Help us pick a pistol, for LEO.

As stated earlier most departments issue a particular duty weapon or have a list of approved weapons they will allow officers to purchase for duty use. Some departments require their officers to use the department issued duty weapon until they come off of probation then they are allowed to purchase their own from the list. News flash, not all departments issue a Glock pistol. My department still issues the Beretta 92FS pistol. If your SIL is allowed to choose his duty weapon take him to a range that rents guns so he can try as many as possible. If he is given a list he can try those on that list without actually buying until he makes his decision. As for caliber most departments choose that as well. Many departments will provide the officer with duty ammo so that everything is uniform. The idea is that an officer who has his own ammo may be considered by some attorneys as a rogue cop gone bad, the department ammo isn't lethal enough so the cop got his own. I know it sounds screwy and it is but lawyers (both defense and prosecutors) can be idiots where ammo is concerned. If the department allows him to choose the gun and caliber the range trip can be extremely valuable. He can try the various combinations until he find one that works for him.
 
I know it sounds screwy and it is but lawyers (both defense and prosecutors) can be idiots where ammo is concerned.
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Lawyers who defend or prosecute criminal defendants in cases involving firearms are much more likely to have knowledge about firearms, particularly handguns and handgun ammunition, than most people have. Their knowledge may come from personal firearms experience and/or their experience with firearms experts.
 
Lawyers who defend or prosecute criminal defendants in cases involving firearms are much more likely to have knowledge about firearms, particularly handguns and handgun ammunition, than most people have. Their knowledge may come from personal firearms experience and/or their experience with firearms experts.
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Having been on a jury not long ago in a firearms case, I kind of disagree with the above....I don't think either of the lawyers involved knew anything about guns, I don't think the judge knew much about them, and I seemed to be the only gun enthusiast on the jury. I'm not so sure the police involved knew all that much about guns either. The lawyers aren't selected for their gun knowledge.

I did think it was very sad that a nice Dan Wesson Model 15 .357 was going to get destroyed. Although it had already been treated with some chemical for the fingerprint process (which yielded no usable prints), a sort of sticky white residue all over it -- I think they said it was superglue. I wonder if that can come off without harm to the gun.

Related to another recent post about "What guns criminals carry", this revolver was only loaded with three rounds...the other cylinders had been empty. I wonder if the cylinder had even been closed properly so that the hammer would fall on a live round when the trigger was pulled.

But back to the topic at hand, as others suggested, he should wait until he knows he's hired and he knows what guns the department will allow him to carry (if he gets a choice at all, which seems to be rare) before he buys himself a gun. It probably will be a Glock or S&W M&P in 9mm. I'd go for a Springfield XDm myself (I have one), but the others are fine choices.
 
Having been on a jury not long ago in a firearms case, I kind of disagree with the above....I don't think either of the lawyers involved knew anything about guns, I don't think the judge knew much about them, and I seemed to be the only gun enthusiast on the jury. I'm not so sure the police involved knew all that much about guns either. The lawyers aren't selected for their gun knowledge.
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I certainly don't question your recent jury experience and I agree prosecutors and defense lawyers aren't selected for there gun knowedge. While I don't know if any prosecutors or defense lawyers have any personal firearms experience, I would expect attorneys in criminal cases involving firearms would learn something about firearms from dealing with testimony and exhibits relating to firearms. I am a retired government attorney and confess that at the time I accepted the job offer I knew virtually nothing about the subject matter that became the focus of my career. (I was never involved in any criminal case.)

I have read virtually all of your posts on this forum. I sincerely appreciate your experience and expertise.

And yes, I agree with your recommendations in this thread.
 
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Having been called into Superior Court on a number of occasions to testify as an expert witness on firearms, i found most attorneys were content to rely on such expert testimony rather than become experts or even familar with weapons themselves.
 
Do you mean the opposing attorney did not cross-examine you or did not ask any questions about firearms? Certainly the attorney calling you as an expert witness had to ask you questions in his live direct examination in court (unless your testimony was submitted in written form such as a deposition). :confused:
 
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I would recommend that he not buy anything at all before he is accepted into a police academy. A lot of potential recruits think that they can help themselves by buying their own gun and practicing before the academy starts. They are often wrong.

When I went through a police academy 10 years ago, myself and two of my academy mates had never fired a handgun. Many recruits were prior military. One of my academy mates had grown up around guns and considered himself somewhat of an expert. All of our instructors agreed that they prefer to teach recruits with military experience or no experience at all. A great deal of our training time consisted of instructors addressing and correcting the bad habits of our “expert.”

The vast majority of agencies have a short list of approved firearms that they will either issue or arrange for officers to purchase at a discount from a supplier. Certified academy instructors will often provide recruits with the opportunity to fire multiple approved weapons, and will make an assessment of each shooter’s physical attributes. Experienced instructors can provide valuable input on which model, caliber, grip and sight arrangement will maximize each recruit’s performance after accounting for factors such as hand size, grip strength, and ability to handle recoil.

I wish your son-in-law the best of luck in his chosen career. My advice would be for him to be patient in this matter. Exercising patience when there is time to do so will serve him well as a law enforcement officer.
 
Lefteye, I have testified on both sides although as a working LE officer itt was normally for the prosecution. My testimony was given in court and subject to cross, i was not challenged to any serious degree regarding my testimony on the issue at hand during each appearance. Council was not ignorant of firearms and did ask questions but eventually accepted the "expert" testimony on the issues.
 
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Anecdotally, my sonny boy took the LEO coarse at ISU about 10 years ago. He owned a 1991 .45acp Colt. It was ridiculed and called antique, but sonny took top gun in his class. Probably didn't change any glockinator types and I agree there are probably few departments that allow it anymore but it is a great and much maligned shooter.
 
I imagine some of the CZ hate in police departments stem from the manual stating that for the CZ-75 or the B models that you can decock the pistol by pulling the hammer and easing down the hammer.

Really CZ? I suppose nobody's thumb can slip.
 
I've been hunting/shooting starting around 4 so I believe that really helped me getting Company high shooter in USMC bootcamp. However, during that same time period, we heard that a female Marine shot higher than me and she never shot a gun before she entered service.

I was one of the top shooters in my police academy, and I would have had top gun if I was able to shoot on final qual day but I was unable due to injury.

So...there is no best here. If you go in with experience and prior training, it may even hurt you since the agency wants you trained their way. You may have bad traits that may be too hard to get rid of since they may be so ingrained.
 
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