As a county deputy, here’s my perspective on the issue. I deal with multiple people nightly, and I assume everyone is armed. When someone tells me they have a gun I’m not scared, I’m not alarmed, I don’t get jumpy, I just simply tell them that if they don’t grab theirs, I won’t grab mine. Common sense and a little courtesy go a long ways, and that guy was absolutely looking for a fight. He failed to ID himself, and also failed to answer simple questions that could’ve resolved the issue at hand with the plates and registration. He wanted attention, he created a conflict, and was a product of play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Is it sad he paid for his ignorance with his life? Absolutely. It’s unfortunate any time a life is lost and it could’ve been prevented however, he made the choice to act ignorantly and the result was obvious. That cop went out of his way to be professional about enforcing the law, and regardless of whatever he did short of just walking off and letting the sovereign citizen have his way, was gonna be a total crap show. That whole situation was a no win for everybody involved because of the actions of the sovereign citizen and the behavior he displayed.
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