Bad guys still have firepower edge on some copsAlmost a decade after one of the most notorious cop shootings in law enforcement history, police in some South Florida departments are still outgunned by criminals.BY WANDA J. DeMARZOMiami HeraldFeb. 28, 1997, is a day most cops won't ever forget.
Two bank robbers wearing body armor and brandishing automatic weapons turned a quiet San Fernando Valley neighborhood into a bloody ambush.
North Hollywood, Calif., police officers were outgunned and forced to scramble for cover amid relentless gunfire. A quick-thinking sergeant commandeered nine rifles from a neighborhood gun store to end the melee, but when it was over, 11 police officers and six civilians had been wounded.
After that notorious shootout, a growing number of police departments across the country began issuing semi automatic weapons and body armor to their officers.
While a large number of agencies in South Florida -- Hialeah, Pembroke Pines, Hallandale Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Boca Raton and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office -- allow their road patrol officers to carry high-powered rifles, others -- the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Hollywood, Miami-Dade and the City of Miami police departments -- have not yet armed all their officers with rifles.
Officers point out that criminals can easily buy high-powered weapons, both on the street and on the Internet. And recent crimes have raised concerns among police about their inability to protect themselves and the public from criminals who carry more firepower than they do.
Most of the handguns officers carry, including BSO, have an effective range of 25 yards, while a high-powered rifle, like an AR-15 that can be equipped with 40-round clips has an effective range of 300 to 500 yards depending on the barrel length and scope.
Deputies point to Ralston Davis as an example of the potential danger police can face when they aren't adequately armed.
Davis, accused of killing three people, sent officers a chilling message when he was arrested Dec. 2 with a knock-off version of the high-powered AR-15 rifle:
''Hand me my [rifle] and a bullet, and I will kill you all,'' Davis told BSO deputies. ``Stand in front of me, and I'll put a bullet in your face.''
Deputies said that if Davis hadn't run out of ammunition, he could have easily picked them off before they could take him out with their handguns, .45-caliber Glocks.
''The North Hollywood shooting showed the reason why cops should be armed with high-powered rifles,'' said Hialeah Deputy Chief Mark Overton. ``That shootout was a nightmare. Officers were pinned down and being shot through their Kevlar vests.''
Not only local law enforcement officers see the need for high-powered weapons.
SEEN AS A NECESSITY
Federal agencies, like the Drug Enforcement Administration, have been outfitting their personnel with high-powered rifles for a number of years. It's a necessity, DEA agents say, because the drug dealers they pursue have the money to spend on high-priced weapons to protect their product.
And agencies around Broward are arresting drug dealers outfitted with high-powered weapons.
''We're taking AK-47s off drug dealers,'' said Fort Lauderdale police range master Jim Decker, a former officer. ``Whatever [weapon] is out there, they're buying it.''
The AK-47 (for Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947) is a ubiquitous assault rifle that can be equipped with 30- or 40-round clips or a 75-round drum. The ammo can be easily purchased on the Internet.
''My second day on the road, I was getting shot at with a high-powered weapon, and I couldn't shoot back with my handgun,'' Decker said. ``And, what's worse, the bad guys are training themselves so they can shoot better.''
One survey, Decker said, showed that 79 percent of the people who killed officers practiced at the range at least once a month.
''They have them [rifles] and they know how to use them,'' he said.
The National Association of Police Organizations, based in Washington, D.C., supports arming officers with high-powered rifles, saying the weapons are a tool, rarely used, but absolutely vital for the well-being of the public and for law enforcement.
'Whether the rifle is carried in the trunk of the patrol car or in the front seat, like gas masks and helmets, it's better for the officers' safety and the public safety that it's available should it be needed,'' NAPO director Bill Johnson said.
KNEE-JERK REACTION?
But some experts say arming officers with rifles is a knee-jerk reaction.
''Because the bad guys have assault rifles, law enforcement officers should?'' asks Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst for the Violence Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that advocates gun control.
``I don't see the rationale behind that type of thinking. What's next? Cops in armored cars and tanks? This is moving toward the militarization of law enforcement.''
That same thinking is why some departments balk at arming their officers with assault rifles.
''Departments have to make sure they don't have a weapon that is offensive to civilians or looks too militaristic,'' said Miami-Dade range master and firearms instructor Sgt. Steve Mesa. ``People don't want their patrol officers looking like they are in a specialized unit, like SWAT.'' But it can take a SWAT team 45 minutes to an hour to respond to a scene, a long time for an officer to wait while dodging bullets that can slice through Kevlar vests like a steak knife through butter.
Law enforcement is an evolutionary process, said former DEA agent Richard Mangan, who teaches criminology and criminal justice at Florida Atlantic University.
''I remember when bulletproof vests were something you only wore when making an arrest,'' Mangan said.
``Now officers wear them all the time. If the bad guys arm themselves with rifles, then officers arm themselves with rifles.''
Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/13442565.htm
Two bank robbers wearing body armor and brandishing automatic weapons turned a quiet San Fernando Valley neighborhood into a bloody ambush.
North Hollywood, Calif., police officers were outgunned and forced to scramble for cover amid relentless gunfire. A quick-thinking sergeant commandeered nine rifles from a neighborhood gun store to end the melee, but when it was over, 11 police officers and six civilians had been wounded.
After that notorious shootout, a growing number of police departments across the country began issuing semi automatic weapons and body armor to their officers.
While a large number of agencies in South Florida -- Hialeah, Pembroke Pines, Hallandale Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Boca Raton and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office -- allow their road patrol officers to carry high-powered rifles, others -- the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Hollywood, Miami-Dade and the City of Miami police departments -- have not yet armed all their officers with rifles.
Officers point out that criminals can easily buy high-powered weapons, both on the street and on the Internet. And recent crimes have raised concerns among police about their inability to protect themselves and the public from criminals who carry more firepower than they do.
Most of the handguns officers carry, including BSO, have an effective range of 25 yards, while a high-powered rifle, like an AR-15 that can be equipped with 40-round clips has an effective range of 300 to 500 yards depending on the barrel length and scope.
Deputies point to Ralston Davis as an example of the potential danger police can face when they aren't adequately armed.
Davis, accused of killing three people, sent officers a chilling message when he was arrested Dec. 2 with a knock-off version of the high-powered AR-15 rifle:
''Hand me my [rifle] and a bullet, and I will kill you all,'' Davis told BSO deputies. ``Stand in front of me, and I'll put a bullet in your face.''
Deputies said that if Davis hadn't run out of ammunition, he could have easily picked them off before they could take him out with their handguns, .45-caliber Glocks.
''The North Hollywood shooting showed the reason why cops should be armed with high-powered rifles,'' said Hialeah Deputy Chief Mark Overton. ``That shootout was a nightmare. Officers were pinned down and being shot through their Kevlar vests.''
Not only local law enforcement officers see the need for high-powered weapons.
SEEN AS A NECESSITY
Federal agencies, like the Drug Enforcement Administration, have been outfitting their personnel with high-powered rifles for a number of years. It's a necessity, DEA agents say, because the drug dealers they pursue have the money to spend on high-priced weapons to protect their product.
And agencies around Broward are arresting drug dealers outfitted with high-powered weapons.
''We're taking AK-47s off drug dealers,'' said Fort Lauderdale police range master Jim Decker, a former officer. ``Whatever [weapon] is out there, they're buying it.''
The AK-47 (for Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947) is a ubiquitous assault rifle that can be equipped with 30- or 40-round clips or a 75-round drum. The ammo can be easily purchased on the Internet.
''My second day on the road, I was getting shot at with a high-powered weapon, and I couldn't shoot back with my handgun,'' Decker said. ``And, what's worse, the bad guys are training themselves so they can shoot better.''
One survey, Decker said, showed that 79 percent of the people who killed officers practiced at the range at least once a month.
''They have them [rifles] and they know how to use them,'' he said.
The National Association of Police Organizations, based in Washington, D.C., supports arming officers with high-powered rifles, saying the weapons are a tool, rarely used, but absolutely vital for the well-being of the public and for law enforcement.
'Whether the rifle is carried in the trunk of the patrol car or in the front seat, like gas masks and helmets, it's better for the officers' safety and the public safety that it's available should it be needed,'' NAPO director Bill Johnson said.
KNEE-JERK REACTION?
But some experts say arming officers with rifles is a knee-jerk reaction.
''Because the bad guys have assault rifles, law enforcement officers should?'' asks Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst for the Violence Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that advocates gun control.
``I don't see the rationale behind that type of thinking. What's next? Cops in armored cars and tanks? This is moving toward the militarization of law enforcement.''
That same thinking is why some departments balk at arming their officers with assault rifles.
''Departments have to make sure they don't have a weapon that is offensive to civilians or looks too militaristic,'' said Miami-Dade range master and firearms instructor Sgt. Steve Mesa. ``People don't want their patrol officers looking like they are in a specialized unit, like SWAT.'' But it can take a SWAT team 45 minutes to an hour to respond to a scene, a long time for an officer to wait while dodging bullets that can slice through Kevlar vests like a steak knife through butter.
Law enforcement is an evolutionary process, said former DEA agent Richard Mangan, who teaches criminology and criminal justice at Florida Atlantic University.
''I remember when bulletproof vests were something you only wore when making an arrest,'' Mangan said.
``Now officers wear them all the time. If the bad guys arm themselves with rifles, then officers arm themselves with rifles.''
Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/13442565.htm
