So let me tell you about "qualification".....
We had to go to the range quarterly. For the majority of us that weren't grandfather'd in (not in the GOBC) our duty weapon was the S&W 4506 (serious boat anchor). I have been at the range and watched a senior member of the agency draw and then start "helping" his weapon fire (imagine someone pulling a totally slack trigger while pushing the weapon back and forth at the target), and then exclaim "my ****ing gun won't shoot" as he turns and flags me with a loaded weapon. Luckily I have already completed the course of fire, holstered, and find myself diving for the ground when I realize and shout at the same time "it's because your ****ing safety is still on!"
This individual usually went UNQ every time we went to the range, but was put back out in the field until he could come back and PRIVATELY requal with the range officer.
Amazingly enough I once saw him stubbornly attempt to requal 4-5 times in the same day (each time with 50rds of .45 Federal HS's at the taxpayers expense).
The old statistic of LEO's only hitting their target 17% of the time in a deadly force encounter I think is no where close to being as low as it actually is......
I have to agree with Anopsis that in many instances civilians are much better prepared and trained that your common LEO in the field. I think it is because of a shift in department priorities in hiring over the years. In the past it was not uncommon for agencies to give former .mil preference because there was a certain level of discipline and training that they brought with them when they came on board. Now a lot of agencies are looking for people with a degree, and in some cases no .mil history because they believe the "educated" individuals bring more to the table with the degree (psych, business, phys ed, life experience in .edu). So you now have a bunch of socially indoctrinated, badge pushing, undertrained people with firearms patrolling your neighborhoods.
I stated in another thread that I can count on my fingers and toes the amount of times I ever had to draw a weapon when I was in LE. I attribute this mainly to my ability to get peoples attention with commands (I am a former jarhead and have a voice that projects,
just a bit 
), and communicate what the outcome would be if someone attempted to escalate a situation. Early on I learned to give someone a small amount of respect from the beginning of a contact that was usually returned in kind.
As it stands right now, I believe that unless it explicitly states in your state law that you MUST identify yourself as a permit holder/carrying a weapon, don't. But that really comes down to avoiding situations like this individual in Ohio found himself in. Best bet is to always be "heads up" on where you are and what you are doing so that you never find yourself having to be in contact with/answer any questions from your local LE representative.
Last time I ever had contact with anyone in LE was 10yrs ago. That was because I had been in a collision where someone blew a red light and totaled my car. After I was out of my vehicle I advised the officer interviewing me that I had a weapon in my vehicle in a Uncle Mike's fanny pack. He did nothing more than say "thanks" and then had his partner secure the pack/weapon in their vehicle until the scene was cleaned/ cleared up and then it was returned to me (un-tampered with) when my wife came to pick me up. Of course this was the exception to how many of these situations "go down".
Until we have a shift in the "Us vs Them" mindset that is so predominant in the ranks of LE we will see/hear of more of these types of episodes.....
