Posted on 09/16/2007 8:54:03 PM PDT by neverdem
MIAMI, Sept. 16 (AP) — Patrol officers here will have the option of carrying assault rifles as they try to combat the rise in the use of similar weapons by criminals, the city’s police chief said Sunday.
The chief, John F. Timoney, approved the policy last week, before a Miami-Dade police officer was killed on Thursday in a shootout with a man wielding an assault rifle.
“This is something we do not do with any relish,” Chief Timoney said. “We do this reluctantly.”
The policy had been under review for about a year after officers began seeing an increase in the weapons in the hands of criminals, the chief said.
Officers interested in the guns will have to undergo two days of training and be certified in their use. The Police Department does not yet have money to buy the assault rifles, and if officers want to use them immediately they will have to pay for them, Chief Timoney said.
Years ago, law enforcement specialists like SWAT teams were the only officers to carry assault weapons, but now even some small town police agencies are arming officers with the AR-15, a civilian version of the military M-16 rifle.
Patrol officers in Danbury, Conn., have been allowed to carry the weapons since 2003. Police departments in Merced, Calif., and Waterloo, Iowa, have put them in all patrol vehicles for several years. In Stillwater, Okla., about 70 miles west of Tulsa, every patrol officer is issued an AR-15.
Officers in Los Angeles have been equipped with the weapons since a 1997 gunfight outside a bank where police officers were out-gunned by a man armed...
--snip--
The Miami Police Department said 15 of its 79 homicides last year involved assault weapons. This year, 12 of the 60 homicides have involved the high-power guns...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
That is why the M4 would be a better choice for the veterans on the department. Budget is gonna give em maybe a few days to train as ya well know.
.......... I have to agree with HG on this issue. The patrol rifle course at Thunder Ranch would be perfect.
Real easy for HG to suggest though since TR moved up in his AO !.......:o)
Clint Smith's T-Ranch urban rifle was only a 3 dayer iirc but well worth it and all iron sights. It seemed longer because after that I went to Steve Matoon's advanced sniper course. That was a long week + some...oh to be young again. It'd probably kill me now...LOL
With only two days of familiarization training? You've got to be kidding.
good selections.....not convinced on the outgunned reasons that PD’s put forth these days. BTW Snaggin yer gift off the site now.......... slooooooowly !!
Thanks ~
East Coast chief should have let the rifles out more than a decade ago. What a moron.
Thanks for that link.
Here's what mine looks like:
On an episode of some Miami police reality show they filmed a traffic stop leading to the suspects home. An officer pulled out a m16 to cover the house while the first guy talked to the driver. They said they do this because of snipers.
Never saw that before. I get the feeling Miami police are seasoned.
You are comparing it to the wrong sort of tool. It's designed for those, who for one reason or another, can't easily carry a full sized weapon, nor even a "compact" one like the CAR, in whatever caliber.
It's not designed to be used at 200 yards, and rarely at 100 yards. It's really designed for the same mission as the M-1 Carbine was originally intended for, vehicle crews, artilleryman, and behind the lines support personnel. For that it's more than OK, when compared to the 9mm pistol it mostly replaces.
Main complaints: magaziine too difficult to reload, sights are hard to pick up, length is too short, you need both hands, and if you don't use both hands it's larger than the pistol.
Those are their words, not mine.
But these are flying off the rack as soon as we get them. And only slightly larger than the P90 and shorter than any of the CAR setups. When you shoulder this little baby, everything lines up without having to contort your body. Uses M-16 mags, ammo and a vaiety of optical sights. It feels more like a shoulder-stocked pistol, and it is possible to shoot accurately one-handed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.