Can a police officer open the trunk of a car containing a loaded firearm?

"A request to inspect a firearm in order to determine if it is loaded is not the only possible basis for a lawful search. A police officer could properly open the trunk if he had independent probable cause to believe that the weapon, which he knew to be inside, was loaded. (Cf. People v. DeLong, supra, 11 Cal.App.3d 786, 791 [90 Cal.Rptr. 193].) Where the officer knows only that there is a weapon inside the trunk but has no other information which would lead him to believe the weapon is loaded, as is the case here, the officer does not have probable cause to believe the weapon is loaded. (Cf. People v. DeLong, supra, 11 Cal.App.3d 786, 790-791 [90 Cal.Rptr. 193].)" ¹¹

(People v. Kern, supra, 93 Cal.App.3d at 782-783, 155 Cal.Rptr. 877.) (emphasis added.)

I would reverse the judgment.

1 Section 12031