You follow the law. You carry your firearm responsibly. You never expect that a routine traffic stop could end with you in handcuffs for a gun you legally own. Unfortunately, it happens more often than people realize, and most drivers don’t know enough about their rights to prevent the situation from escalating.
At the Marc Lopez Law Firm, we see these cases regularly. A calm interaction suddenly shifts. An officer takes a legally owned firearm and flips it over to inspect the serial number. Within minutes, what started as a simple traffic stop becomes an unlawful investigation. When this happens, your rights matter. Your decisions matter. And having the right criminal defense attorney matters.
This blog breaks down the three most common police missteps and the four-step playbook every Indiana gun owner should know.
Tripwire 1: The Unlawful Delay
A traffic stop has a legal purpose: address the alleged traffic violation. Nothing more. Courts have been clear that officers may run your license, check warrants, and write the ticket. What they cannot do is drag out the stop to start a completely separate criminal investigation.
Running your gun’s serial number is not part of traffic enforcement. It’s a fishing expedition. If the officer could have already completed the mission of the stop but chooses to prolong the encounter to investigate your firearm, the detention becomes unlawful.
Indiana drivers need to understand this:
The longer the officer stalls, the more likely they are stepping outside the law.
Tripwire 2: Turning “Securing” Into a Search
Officers are allowed to temporarily secure a firearm for safety. That part is legal. What’s not legal is manipulating that firearm to look for evidence of a crime.
The U.S. Supreme Court has made this distinction clear. Picking up an item and inspecting it, solely to reveal a serial number, counts as a search. A search requires probable cause, which means the officer must have actual evidence of a crime.
Owning a firearm is not evidence of a crime.
Possessing a lawful handgun is not probable cause.
Turning your gun over in the officer’s hands just so they can run the serial number is an unconstitutional search.
When police blur the line between “safety check” and investigation, your rights are at risk.
Tripwire 3: Misusing the Plain View Doctrine
Some officers try to justify running a serial number by saying the gun was “in plain view.”
But here’s the rule:
For plain view to apply, the illegal nature of the item must be immediately apparent.
A firearm is not illegal on its face. Indiana permits lawful gun ownership, and nothing about simply seeing a handgun tells the officer it’s stolen, altered, or prohibited.
If an officer must touch it, tilt it, or manipulate it in any way to read the serial number, the item is no longer in plain view. At that moment, the officer has begun a search, and that search requires probable cause the officer doesn’t have.
Your Four-Step Roadside Playbook
Knowledge protects you. These steps help you keep control of the situation while staying calm, respectful, and safe.
Step 1: Know Your Duty and Limit Your Disclosure
Every state handles firearm disclosure differently. Indiana does not require you to volunteer the presence of a firearm. If your state doesn’t require it, don’t offer it. Never lie, but never volunteer information that can only hurt you.
A smart criminal defense strategy starts before the officer reaches your window.
Step 2: Politely Refuse Consent
If an officer asks to search your vehicle, your answer should be simple and steady:
“Officer, I do not consent to any searches.”
Invoking your rights is not suspicious. It’s responsible. Courts cannot use your refusal as evidence of guilt.
Step 3: Ask the Two Magic Questions
If the stop is dragging on, protect yourself by clarifying the legal status of the encounter:
- “Officer, am I being detained?”
- “Am I free to go?”
If the officer says you’re free to go, leave calmly. If the officer says you are being detained, they now need a legal reason to continue holding you. You’ve put them on the clock, and that matters in court.
Step 4: Comply Physically, Document Verbally
You cannot win a fight on the side of the road. You can win it in court.
Do not resist. If the officer insists on an illegal search, allow it, while clearly stating:
“I am not resisting, and I do not consent to this search.”
If you can safely record the interaction, do it. Video often becomes the difference between conviction and dismissal.
Your calm helps your attorney. Your behavior matters more at trial than people realize.
Why This Matters for Criminal Defense
Every criminal case involving a firearm turns on the facts. How long the stop lasted. What the officer touched. What you said, or didn’t say. Prosecutors look closely at these details, and judges do too.
When police cross constitutional lines, the Marc Lopez Law Firm fights to expose it. Evidence obtained through an unlawful search can often be suppressed, which means it cannot be used against you. That can be the difference between going home and facing a conviction.
If you’ve been arrested because an officer ran your firearm’s serial number during a traffic stop, you need a criminal defense attorney who understands exactly how these cases fall apart.
Make the Right Call
Your rights matter every time you drive. If a traffic stop turned into a criminal investigation, or if you’re facing gun-related charges in Indiana, don’t wait.
Call the Marc Lopez Law Firm at 317-632-3642.
We’re here to help you understand your options, protect your rights, and fight for the best possible outcome.
And remember, always plead the Fifth.
