Question about FBI agents and guns

[madlori.livejournal.com]

I have a general question about law enforcement officers, including FBI agents. Do they typically carry their weapons all the time, even when off-duty? You read all the time about off-duty cops stopping robberies or what have you, one imagines they were armed. And there are rules for how police officers or FBI agents fly while armed (I think it's that they're required to carry handcuffs if they're armed); one would presume they aren't officially on duty if they're flying from one place to the next.

I also remember reading about David Fincher, the director of "Zodiac," interviewing legendary San Francisco detective David Toschi, who worked that case (and who was also, incidentally, the inspiration behind both Dirty Harry AND Beretta) and how even though he's retired he ALWAYS packs heat.

Is this something up to the agent's personal preference? I assume that being allowed to carry a concealed weapon comes with carrying a badge, but would most cops/agents strap on their gun if they were just going to the grocery store? Is it that you CAN carry a gun all the time if you're a cop but you don't HAVE to? Aren't there rules and/or laws about how a law enforcement officer has a duty to intervene if a crime is being committed even if they aren't on the clock? If so, they'd have a reason to be armed all the time. You never know when some stuff's going to go down and you'll be expected to do something about it.

We've seen the show portray the agents as almost always being armed. Gideon was still armed when he stopped for gas at the end of the pilot. Reid and Rossi were armed when they were talking to the college students, and Reid still had his gun on when he went to spend the night at Bennington with his mom. I don't remember if any of the agents were visibly armed when they were in the bar at the beginning of "Big Game" or not.

Comments

[autumnsfire.livejournal.com]

I don't know about agents, but I know that a DC cop friend of mine told me once he was required to have his firearm on him at all times while in the DC area, even if he was just passing through in his car. Even if he was offduty.

I'm assuming that most agents will carry their firearm with them. I also know a Secret Service agent who always has her firearm with her.

[bluerosefairy.livejournal.com]

Check out little_details and ask_a_cop, both of which have considerable resources. A few posts there mention that FBI agents (and most law enforcement types) must carry "portal to portal" - home to office, office to home. If they're going to be somewhere where they feel it's safe to be unarmed, they must lock their gun in a gun safe.

[cloudzrshibby.livejournal.com]

I don't think its required, but my dad (he's a police lieutenant) generally has his weapon on him at all times, either with him (depending on the place we go to) or in his car. When he's at home, it stays in hour safe. I know the officers he works with and the ones that are under him do the same. I'm sure FBI does the same.

And yeah, I'm pretty sure officers have to intervene if they see a crime, even if they aren't on the clock. I can ask my dad to be sure if anyone is itnerested, though.

Of course, all this being said, this is a TV show. I haven't seen a cop show were everyone wasn't pretty much always armed. Its, like, part of the costume.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

The law enforcement officers I have known have been required to carry. A very dear friend of mine, a North Las Vegas police lieutenant, was unarmed on airplanes and not otherwise.

Generally, when off-duty, they will concealed-carry. My friend used a fanny pack holster, for example.