Just In: Boston Mayor Tom Menino is a moron
Boston Mayor Tom Menino said Friday he will not approve a police
department plan to put semiautomatic M-16 rifles in the hands of regular patrol
officers. But Menino says he's open to giving them to "specialized
units."
[...]some community leaders criticized the lack of public notice and questioned the reasoning behind arming district officers with M-16s when the city's SWAT team already has such weapons.
Pardon me while I lose my mind. Have these people not learned anything? The police are outgunned out there and need the extra firepower. Of course officers are not going to charging to every call with an assault rifle in their hands. However when they run into this, this, or Heaven forbid, something like this, they will have a better chance of surviving.
I think the mayor just made it clear that he values politically correct appearances over the lives of the police officers in his city. Maybe they should just switch to slingshots.
If you think that I am exaggerating things, read this story by Time about how the police are sorely outgunned on the street.
13 bits of radio chatter:
Your article hits the mark. The Mayor ignores the history of active shooters and puts officers and citizens at risk.
Waiting for SWAT is an ineffective strategy that Ron Borsch has proven with tons of research.
Patrol is the most ELITE spot in a PD.
I had a ar15 on patrol and I had to use it on a shoot out with robbery suspects. I swear by it now. Handguns are fire power to get to your long gun. The suspects were ambushing me and my partner by shooting at us, until my rifle came out.
My brainiac Chief only allows certain goldenboys to have AR15s.These cumburpers are the worst shots on the dept,yet they get the toys.
At least the Chiefs makes them leave the poodle guns locked in the station "until needed".
Hiya! Long time lurking reader with a question about this issue, on which I think I agree with you.
If the use of such rifles had been approved for patrol officers, what form would it have come in? As a New York City dweller, I've long gotten used to the sight of (what I believe are) National Guardsmen with (what I believe are) M16s, patrolling our public transit stations, with a supplemental sidearm. Would it be like this, with officers carrying them for general purposes? Or would it be largely in the same capacity as I understand the shotgun to currently be used, i.e., as a weapon that is secured in a vehicle for supplemental use only when necessary (naturally, I understand that these two weapons have vastly different uses for a peace officer).
Thanks!
After reading the article and realising these were a gift from the US Army, I have to ask are these the Semiauto AR15 or an actual full auto M16?
I can see the arguement against giving every patrol unit a M16 (its weak, but whatever).
I believe what the Mayor is asking for is for there to be specific units designated for higher levels of response and only equipping them with these rifles. However you still have to deal with extended response times, although significantly less than with a SWAT team.
Personally, I like my sidearm and the choice of a shotgun and AR in the car. It greatly increases your tactical usefulness.
Every cop should have an AR-15 or similar rifle available, as well as a tactical shotgun. My only concern is that the rifle be of large enough caliber; the .223 is borderline. I'd also get rid of the Glock and get something better and larger than 9mm.
All that said, every single cop on the street (which is where cops belong) should be able to out shoot me without any trouble at all. Most cannot. So right along with your sidearm, your tactical shotgun and AR-15 the police should get shooting lessons and should have to qualify with their weapons. The qualification test should not be a single event, but should be performed four times per year.
Good law enforcement costs money. I'm willing to spend the money, but in return I want good police.
I'm talking about officers carrying the rifle in their car so they can access it if needed. I don't know of any department that has the officers toting them around as if they are on patrol in Baghdad.
Im a certified Whamo wrist rocket instructor if anyones needs training.
"I'm talking about officers carrying the rifle in their car so they can access it if needed."
I can't for the life of me figure out why any thinking person would consider this a bad idea.
"I don't know of any department that has the officers toting them around as if they are on patrol in Baghdad."
NYPD's Hercules teams do exactly that. It doesn't seem to me like it does any good, but maybe they know better than I do. The only reason it would bother me is if there were a better way for NYPD to spend the money.
J/L:
You'd think the mayor of Boston would remember two little words:
NORTH HOLLYWOOD
(circa 1997)
Apparently NOT.
I'm all for having officers using FNB 5-7 handguns, but that's just me.
This is a case whwere "keeping up w/ the Joneses" (thugs) makes damn good sense (if you want everyone with the shield to go home after shift)
Re: officers having M4s:
Better to HAVE it and not need it, than NEED it and not have it.
Good post.
Hope it reverses that mayor's dumb-ass decision.
It's just a typical example of unqualified people in positions of political power having a say over matters of which they have no knowledge or expertise. The criminals not only have better weapons than us, but better cars, televisions and houses. Maybe we should downgrade our uniforms too, we don't want to look smarter than them, let alone being able to out-gun them. We already get paid less than they do too.
I carry my personal Benelli M1S90.They allow us to carry personal SGNs but no carbines yet.I like the stopping power of a 1oz slug and its penetration.
Inaccurate you say?Go stand at 125 meters and tell me how inaccurate the modified choke tube works.
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