Months after being pulled over for a minor traffic violation, a Texas driver has filed a complaint with the police department claiming his arrest was due to legally carrying his handgun.
Alonzo Gonzalez said he was pulled over by a police officer in Rosenberg when he failed to signal a turn. When he told the officer he was legally carrying a concealed weapon, things became anything but routine.
“Just because I have a handgun on me which, you know, I have a license to carry, it shouldn’t be a big deal, but that’s what made it the turning point,” Gonzalez told KPRC-TV this week.
After calling for backup, the police officer asked Gonzalez to step out of his truck and proceeded to arrest him. The police dash cam captured the August 2014 traffic stop and, according to KPRC, that video was just turned over to Gonzalez.
In the video, Gonzalez can be heard asking why he was pulled over and Rosenberg Police Officer Schnacky’s reply, “I’ll tell you in just a minute.”
When Schnacky asked, “You have your handgun with you today? Where is it?” Gonzalez replied, “On me, on my right side,” according to KPRC.
The officer then called for backup, apparently because the driver was armed.
The backup officer, who was told Gonzalez was not being cooperative, approached the truck with his weapon drawn.
Once he stepped out of the truck, Gonzalez was handcuffed and told, “You’re under arrest for your traffic violations.”
Gonzalez told KPRC he believes things would have been very different if he did not have his handgun with him that day. “If I didn’t have my firearm on me, I would have had a citation and they would have let me go.”
According to the station, an internal investigation by the police department revealed the officer, who is no longer with the department, followed proper procedure. “The officer’s actions were within policy,” said Lt. William Henry of the Rosenberg Police Department.
“We don’t target people with handgun licenses,” Henry told KPRC. “We don’t target gun owners in general. Any responsible gun owner…we’re not out targeting people like that. As far as what the officer perceived, the officer perceived a threat.”
Gonzalez, who filed several complaints beginning just days after the incident, wanted his record cleared of the arrest and to be refunded the cost of getting out of jail and retrieving his truck.
“By asking questions, you’re automatically labeled as argumentative. And having a weapon on you automatically makes you dangerous,” Gonzalez said.
Watch the KPRC-TV story, below:
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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