nearest backup was. She wasn't sure. I told her that it was the Utah County deputy about 13 miles down the road. He was stationary and just being seen.
I then explained to her that many of us were CFP holders (I think the Five-seveN in the thigh holster at my side was a clue), and since the majority of folks out there are good guys, if her trainer were ever to get in trouble I know that at least I'd be willing to help if I heard him calling for assistance on the radio.
But with her attitude, I let her know that she would be on her own until that deputy arrived.
At that point you could see that it was the first time she had ever considered that situation. She basically shut up at that point.
Her trainer and I then spent some time talking. We had met before and he recognized me and knew a little about me.
He said that they were seeing a lot like her coming into BLM and into the forest service. There are some folks that believe that if you can't walk or horseback somewhere, that you shouldn't be there. One of things they are doing to push their agenda is to get into ranger and LE programs, and then "make things unpleasant" for those that Jeep or ATV into areas. If they can be in our faces constantly, they figure that eventually we will go away. That is happening, today, all over the place.
Then you have people like the one in this story that elected to just take action and hope it worked out. "Better to apologize than ask permission".
It's good be aware of what's up.
I asked her to articulate her probable cause for the request. She just looked at me, and then said she just wanted to make sure they were in order. I asked her if she could see the license plates and month and year stickers. She said yes. I said "then you have everything you need right there."
Her trainer was behind her, nodding, and said "I told you". She gave some attitude that you could tell he wasn't impressed with. He told her she doesn't really want to antagonize folks like us. She wanted to know why.
I asked her if she could see all of the antennas on my Jeep. She said yes.
One of the radios I have is a scanner that I have checking various systems, talkgroups, and frequencies appropriate to where ever I am. I asked her if she knew where her nearest backup was. She wasn't sure. I told her that it was the Utah County deputy about 13 miles down the road. He was stationary and just being seen.
I then explained to her that many of us were CFP holders (I think the Five-seveN in the thigh holster at my side was a clue), and since the majority of folks out there are good guys, if her trainer were ever to get in trouble I know that at least I'd be willing to help if I heard him calling for assistance on the radio.
But with her attitude, I let her know that she would be on her own until that deputy arrived.
At that point you could see that it was the first time she had ever considered that situation. She basically shut up at that point.
Her trainer and I then spent some time talking. We had met before and he recognized me and knew a little about me.
He said that they were seeing a lot like her coming into BLM and into the forest service. There are some folks that believe that if you can't walk or horseback somewhere, that you shouldn't be there. One of things they are doing to push their agenda is to get into ranger and LE programs, and then "make things unpleasant" for those that Jeep or ATV into areas. If they can be in our faces constantly, they figure that eventually we will go away. That is happening, today, all over the place.
Then you have people like the one in this story that elected to just take action and hope it worked out. "Better to apologize than ask permission".
It's good be aware of what's up.
