Police Armament

[ARTiger]

I ran into a Sheriff's deputy who sometimes hunts with my group for the first time when he was in his squad car and full regalia . . . We started talking guns and he gave me a quick tour of everything on him and in his car . . .

- Glock .357 SIG with 4 clips on him and another dozen in the car
- 870 with everything from breaching rounds, buckshot, even rubber slugs
- Short barreled M4 .223 with so much stuff bolted to it it was silly
- Remington M700 in .308 with a high end 10 power scope
- Grenade launcher looking gizmo for teargas cannisters and some type of net thing

This guy's not a SWAT cop - just a rural county deputy. He said that 5 years ago all he had was an old Colt Trooper .357 then his department got some homeland security dollars and went on a shopping spree. Got me to wondering what all cops typically carry around these days?

 

[hankdatank1362]

wow...

Good way to prevent another North Hollywood-type situation.

 

[LexusNexus]

actually rural deputy will more likely to have more stuff than your urban cop. They could go way out there into the field, with fewer backup and longer response time. This means they have to have variety of tools to help them in different situations.

 

[crunker]

Swap the Remington 700 for a more powerful ranged rifle, like one in .338 Lapua. But the 700 will do in almost all situations.

The grenade launcher..... LOL. Sell the 870 and the grenade launcher, buy a Striker-12 and convert the GLOCK to select-fire.

 

[DontBurnMyFlag]

Im amazed. We carried25 rounds of .45 acp. Two 8 round mags on the belt and one in the gun +1 in the chamber. I always feel outgunned. They are all +P JHP's though. But if we go up against body armor...eh.

But wow, that Sheriff's deputy has the right idea.

 

[CornCod]

Wow, two rifles and a shotgun? Typical ridiculous waste of taxpayer money, Anti-Terrorist Homeland Security money at that. Federal grants gone wild.

 

[carterbeauford]

Smart guy, nothing wrong with being prepared.

Swap the Remington 700 for a more powerful ranged rifle, like one in .338 Lapua. But the 700 will do in almost all situations.

Just curious, at what range would you expect him to have to shoot where a .308 would not be sufficient? 600 yards?

 

[swampgator]

A buddy of mine worked for a rural SO about ten years back. He carried his privately owned Bushmaster AR-15 as well as a department issued 870. The sheriff had no problem with the rifle provided he qualified with it.

 

[Car Knocker]

Living in Utah, where a deputy's call for assistance may well mean a half-hour or better wait for someone to get on the scene in many rural counties, I can easily understand the need for being equipped with anything that might possibly be needed, from an assortment of weapons to extensive first-aid equipment to an emergency food supply.

 

[jerkface11]

So now cops need 2 rifles a shotgun a grenade launcher and a couple hundred rounds for their pistol? At this rate in 5 years they'll be driving around in milsurp tanks.

 

[DontBurnMyFlag]

jerkface, I dont think you understand.

We talk about SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, CCW and various other types of "be prepared" stuff. Just because an officer has this stuff does not mean he is going to use it or need it. Its better to be prepared.

This is especially so in rural departments where not only is another unit maybe 10 miles away, but an activated county SWAT team may take an hour to set up and mobilize. Wouldnt you rather have the officers ready to handle any threat in front of them rather than waiting an hour and possibly having innocents harmed in the process?

Just because someone is a police officer does not mean they aren't entitled to the same right to be prepared as we are.

 

[7.62x54r]

That guy is more armed then my Canadian army::banghead:

 

[Eightball]

Just because someone is a police officer does not mean they aren't entitled to the same right to be prepared as we are.

I would say they have more reason to have all that stuff than your average mall ninja.

If your job involved dealing with criminals on a daily basis, strange social happenings, and other such things, especially in a situation where you *could* carry around said items, and where _you_ were the only person around who could reasonably take care of a threat, wherever it was, wouldn't you carry whatever you could (within reason, of course) that would adequately leave you prepared for just about any threat? For a civilian to have that much in his car would be kind of silly; for a LEO of a rural area, I wouldn't expect much less; maybe get a longer barrelled upper for the AR and eliminate the 700, but that's me being nitpicky.

 

[X-Rap]

I wonder if the training and followup goes with the new equipment. I also am not shure that I like the mindset toward the general public that the current LE has, a mix with the old cool hand luke and some special ops trooper. I don't deny myself the arms and equipment I want so I won't do it to others but the question bears answering, How will you feel when all this homeland security equipment is turned on you the homelander. Take a look at your fire department to. They have more budget than ever. And if you challenge any of these organizations about the way they spend money you are viewed like an Al Qaida spy or something. We can't even manage our borders but everyone looks good and tactical from the brush fire crews to the sheriffs deputys.Remember when they were peace officers not Law Enforcement officers. And the fire department was run by volunteers.

 

[19-3Ben]

Wow. He's a one man assault team!!! Holy hell. I'd love to get to play with such toys!!

The one thing that seems a little silly/overkill to me is a dozen mags for his glock in the car. Let's assume each mag hold 12 rounds. if that's the case, he's got 48 rounds plus 12+1 in the gun. Meaning 61 rounds of .357 sig on him. If he is at a point that he has used up 61 rounds of .357 sig, and he has gone back to the car, is he really going to grab MORE mags for his Glock? No. He's going to get the TUBAR ar-15 he's got in there. The extra 144 rounds of .357sig ammo in the car are a total waste. They'd be better off spending that same expense/weight/space on extra mags for the M4. I mean, would anybody with a modicum of do a 200+ rounds of ammo battle with his handgun, when (since he already went back to his car), he's got access to a rifle. Remember, the handgun is just the tool you use to get back to your rifle or shotgun.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

WOW sounds like he's got all his bases covered. If I were out in rural country I'd want to do the same. Just make sure to lock the car doors when you have to leave it!
Kinda sucks that we had to pay for it, but hey if that stuff was offered to me I'm not going to say no.
How many mags did he have for the AR?

 

[ccso906]

L.E. Tax dollars

As a sheriff's Deputy, I can understand the thinking behind this Deputies dept. In my county, Back up can be 45 minutes away. Although I do not carry a 38mm less lethal launcher I do carry a 5.56 and 12 gauge as well as a .45acp. all with various types of rounds for various types of situations. In todays age, the average officer/deputy is called to handle a variety of situations that at one time would have been handled by SWAT or other elite teams. Since the Columbine shooting, officers have been trained differently to handle active shooters, which is to go in and hunt down and neutralize the threat. To do this, todays L.E. needs a variety of arms to affect this and other high risk incidents of today.

As far as training goes, My department, as most train and qualify on each firearm quarterly in different scenarios, not just shooting paper from the 25 yard line. I may never have to use most of the equipment I carry, however you can bet your tax dollar that if an active shooter or other a@@ with a gun decides to start killing people in my town I will be prepared, with the training and equipment necessary to save as many lives as possible as quickly as possible.

 

[swampgator]

The one thing that seems a little silly/overkill to me is a dozen mags for his glock in the car...The extra 144 rounds of .357sig ammo in the car are a total waste.

Nah, it just saves him time having to reload the mags he carries before he engages in his next adventure.

Actually I know a lot of guys who stockpile their patrol cars with as much equipment as they think they need. My dad was a detective in a small department, right before Y2K the chief of that department told all his officers to pack their cars for at least a week's worth of work without relief. How or where he expected them to sleep I don't know, but he did want them to have as much ammo as they could carry.

 

[Deer Hunter]

That is a huge waste of tax dollars. We're not talking about protecting the president. We're not talking about this cop single-handedly thwarting a terrorist invasion. We're not even talking about him fighting roaming gangs of unruly looters. That much firepower in ONE squad car is a complete waste of our tax dollars. I'm sorry, but the AR-15 (even with all the crap hanging off of it) and the Sig with 8-10 less magazines for it would do just fine for ANYTHING he'll ever have to deal with.

 

[RNB65]

Canadian army

Isn't that a contradiction of terms?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Glockamolie]

That few thousand dollars spent is a drop in the ocean compared to the huge amounts of money wasted on much more rediculous items than over-equipping patrol cars. And I'm still not convinced he's out of line, anyway.

 

[plexreticle]

I would ditch the 700 and m4 and get an ar-10 or M14 clone .308 semi auto with a scope.

Lose the 870 and get a decent semi auto gauge with a 12" or so barrell.

.357sig Glock and 12 mags is a good idea. He has a backup on also I'm hoping.

Rifles with all the bolt on crap are more show than go IMHO.

 

[fastbolt]

I remember when I used to work a rural area and might have to wait more than 30-45-60 minutes for cover. I had a revolver and a shotgun. Lots of extra ammunition for both, though.

I remember seeing Fish & Game vehicles back then with both a shotgun and a lever action rifle, and feeling just a little envious.

Nowadays we're putting rifles in the cars, and lots of younger folks are saying that shotguns are obsolete.

Lots of equipment is nice ... especially if it's potentially useful (and someone else is paying for it, of course), and includes less-lethal options ... but nowadays I'm more concerned about young folks with only a handful of years in LE feeling mere possession of 'high-end' equipment is an acceptable substitute for the development of an appropriate mental attitude/mindset, awareness, frequent training and properly maintained skills ...

 

[KD5NRH]

Nowadays we're putting rifles in the cars, and lots of younger folks are saying that shotguns are obsolete.

A close range assault on a few pumpkins should put that notion to rest.

See whose target is more effectively stopped by the first shot.

 

[Jeff White]

I work in a small town in a rural area. Backup can be 20 miles or more away. Because we are spread so thin (usually two deputies for the whole county, 3 to 4 officers on duty in the two bigger towns and one on duty in the smaller towns and maybe one or two state troopers working in the county, maybe not) it's unlikely there are ten officers on duty in various departments throughout the county at any given time. Mutual aid agreements often pull officers out of their jurisdictions to help out other agencies. Some months my log shows more assist county and state then it does activity for the city I work in.

When you get out like that you have to have what you might need in the car. It's better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. It's kind of hard to leave a situation because the shotgun or the rifle is in a locker at the station.

I carry my duty weapon (Kimber Warrior) with 8 magazines (one in the weapon, three on my belt and four in my patrol bag), my BUG (J frame SW) and one reload. I also carry my Colt R6920 LE Carbine with 6v Surefire and Aimpoint. In the trunk I have a plate carrier with level IV ceramic plates and two magazine pouches for AR mags and a blow out kit. I don't carry a shotgun because there isn't anything it does that I can't do with my rifle. Since I work alone and backup is often a long way off, less lethal options like beanbag rounds and tasers aren't really applicable because to properly employ them you need someone to back you up with a deadly force option.

I also carry two spare pair of handcuffs (in addition to the two pair on my belt), ten flexcuffs, first aid kit, flares, crime scene tape, extra rubber gloves, paper and plastic bags for securing evidence, duct tape.....

Why do I get the feeling that those of you who are complaining would be the first people to throw a fit if the deputy showed up on the scene without some needed equipment?

Jeff