In the past two months, a patrol sergeant responded to a B & E in progress and apprehended two juveniles, one male and the other female. The female was placed in the sergeant’s rear seat.
After giving the sergeant her information, the female told him that she had a gun tucked down in the front of her pants. The sergeant, surprised, had the girl get out and the gun was retrieved. The sergeant appeared to have a mental block about patting down the opposite sex.
This is a reminder that anyone can be armed with a gun. What I do when I’m dealing with the opposite sex and there are no female officers available to conduct the pat down is to ask them if they have any weapons. If needed, I will then take my Stinger flashlight and run it across the areas where a weapon can be concealed. This leaves no doubt in my mind that the person is not armed with a weapon.