Handing a loaded firearm to anyone is an invitation to disaster. If stopped by the Police and they ask to see it for "verification purposes", unload it first, hang onto the magazine/shells and pass the unloaded firearm over. Never give the Police your magazine. With that, they have a complete firearm that they can sell or keep for themselves. If you have a revolver, well you have to take your chances with confiscation but at least if it is unloaded, you can't immediately be shot with it.
Unloaded, your firearm cannot be used against you accidentally or intentionally. Security guards here have limited training, love to use an escopeta as a leaning post and often discharge it when they fall asleep with their finger on the trigger or while unloading it. More often than not, there is a shell in the chamber when really there is no need to be that "ready" to shoot.
You have to assume that no one else knows what they are doing when it comes to firearms, don't know enough not to immediately put their finger on the trigger, point the muzzle in a safe direction and they probably have no idea how your particular firearm works.
Pistolas here are a serious investment in time and money. When you hand one to the local police, you have to assume you wont't be getting it back right away without an additional outlay of cash and you'll never see it again if they won't immediately return it to you, it is complete and you don't do all you can to get it back before parting ways.
General rule - don't hand your firearm to anyone.
