Glocks are the most popular. They became that because (1) they are reliable (2) they are cheap for departments (3) they are hi-cap, and (4) they marketed themselves very well when there were few, if any, having a comparable product. The M&P was built directly to compete with the Glock but, for many people, they are more ergonomic. However, bureaucracy is king so it's often hard to get departments to switch.
yep. Bingo- head on the nail....
my dept. left wheelguns in the mid 80's for S&W 6906 in 9mm when the 'wunder nine' movement was in high tide. Gun was too small for EDC, physically; the short barrel exacerbated bad shooting, plus the guys previously carrying their 44 spl's in the 44 magnums were ticked off immensely.
In 1998 the .40 craze was hot, and Glock
paid their way into our dept. and every other one they could. Traded new Glock 22 .40's gun for gun, gave 3 mags with each, night sights, and paid for the holster and mag pouch switch as well as reimburse the dept. for training costs to transist.
The accuracy level went way up, obviously, in the dept. as the women and bad shooters were assisted by the larger size gun and less recoil.
I'm not a Glock basher- if they work for you, fine. I, and many others have a problem with the ergonomics- the 'pointability' of them. I have large hands and I have to re-learn the full size Glock every time I shoot it.
We have a neighboring small city that has it's own PD. The Chief and Mayor aren't the 'back door deal' kinda guys, and let common sense prevail. They allow their officers to carry what they qualify with, as long as it is a quality weapon. One of their Detectives that is a friend of mine has a schweeeeet Kimber Raptor on his hip...