Encounter with a wildlife officer

K

KsHusker

Active member
Curious on your thoughts.

My brother, and my good friend deer hunted last week from Saturday 12-7 through this past Sat 12-14.

We hunt out west in the wide open and appreciate the challenge of getting out of the truck unlike a lot of locals and lazy out of state slobs who hunt the last frontier.

Anyways this past Saturday we hunted in the morning, spent about an hour talking to the landowner then were going to drive and check a couple of walkins in the afternoon. As we were cruising down the road, we pass a WO.

Apparently he turned around and proceeded to follow us. We drove appx 5-6 miles to get to the walk in we wanted to glass as its only a quarter section and sometimes theres deer laying in it and sometimes not...kind of a hit of miss proposition. We slowed down, stopped a couple times to glass it and then proceeded on. I saw in my rear view mirror the WO was stopping the same time we were and then creepy crawling behind us when we slowed down.

We proceed on to another WIHA we had seen white tail does in the previous day, cut through a trail road/legal public road to head up that way all the while not driving over 30-40mph. We see a dust cloud a couple miles away as I think the ding dong must have missed his turn and was just damn sure we were doing something illegal. Anyways we drive another 3-4 miles on our way to the next spot. Low and behold we see the mr Nascar screaming down the road and then he just stops a half mile in front of us at the cross road and doesnt move.


I get a little pissed as we werent doing anything wrong pull up to his truck, put it in park, get out and pull out my wallet and deer tag and proceed to tell him I will save him the time of asking for our licenses and I want to hand them to him to get him to stop harassing and following us. We could see him plain as day several times sitting on a high spot watching us while we were driving. I think the guy forgot in some vantage points you can see for miles and he was not hidden.

Anyways, I was just upset that we werent breaking any laws and were being followed like a criminal. My brother and friend handed them their licenses without him asking for them too. He made one other comment about maybe we will be checked again then he got in his truck and sped off.

I wouldnt have been upset if he just flipped his lights on when he saw us the first time or when he noticed we werent getting out to hunt yet instead of being a creepy carl. We were shadowed for 15-20 minutes if not longer.

If he wouldnt have been a creep and taken the time to talk with us he would have found out that someone shot at my friend from the road while he was stalking some mule deer as we were hunting private ground the day before and that we actually get off our asses and had walked miles and miles through crp all week for the 3 deer we already had. We could have also filled him in on where to sit to get a good vantage point on all the shenanigans that go on in the area as its known for it locally.

This guy was younger, and I hunt in this area a lot so if I see him again I'll be nicer, but he should never be allowed to conduct surveillance.
 
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There is nothing illegal about conducting surveillance and/or following someone unless it continues for an extended period of time or mutiple times after finding out everyone is on the up and up, then I would think you may have a harrassment complaint.

Maybe he was waiting for you to actually start to hunt before he asked you for your licenses. Can't just ask someone for a hunting license because they "look" like hunters while driving their truck down the road. I'm pretty sure you have to be in the act of hunting unless he would have probable cause otherwise.

Guess he could have stopped you for one of the probably few traffic violations you committed while driving down the road. Then when he approached he could have asked if you were hunting and to show you your licenses.
 
duckn66 said:
There is nothing illegal about conducting surveillance and/or following someone unless it continues for an extended period of time or mutiple times after finding out everyone is on the up and up, then I would think you may have a harrassment complaint.

Maybe he was waiting for you to actually start to hunt before he asked you for your licenses. Can't just ask someone for a hunting license because they "look" like hunters while driving their truck down the road. I'm pretty sure you have to be in the act of hunting unless he would have probable cause otherwise.

Guess he could have stopped you for one of the probably few traffic violations you committed while driving down the road. Then when he approached he could have asked if you were hunting and to show you your licenses.
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There were no traffic violations, we were the only 3 vehicles (my veh, my brothers, and the WO) for several miles around. We had blaze orange on, binos in the dash, deer cart in the back of the truck etc. Couldnt have been more obvious what we were doing.

I didnt want to file a harassment complaint, was just annoyed at how much of a ding dong this guy was. I didnt want to be followed the rest of the day so figured Id head him off at the pass. My buddy was surprised I handled the situation the way I did but my words and body language said I was annoyed we were being followed for that damn long and that damn far.

I figured I got my point across when he hadnt said anything yet and I walked up to him with my license extended towards him stating I wanted him to check us, search us, or whatever he wanted to do so he'd leave us alone. Guess I could have invited him to hunt the next field with us but he didnt have any blaze orange on and he wouldnt have been legal.
 
Based on what I've read of KDWPT officers' articles about wildlife enforcement, they seem to find alot of issues with deer hunters which might lead to a more aggressive enforcement style during deer season. Also, law enforcement officers in general follow vehicles as a tactic because people will throw contraband and evidence out the window which eliminates any Fourth Amendment search and seizure issue, and to provoke reactions like fleeing when it is questionable whether a stop can be legally made. No problem stopping a speeding/fleeing vehicle. In your specific case, the officer may have gotten a complaint or a tip about a poacher in the area. But who knows? It is annoying to be followed like that. Happened to me once in TX as I headed toward the Rio Grande - Border Patrol. I just hung a U-turn and that ended the stalk. Happened to me once in WY on my way to fish near Yellowstone. A WY hypo tailed me on the interstate for 20 minutes, the last four with him in the left lane with his front bumper abreast of my rear bumper at 75 m.p.h. After that last bit produced no results he pulled even with me - still doing 75. I eyeballed him and him me, and with that he was done and down the road.
 
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There is almost always a traffic violation of some sort.

Be happy that you saw one. Law enforcement officer are always damned if they do or damned if they don't.

I'm not saying you were wrong in anyway but if an LEO wants to follow me around then I hope they have fun doing it. Also like Brit chaser said there may have been a reason unknown to you.
 
Thanks for sharing your story! It's nice to be able to think through situations like this before you find yourself in 'em:thumbsup:
 
I had an encounter last year while deer hunting as well. I had shot a small buck, gutted it, and drug it to the truck. I loaded it in the back of the truck, and changed the rifle for a shotgun to see if I could get a few of the rabbits I had been seeing on the WIHA I had been hunting. I get about 50 yards into the field and hear a truck lock up his breaks and skid to a stop by my truck. I see it is the warden and walk over. I unload the shotgun, open the passenger door and put the gun up. After the squealing stop, the guy was actually pretty friendly. He asked if I had got one (you could see the drag marks where I had pulled it across the field and road. He checked the tag, and everything was OK. He told me that next time I hunted the area to park on the side of the road that I was hunting. I guess the owner of the posted land had called the warden and told him that he had someone hunting on his land without permission (I guess he saw my truck sitting on the shoulder of the road next to his property and jumped to the wrong conclusion). It was not a bad experience and I actually enjoyed talking to him.
 
to the OP - If Im reading your post correctly, you actually seem to have a chip on your shoulder. You say you didnt do anything 'wrong', I dont see that he did either.
sorry thats my view on it
 
My rule of thumb is not to get pissy with any kind of law enforcement, or really anybody.

This situation is a little weird and annoying for sure, but maybe just roll down the window and ask the guy what he's up to? You don't know what's going on in his mind -- maybe he had a report of some problems in the area. Maybe he's a cocky SOB that wants nothing more than to nail somebody, anybody. Either way, pissing him off does't help you in the least.
 
I dunno...:eek:

You said yourself that poaching is a real problem in the area. I know you hate to be mistaken for a slob, but surely you can appreciate that there was a WO out there keeping an eye on things. And he didn't do anything to ruin your hunt, just annoyed you a little...

I've seen a few crazy things when I was out hunting this time of year, like trucks driving through WIHA with guns hanging out the windows and I prayed for a WO to show up! If one wanted to follow me now, I would be glad to have him witness some of the "shenanigans" and deliver justice to the guys who are breaking the law. Seeing it in person would warm my heart.:D It would be as good as when somebody does some road rage moves in their car and you see them pulled over a few miles down the road.:cheers:
 
I was actually in the same situation a few years ago in Missouri. Was followed down gravel road that led to hunting spot, got out with my gun and lights came on from WO. Said that someone had been seen poaching evening before and they wanted to see if I knew anything, and had permission to hunt the land (probably to question me also about the poaching). Since it was the farm I work on showing permission wasnt an issue and I knew nothing about the poaching bc my hunt had ended at dark. yeah it was annoying to be questioned like a criminal but I'm also in the school of thought that you never piss off someone that can throw you in jail. And I knew i hadnt done anything wrong so that was always nice information to calm myself with.
 
I wish we had a dozen more officers just like this one per county. He is out and working. Hopefully you thanked him for doing his job.
 
I have many friends that are Kansas game wardens and they are few and far between. some of them cover up to three counties and said there is never enough time in a day to get to all the problems that they have to deal with. On top they get paid nothing and have to constantly deal with idiots everywhere.
 
Well after reflecting on this a bit I should have and could have been a bit nicer but just was annoyed at being followed/watched for so long. Ive never been a fan of big brother.

I do understand he was doing his job, guess I could have stopped by his truck and asked what was up so we could separate and go about our business.


The actions he was taking just seemed a bit aggressive for 2 trucks poking along at 30 mph. If I see him again I will make sure to make the encounter more cordial. Guess I was just caught on a bad day.
 
KsHusker said:
Well after reflecting on this a bit I should have and could have been a bit nicer but just was annoyed at being followed/watched for so long. Ive never been a fan of big brother.

I do understand he was doing his job, guess I could have stopped by his truck and asked what was up so we could separate and go about our business.


The actions he was taking just seemed a bit aggressive for 2 trucks poking along at 30 mph. If I see him again I will make sure to make the encounter more cordial. Guess I was just caught on a bad day.
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I wouldn't feel bad about it. You were the one there; you reacted based on how it made you feel. His job is not to make people question their safety. People impersonate officers all the time. If someone is acting suspiciously or following me around, I'm going to question their intent. I could make a truck look like a GW's, I could even get a fake uniform and badge to look the part.

I'm not suggesting he was doing his job correctly or incorrectly. I don't know how to do his job, but I have had GW's watch me hunt and they just waited by my truck to check my license. I've never been followed from place to place by one. I would become suspicious the first time it happened, simply b/c I'm not used to 'em operating that way.

Every "run-in" I've had with GW's has been very pleasant. Mutual respect and appreciation was shown in every case, typically followed by an enjoyable conversation. We should show the good ones our appreciation, no question!

On a side note, some folks will stand up for a LEO's actions no matter what the case may be. Read the comments under a story about a 70yo woman getting pulled over for DUI, then getting lifted up and body-slammed by a.......cop. People will actually defend the cop, simply because they idolize everyone with a badge. It's obvious the woman I'm referring to did not need to be body-slammed for the "officers' protection". The guy is sick and was on a power-trip, so he assaulted someone's grandmother. I find that that I trust the institution a little less every time I read stories like this, which is almost daily it seems. Also, criminals get craftier every day. Blindly trust who you want to in life; it takes time and exposure for me.
 
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I have many friends and family that are former/current Law enforcement. When they get to the point that they view everyone as a criminal, they have probably been in their position long enough. Hopefully this one will mature some with age.

On a side note, I have been checked many times in many states and most have been very good with exception of the CO in leav/wyandotte. I was deer hunting on private land in Leav county a few miles from my house. Family friend with a 1/4 section. Parked the truck one evening for a quick hunt and the neighbor immediately flew out and informed me that that was a no hunting zone. I said that I knew where I was at and had permission. I went on my way and sat for a couple hrs with no luck. As I was headed back around dark, I noticed a truck parked next to mine. As I got closer I unloaded my gun and realized who it was. He started yelling at me to toss my rifle in the grass. He had his hand on his gun at this point. I leaned the rifle on the truck and he quickly told me I was a tresspasser. I said I had permission and knew I was on the right land as I had hunted it twenty years or more. He asked me for my tag and license and I handed it to him.He told me I had no permission as the owners didn't allow deer hunting. I asked him if he wanted to go up to the house and talked to the widow, as I had stopped there to let her know I would be hunting. He didn't even know her. The neighbor had convinced him I was a criminal. He wrote me a ticket for not having orange on and left pissed that nobody was going to jail. I saw him a couple years ago at my youngest sons hunter ed class. He is still a di@khead:D
 
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westksbowhunter said:
I wish we had a dozen more officers just like this one per county. He is out and working. Hopefully you thanked him for doing his job.
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More effective than the near retirement warden I know in KS who spends most duty days sitting in his buddy's place of business drinking coffee and shooting the s**t.
 
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I had kind of a negative encounter once. The officer got a call about three of us on posted land. I had actually posted it myself with the permission of the owner, an out-of-state friend of mine. I produced my written permission slip. The young officer nonetheless called the owner and asked him if he wanted citations issued to my two buddies who did not have permission slips. My friend declined the offer. Some years earlier, the previous officer for that region checked me and four other hunters on another patch of posted land. Same situation - I was the only one with a permission slip. When I produced my slip he was done with the issue of our being on posted land, checked our licenses, and was gone.
 
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Game officer

Have had two encounters with WO's 1 bad 1 good.

First one was good as I had just reeled in the biggest Pike I had ever caught. A 43 1/2 inch 20+ pounder. Game warden drove up just as I was getting it on the bank. He said what a great fish and I should go have the weight verified to see if it qualified for a whopper patch. He did ask for my license to make sure I was legal which I was. He said it was too bad it was a big female that was to leave the lake stopping any further population rise from her. I don't fish anymore but after that I only did catch and release.
The bad one came when I called to report deer hunters on my posted land. Couldn't contact him at first so had sheriff respond. he drove them out and told them not to come back. The next day I got a visit from the game warden which didn't go well at all.
He accussed me of posting land that wasn't mine, accussed me of herding deer, said hunters were trying to retrieve a wounded animal. Etc Etc etc...trying everything he could to make me look like the bad guy. I printed a copy of the topical view showing my property for him and taped it to his door.
I told him I thought I had heard gunfire and went to the top of my property to see if anyone was in there on one occassion....not to herd deer as he claimed. I told him if I wanted to pace back and forth all day long on my land I would, it's my land, my right.
The reason for his actions you see is HIS OWN SON was one of the three tresspassers/violators of the law. They had no orange vests. Were driving their vehicle off established roads into my place, Had their weapons with them while claiming to be looking for a wounded animal (biggest lie they told)
Clearly ignored no tresspass signs etc etc etc, He was trying to impose his authority as an officer to berate me, to criminalize me etc.. to overlook the willful illegal acts of his kid and his friends.
I have no repect for this individual anymore and will go to other legal areas to keep further violations in check.

Abuse of one's position is a problem in many areas of our everyday lives.
 
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JO BO said:
The reason for his [game warden's] actions you see is HIS OWN SON was one of the three tresspassers/violators of the law.
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Boy, is that rich. I would have reported that sucker to his commander.
 
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