So, they should not have AR's, but can have a mini-14. Can you expand on the difference in ammunition, rate of fire, muzzle velocity, magazine capacity and reload time difference between these 2 popular platforms?
You have made my point perfectly. There is little difference in effectiveness between the Ruger Mini-14 and an AR15. So there is NO REASON, for a civilian police agency to use a military weapon. Use of AR15's has the immediate effect of militarizing of the police and compounded over time we arrive at the inevitable conflict.
Again, dress like a soldier, act like a soldier. Possession of AR15's and M16's creates the mindset of a soldier. Expand and compound this over years and next thing you know, you have police who think they are at war with the people. You have the people who increasingly see the police as an occupying military force, which in all reality they are just that.