PieterCoetzee
Professional
Hmmm? Yes I guess most PDs do issue rifles now. That being said, Im not sure how easy/quickly they can be accessed. The days of the shotgun in the rack behind the front seat are over.Heh, I would think you’d prefer a semi or automatic long gun in those cases, vs ANYTHING in a holster.
One of my favorite “that’s dumb” moments in any police procedural drama is the cops engaging half a dozen (or more) gang/cartel machine guns with a couple of handguns…that seemingly never need to be reloaded. Protect the public, sure. Via suicide? No thanks!
Never worked at one, but I would think in this day/age, major PDs have long guns in their cruisers as a matter of policy. And if responding to the sound of automatic gunfire, it would be habit to bring it when dismounting your vehicle.
When I retired, they were in a locked case, in the truck; so getting the rifle under fire meant hitting the trunk release then going to the trunk and unlocking the rifle case, then loading it. Also "deploying" the rifle meant writing a report just because you took it out (even if you werent the primary officer writing the original report). Actually using it was easier, because someone else was doing all the writing.
I say that because unless I knew I was going into a HOT call for sure, I hesitated deploying the rifle. Admittedly it might have been a costly mistake; but it was clear the department was playing both sides of the coin; issue rifles and make it a P.I.A. to use.
Today might be different
Last edited: