Pompous and Arrogant
First, let me apologise for any offence I may have caused with the Police Officer community viewing this board. It was not my intent. Given the replys to the original question, I offered a "first blush" opinion in as few words as possible (sometimes not a good thing - i.e. Howard Dean's recent comments following the Iowa primary). But then, I'm just a harmless little guy in cyber space offering comment & opinion in what I consider to be an entertainment forum. Any lack in good judgement on the part of Police Officers in the field, however, can carry severe consequences. And I would think good Officers would want to address bad policies and poor performers more than anyone. That said, let me offer additional supporting comments for my original comments.
The common practice of Police Officers openly carrying two full size handguns was discontinued with the vast majority of Police organizations about the time black powder revolvers became obsolete. And I'm not so sure it was even that common over 100 years ago. It was apparently no longer considered necessary. With the advent of additional tools (body armor, improved communications, rapid transporation, modern high capacity semi-auto handguns, specialty weapons, etc.), this practice, it would seem, should be even less necessary now days. I'm not talking about small, discretely carried back up guns here - just second full size guns.
The chances that most Police Officers will ever fire their weapon on duty is pretty low. Lower still that such shootings to good effect would result in expending more than the carry capacity of a modern high capacity auto. Yes, carrying spare ammo is necessary for those rare occassions when needed. But a second full size gun, and spare ammo to feed it too - I tend to think not.
Weapon retention should be a great concern. Police Officers are far more likely to be involved in close quarters physical struggles than in shoot outs. A second openly carried gun doubles the chances that a weapon could be taken - and used against the Officer & others - or precipitate the unnecessary use of deadly force by the Officer had the weapon not been there to take in the first place.
Public perception is critical as well. There seems to be a widening chasm between the Police and Citizens in many communities across the country. Justified or not, perception is reality in many cases. What if an Officer, openly armed with two full size weapons, is involved in a questionable shooting? What if the shooting catches the attention of sensitive social or political groups or organizations. I can hear the headlines now - "biased gun slinging para-military cops victimize innocent citizen". The potential civil rioting and lawsuits steming from such an incident could be massive. And what about families & businesses considering moving into the area. They get a look at the local Police carrying around two huge guns on their hips and have to wonder - what the heck is the problem around here? Do I want my family or business in an area that's so bad that the Police have to carry two guns to protect themselves?
So given the arguements against this practice (lack of necessity, increased danger of unintended use & further deterioration of citizen confidence in the judgement & mission of their Police force), what are the objective, fact based reasons for doing it? In the absents of such, the obvious conclusion must be - well - a pompous and arrogant attitude on the part of these Officers.
Just because we're discussing two guns doesn't make it Dodge City.