Question by PittBullProtection: Can I carry concealed in ohio with OPOTA certification coming home from work? What is the legal way ?
I am a licensed ( Class A ) PI in the state of Ohio. Also i hold my certifications from Roger Polk’s NRA/ CCW training completion certification. I too have my 20 hour OPOTA basic firearms training as well. I have passed FBI , BCI background checks and fingerprinting with the state of Ohio. I was in route from working an armed detain in canton ohio , employed by a Armed security company when i was stopped for a minor red light traffic violation. I fully complied declaring and informing the officer that my weapon was on my person , keeping my hand sin plain sight and all the necessary legalities involved in a CCW traffic stop. The date had not been reached in which I had to take my CCW PAPERWORK to the Sheriffs office in anton, Ohio, as well as my OPOTA paperwork ( which in itself carries the CCW Firearms training .)
My question is, along with the certifications that i carry, meeting the state qualifications for obtaining a CCW in Ohio, as well as ALREADY working/ worked for multiple security companies in Ohio as a n ARMED SECURITY OFFICE/ Private Police Officer, should I have been able to avoid felony prosecution/ verdict because i didn’t obtain my CCW LICENSE, although when the commission of the traffic offense began, my firearm was not in its holster (which was visible on the front passenger seat ) on my duty belt, but was in my concealed carry holster in the small of my back? I am now facing Felony CCW conviction which is ruining my career, reputation and personally destroying my life’s work in law enforcement thus far. I am a 4 year Private university (Tiffin) grad that majored in Law enforcement, minored in corrections and juvenile justice. I was a reserve police officer In Madison Heights MI for the madison Heights PoliceDepartment in MI. I too have countless professional rreferences, as well as strong ties within my community ( as i had started my own personal security company here in ohio, and have worked many details in which Massillon PD was hired , working side by side with officers, yet was arrested and charged with a felony CCW violation by THE SAME DEPARTMENT (different officers). At the time of the traffic stop, i was also employed at Community Treatment Correctional Center ( a half way house, where EVERYDAY INMATES/ “residents” have access to track plate #s, gain intel on officer lives and the readily availability of weapons, which can in turn be brought into the facility, or used against officers as they leave the facility…as i was on the day in question, after multiple DEATH THREATS towards myself and my family were made by convicted “intimidation” violent offenders who roam the streets daily, and have acess to the public and the means to get drop-offs or these forbiddenn objects. I believe the big ordeal in my case/ situation is the fact that affirmative defenses for CCW and Weapons violations no longer exist in OHIO. Prior to 06 i believe, i would have fallen under the category of “fearing for the safety/life” and “acting under the scope of work i do”(money drops,payrolll deliveries, ATM funds transfer etc.) due to the new CCW laws admitted in the ORC involving the concealed carry into bars. Also, in my Pre-trial stages of court, the prosecutor offered a plea that SHOULD AND WOULD have went through as a M1 -2923.16 Improperly Handling Firearms in A Motor Vehicle. but DIDN’T due to poor performance by my public defender who did not follow through with my request to get a continuance in the matter because of the process involved in getting a COPY/ DUPLICATE of both my CCW and OPOTA training cert PAPERWORK (due to my vehicle catching fire and all my documentation was ruined). Instead, i was told it was in my best interest to take a guilty plea with NO PRISON SENTENCE rather than taking the matter to trial, because TO MY PUBLIC DEFENDERS KNOWLEDGE, I was guilty under the letter of the law of CCW even though i was permitted to carry to, from, and while at work. * the state granted me the RIGHT to carry concealed, because the same process of background checks and FBI fingerprinting and ect are performed by the sheriffs office. I simply figured i had enough time covered by the deadline of my CCW to APPLY…but also had met the criteria to be employed by the PI/SG armed division out of Columbus , OH which oversees all private investigators armed and unarmed security officers in ohio. My certifications are valid, I am currently working as an armed private police officer, and a Under Cover (UC) Private Investigator. I fear certifications will be taken and my chances ofgettingn a felony are at stake. ANYONE with information on Ohio CCW law and OPOTA firearm LAW, and the LEGAL TRANSPORT OF DUTY WEAPON IN ROUTE TO AND FROM AN ARMED SECURITY DETAIL, PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGH.    Read more...