Criminals, beware: Officers will carry assault rifle Colt AR-15

Miami Herald ^ | Apr. 26, 2005 | Miami Herald

[holymoly]

St. Petersburg police officers have added the Colt AR-15 rifle to their inventory to counter the expiration of the assault weapons ban and the appearance of more heavily armed criminals.

ST. PETERSBURG - (AP) -- The expiration of the nation's ban on the sale of assault rifles and the appearance of more heavily armed criminals have pushed more than 100 St. Petersburg police officers to order assault rifles of their own for official duty.

The first group of officers completed the required 16 hours of instruction for using Colt AR-15s in January.

The semiautomatic weapons fire bullets that travel up to 2,700 feet per second and are powerful enough to penetrate body armor.

''St. Petersburg -- it's not so sleepy any more,'' said Tom Jacwin, a 22-year veteran who is getting used to his new weapon.

``The bad guys are smarter and better armed.''

Police Chief Chuck Harmon approved use of the AR-15s last June with guidelines that took months to develop.

Officers who want the weapons must buy them for $1,100.

The rifles may be used only in ``a high-risk situation, such as to overcome suspects with superior firepower, in response to an active shooter situation, when confronted by barricaded subjects, during stakeout and perimeter operations, for felony vehicle stops.''

The weapons must be stored in a hard case in the trunk of a patrol car except when being used.

They can't be modified for automatic fire, and officers must qualify with them in the shooting range each year.

Critics say that the speed and 300-yard range of the bullets pose a threat to bystanders.

Advocates say the assault rifles are vastly better than the standard Glock handguns assigned to officers and are more accurate than the pump-action shotguns that the department makes available.

[holymoly]

St. Petersburg police officers have added the Colt AR-15 rifle to their inventory

IMO They'd be better armed with the M1 .30 Carbine.

The semiautomatic weapons fire bullets that travel up to 2,700 feet per second and are powerful enough to penetrate body armor.

Any centerfire rifle round will penetrate Kevlar soft body armor.

[2banana]

So what are they thinking - the now legal bayonet lug is going to foster an uptick of drive by bayonetings...?

[speed_addiction]

This is just laughable! All of these criminals just patiently waited for the assault weapons ban to expire so they could LEGALLY buy assault weapons.

[GrandEagle]

The expiration of the nation's ban on the sale of assault rifles and
The presupposition is that the "assault weapon" ban actually DID anything to inhibit criminals.

[ARCADIA]

The expiration of the nation's ban on the sale of assault rifles and the appearance of more heavily armed criminals have pushed more than 100 St. Petersburg police officers to order assault rifles of their own for official duty.

Just about any excuse works to spend taxpayer dollars. I am surprised they haven't ordered stinger missiles to deal with reports of UFOs.

[boofus]

And pray the officers at least get 5 minutes of instruction and get to fire at least 1 round out of their weapons in training.



This NYPD officer has obviously never fired his weapon or even tried to sight it in. Or he would notice the blinding red light going straight into his eye obstructing his entire vision. His Aimpoint Comp M2 scope is mounted BACKWARDS.

'Only police are qualified to carry guns indeed.'

[holymoly]

And this report appeared in several newspapers just the day-before-yesterday (24th):

End of assault weapon ban has little effect on sales or crime

[Puppage]

The semiautomatic weapons fire bullets that travel up to 2,700 feet per second and are powerful enough to penetrate body armor

So's my knife, an ice pick.....

[DTogo]

St. Petersburg police officers have added the Colt AR-15 rifle to their inventory to counter the expiration of the assault weapons ban and the appearance of more heavily armed criminals.

What's that supposed to mean? Are more heavily armed criminals being arrested or just appearing??

[Izzy Dunne]

The expiration of the nation's ban on the sale of assault rifles and the appearance of more heavily armed criminals

Hmmm. I wonder...

Do they have any evidence to back up the 2nd part ofthat statement?
Do they have any evidence that the first part has ANYTHING to do with the 2nd part?

Sounds like it could be some reporter jumping to conclusions, or just making stuff up.

[holymoly]

Just about any excuse works to spend taxpayer dollars.

The sad part is the officers have to cough up the $1100 for the AR-15 themselves. (In comparison, I paid $250 for my M1 .30 Carbine.)

[Ladysmith]

Give me a friggin' break! Like a scumbag who would even shoot a cop was concerned about the ban in the first place! Or for any of the thousands of gun laws that's in place.

[Bonaparte]

Exactly. The only people who aren't laughing at the Miami police are those who have never held a firearm in their hands and who don't know that criminals don't care whether their weaponry is banned or not.

[blackie]

"St. Petersburg police officers have added the Colt AR-15 rifle to their inventory to counter the expiration of the assault weapons ban and the appearance of more heavily armed criminals."

What an inflammatory piece of editorializing crap!

"IMO They'd be better armed with the M1 .30 Carbine."

M1 .30 Carbines aren't as good as AR-15. M1 .30-06 rifles are a different story; that baby packs a punch. :)

[Sir Gawain]

Propaganda piece. Citizens better get their walls reinforced with bullet proof material.

[libstripper]

This is laughable. The author doesn't even know that the AR-15 isn't an "assault rifle" because it's semiautomatic. To be an actual assault rifle a weapon needs full auto capability and to fire a medium power round.

OTOH, if the Miami cops had really wanted effective weapons for dealing with perps wearing body armor, they'd have gone for .308 caliber M1-As or M-14s. An officer firing onw of those could have ended the infamous LA shootout in a couple of minutes, given what a .308 round will do to any body armor. The other advantage of the M1-A and M-14 rifles is they look a lot more like sporting rifles and, thus, aren't as likely to arouse the prejudices of ignorant people like this article's author.

[SpinnerWebb]

This NYPD officer has obviously never fired his weapon or even tried to sight it in.

Also, he'll never find the trigger on the magazine he's holding.... =)

[Thrusher]

The expiration of the nation's ban on the sale of assault rifles and the appearance of more heavily armed criminals have pushed more than 100 St. Petersburg police officers to order assault rifles of their own for official duty.

Police Chief Chuck Harmon approved use of the AR-15s last June...

Hey, never let facts get in the way of good leftist propaganda -- the expiration of the federal assault-weapons ban occurred in September, which, last time I checked, was several months before June.

Maybe the cops pushed to get better guns because criminals -- who, by their very definition, don't obey the law -- have been using assault weapons against the cops and our communities for years.

[Restorer]

Officers who want the weapons must buy them for $1,100.

[Rummyfan]

Advocates say the assault rifles are vastly better than the standard Glock handguns assigned to officers and are more accurate than the pump-action shotguns that the department makes available.

Really????