AUTOMATIC KNIFE QUESTION for L.E.O.

[alfalfa]

im glad to hear you dont dream of bad things...

I don't get it.

alfalfa

[Sarge744]

I am a prosecutor. I have been wrong before and I will be wrong again. In the 653k cases I have prosecuted there have been a number of knives that were readily available over the counter yet the person was arrested for 653k. I think the knives in question were modified so they were easy to open with a flick of the wrist. Yet all of the spring assisted knives I have seen can be opened the same way.

Not all the knives where people were arrested for 653k were spring assisted. Some of them I could flick open, some the officer could flick open, but no one else could. The public defender could not flick any of them open. I remember a demonstration in chambers with the judge!

When an knife falls within the prohibitions of 653k is a judgement call -- and it can be a difficult judgement call. They are all legal in your home. Use your judgement regarding what you carry. The circumstances that bring you into contact with law enforcement and the judgement of the particular officer will dictate the outcome.

I own knives I am not willing to carry because this is a line that is blurry.

On a related note I have had several law enforcement officers tell me there is an exception that allows them to carry 653k knives. I have not been able to find the statue creating the exception, nor have any of the officers been able to point to a statute creating an exception. What say the rest of you on this issue?

You've put it in writing about the best I've seen it. With the amount and complexity of laws on the California books, many remain blurred an rely on case law to answer the questions.

I've carried one for several years. I picked it up when my peers told me we have an exception. I have never seen it in writing (other than for one with a blade smaller than 2"), and I've looked everywhere I can think of.