Greeting's cratz2!
Well, my old agency left it up to the discretion of the
individual officer? It didn't matter whether or not an
officer carried a
revolver or
self-loader they were
required to qualify with it 3X per year. Here is the criteria
that my department based its findings on:
a)
Revolver - caliber: .38 Special or above, barrel
length: restricted to 4" to 6" for patrol personel; 2" to
4" for plainclothes or detectives. The weapon MUST be
of reputable manufactuer from one of these company's:
Smith & Wesson, Colt, or Ruger period, there were
NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule! If any officer couldn't qualify
with the weapon in a
reasonable time frame; the
weapon was retired, as far as that officer was concerned.
Upon my departure on 16 May 1997, I can recall no more
than three officers sporting a revolver; and one of them
was the Deputy Chief who was and still is a member of
the coveted Governor's Twenty.
b)
Self-Loader's - caliber: 9m/m or above, barrel
length: standard issue. Who could carry? Any duly sworn
law enforcement officer assigned to the patrol division,
narcotics division, DARE program, persons assigned to
the plain clothes or detective division, corrections officers,
reserve personel, park rangers, or persons assigned to
the security of the mayor. In some cases, the dog warden
would also be armed with a self-loader. Here again, the
same basic rules apply: the weapon MUST be of quality
manufactuer, from one of these major manufactuer'ers:
Smith & Wesson, Colt, Ruger, Beretta, SIG-SAUER,
Glock, H&K, Springfield, or Walther. Qualification
was STRICT with the self-loader class. Failure to qualify
within three attempts,
usually got the officer in
question reverted back to a six-shooter.
I can recall a veteran officer coming into headquarters
early one morning to answer natures call. He promptly
removed his gun belt upon entering the stall. In a hurry,
and not wanting his Glock 17 to sit on the floor; he took
it from its secure leather holster and commenced to hang
it upside down on the coat hanger attached to the rear
of the door. He quickly slammed the door shut, the G17
started for the floor and the officer reached up in a futile
attempt to grab it !
Next thing we heard was a
very loud B-A-N-G; as the G-17 had accidentally discharged
a W-W 147 grain "Black Talon" JHP into the men's shower
stall. Luckily, no one was bathing at the 0900 hr mark so
there were no injuries.
After that, the Chief of Police had a 55 gallon drum beefed
up; and with a little use of a torch and welding machine
made a "clearing barrel" for ALL officers to use when their
weapon was out of their holster for any reason, bar none!
Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
