Police Weapon Question...

[rab357]

I saw the recent video where the police office is fighting off the criminal who escaped from jail. The criminal hits the officer serveral times from behind before a citizen comes to his aid.

If the officer had been able to pull his weapon, and assuming it is a semi-automatic, would the gun already have a bullet in the chamber or would he have to have freed his left hand from the criminal and load the bullet into the chamber?

 

[xring44]

Yep, they are carried with one in the tube Unless it was Barney Fife, then it would have been in his shirt pocket.

 

[rab357]

Thanks...

and that explains the story about the cop's young son who fired his fathers unloaded police gun in the station. It had 1 left in the chamber.

 

[xring44]

I don't believe I have heard that story, but rest assured that a unloaded pistol/gun/firearm is unable to fire, only those that someone thought was unloaded. I assume someone dropped the magazine and did not cycle the action to clear the loaded round from the barrel. SAFETY cannot be over stressed. Be safe.

 

[Ala Dan]

I always carried my .45 ACP SIG P220A with a round "up the pipe"~!

And, now I carry a 1911 cocked and locked with one up the pipe~!

 

[Jeff White]

One of the big advantages to carrying a semi-auto is that many bad guys who would disarm you may be totally unfamiliar with the safety. I can think of several documented gun grabs where the bad guy pointed the auto at the officer and couldn't make it fire.

Naturally this doesn't apply to Glocks or those officers, CCW holders who use the safety on their DA/SA auto as a decocker only.

I don't know any police officer who carries an empty weapon.

It is a very common practice in the military though.

Jeff