John Filippidis and his family drove from Florida to New Jersey last
December for Christmas and a wedding. He knew he’d be traveling through
states that aren’t gun-friendly, so he left his gun at home.
“I know the laws and I know the rules,” Filippidis said.
“There are, after all, ways gun owners can travel legally with firearms
through hostile states. But I just think it’s a better idea to leave
it home.”
Filippidis was followed by a Maryland cop on I-95 after passing
through the Fort McHenry tunnel. He said the cop flanked him, pulled
ahead of him, and then got behind them. After about ten minutes of that,
the officer pulled Filippidis over.
“Ten minutes he’s behind us,” John says. “We weren’t speeding. In fact, lots of other cars were whizzing past.”
The officer was from the Transportation Authority Police. He asked
Filippidis for his license and registration. Around ten minutes later,
he returned and asked John to exit his vehicle.
“You own a gun,” the officer says. “Where is it?”
Filippidis told the officer his gun was at home in his safe.
Apparently the officer didn’t believe Filippidis, because he began questioning his wife, Kally, next:
“Your husband owns a gun. Where is it?”
First Kally said, “I don’t know.” Retelling it later to the
Tampa Tribune,
she said, “And that’s all I should have said.” Instead, attempting to
be helpful, she added, “Maybe in the glove [box]. Maybe in the console.
I’m scared of it. I don’t want to have anything to do with it. I might
shoot right through my foot.”
That’s when things escalated. The officer confronted Filippidis
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