UPDATE: We have submitted a public records request and received confirmation (see bottom)

John Filippidis, showing the pistol he sometimes carries in his pocket, recounted a story of being stopped by a Maryland police officer recently.TAMPA TRIBUNE  – John Filippidis, silver-haired family man, business owner, employer and taxpayer, is also licensed to carry a concealed firearm.

He’d rather he didn’t feel the need, “but things aren’t like they used to be. The break-ins, the burglaries, all the crime. And I carry cash a lot of the time. I’m constantly going to the bank.

“I wanted to be able to defend my family, my household and the ground I’m standing on. But I’m not looking for any trouble.”

Filippidis keeps his gun — a palm-sized Kel-Tec .38 semiautomatic, barely larger than a smartphone in a protective case — in one of two places, always: in the right-hand pocket of his jeans, or in the safe at home.

“There are kids in the house,” Filippidis says, “and I don’t think they’d ever bother with it, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

He’s not looking for any trouble, after all.

Trouble, in fact, was the last thing on his mind a few weeks back as the Filippidises packed for Christmas and a family wedding in Woodridge, N.J., so he left the pistol locked in the safe. The state of Florida might have codified his Second Amendment rights, but he knew he’d be passing through states where recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affirming the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms have been met by hostile legislatures and local officials.

“I know the laws and I know the rules,” Filippidis says. 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.”

So there the Filippidises were on New Year’s Eve eve, southbound on Interstate 95 — John; wife Kally (his Gulf High sweetheart); the 17-year-old twins Nasia and Yianni; and 13-year-old Gina in their 2012 Ford Expedition — just barely out of the Fort McHenry Tunnel into Maryland, blissfully unarmed and minding their own business when they noticed they were being bird-dogged by an unmarked patrol car.

It flanked them a while, then pulled ahead of them, then fell in behind them.  CONTINUE READING WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

———————— UPDATE: 1/15/14  ———————-

Mr. XXXXXXXXXXX, your PIA request has been received and forwarded to the appropriate parties.

1st Sergeant Jonathan Green
Public Information Officer
Office of the Chief – Media Relations
Maryland Transportation Authority Police
4330 Broening Highway
Baltimore, Maryland21222-2258
Office 410-537-7724
Cell 410-977-5772
FAX 410-537-7700
[email protected]
www.mdta.maryland.gov/police/policemain.html
twitter.com/TheMDTA
facebook.com/TheMDTA

——————————————————————————–
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 3:10 PM
To: Jonathan Green(Police)
Subject: Public Records Request – Maryland Public Information Act, State Government Article §§10-611 to 630

1st Sergeant Jonathan Green
Public Information Officer
Maryland Transportation Authority Police
Media Relations
4330 Broening Highway
Baltimore, MD 21222

Dear Mr. Green,

by way of introduction I am a research analyst currently doing research surrounding an MTAP officer motor vehicle stop on 12/31/13 on Southbound I-95 involving motorist Mr. John Filippidis.

The MTAP contact incident is outlined in the following Tampa Tribune story:

https://tbo.com/list/columns-tjackson/jackson-gun-owner-unarmed-unwelcome-in-maryland-20140112/

The purpose of my contact with you today is to request public records surrounding this incident.

This is a request under the Maryland Public Information Act, State Government Article §§10-611 to 630. I am making this request on my own behalf.

I wish to receive all records in your department’s custody and control pertaining to the following:

(A) the record/incident report, outlining the initial infraction which led to the traffic stop in question – and all subsequent written documentation pertaining to the encounter/traffic stop; and

(B) a recorded copy of the full Police Band radio transmission (between initial officer and all subsequent officers) as it pertains to the initial officer contact with the vehicle, to the stoppage, search, detention and subsequent release; and

(C) a copy of the dash camera recording for the initial MTAP officer encounter with the vehicle of Mr. John Filippidis (if available) during the entire timeframe of encounter with the vehicle, personage, and family of: Mr. John Filippidis, outlined in the traffic stop in question; and

(D) the full contact information for any other police, state or local agency who also responded to the traffic stop in question.

If all or any part of this request is denied, I request that I be provided with a written statement of the grounds for the denial.

If you determine that some portions of the requested records are exempt from disclosure, please provide me with the portions that can be disclosed.

Please advise me as to the cost, if any, for receiving the records described above.

I anticipate that there may be additional records requests based on initial review. If you have adopted a fee schedule for obtaining copies of records and other rules or regulations implementing the Act, please send me a copy.

I look forward to receiving disclosable records promptly and, in any event, to a decision about all of the requested records within 30 days.

Thank you in advance for your assistance and cooperation. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact me via the following: (email preferred)

XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX / Research Analyst

[email protected]

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