(TX) Waco police officers carrying higher caliber pistols

O

Oatka

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Facing criminals with ever-increasing firepower, the Waco Police Department has changed the type of pistol issued to officers, the first such change in 12 years.

Beginning in January, officers began carrying Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistols, replacing the Smith & Wesson 9 mm semi-automatic pistols the department first issued in 1988.

The new guns fire larger bullets, and Waco Police Chief Alberto Melis said that is important, considering criminals are also using larger caliber weapons.

"Most of the time police are behind the curve when it comes to weapons," he said. "We find the real bad guys, not the ones that commit crimes on the spur of the moment, but the real bad guys, tend to be well-armed. You hear repeated reports of situations where officers are outgunned. It is these repeated reports that prompted us to move to the new guns."

REST OF ARTICLE
By MIKE ANDERSON Tribune-Herald staff writer
 
[shrug] Makes sense.

One wonders why they had clung so long to 9mm? (answer: bureaucratic lethargy, and money.)

--L.P.
 
"The new guns fire larger bullets, and Waco Police Chief Alberto Melis said that is important, considering criminals are also using larger caliber weapons."

Come on....

I'm all for Waco PD having the best possible sidearms, but isn't that statement pretty much bovine waste?

They're using larger caliber weapons? Larger than WHAT? Larger than 9mm? What were you guys doing when the bad guy had a .45 or a .44 Mag before now?

Police departments who decide to change sidearms should be able to do so without playing along with media-generated hysteria about "better armed" criminals. It just isn't so. Worse, it gives the misled anti-gun zombies even more falsehoods to regurgitate as facts -- "The Waco PD Police Chief says they are having to go to bigger guns to keep up with criminals who have bigger guns."

Try again, Chief -- this time with an honest answer if you don't mind. Perhaps something like, "We wanted .40 Glocks because everyone else is getting them."
 
Elmo,

I pretty much agree; That's the current vogue in LE. He did it because he was a me-too but if I was a PO-leece I would want a .45 ACP. I would want it so that I could stop the bad guys.......never mind what they have.

I mean it doesn't make sense to me some how that if you have a 10MM or .44 mag that I need one too. My .45 will still do a number on you. But I do want a large enough caliber to do the job......I don't want out there with a 9MM.........regardless of what they have...........I just feel underdressed :)

Range is not an issue in handguns. If we were talking about rifles at a distance, I would want something that matched the other guys range but not in handguns.


Pigpen111
 
Maybye it's me but the .40 Cal is a pussycat in the recoil department with any of them I have utilized (G22, Sig 239, Tanfoglio Witness Compact Comp and G23).
 
"Bigger bullets" may have been a way to express the power difference in wasy that the gun-ignorant would understand. I applaud the Waco PD for putting some thought into their selection. A .40 Glock seems to me a good police sidearm.

If they are really worried about being outgunned, though, this is what they shoud have in every patrol car:

OICW.jpg


If you like tech details:

OICWbreak.jpg


This is the Alliant Techsystems Objective Individual Combat Weapon. I want one!
 
How ya shoot is more important than what. Bigger bullets are better, faster bullets are better, biger and faster bullets are best? Not always for everybody.

If they are shooting the 40s as well as the 9s, that's dandy.

A smarter bad guy and/or one who can shoot better w a .25/.38 is still gonna win?
 
Back about 92 the state police here went 45 cuzz "a hit in the arm would knock a man down". Honest. The Top Trooper said so in the paper. They just traded those 45s for 357s. Were quieter about it this time. You can justify anything. The FBI rated the Glock next to last in their pistol eval of the late 80s. Now they issue them. :)
 
"The new guns fire larger bullets, and Waco Police Chief Alberto Melis said that is important, considering criminals are also using larger caliber weapons."
Click to expand...


Err... personally, I think they should move to a smaller caliber. Something more along the lines of 5.56 or 7.62.
 
"Out-gunned by criminals!" Was many a department's excuse to move from 6-shot .357 Magnums and .45 Colts to 15-shot 9mm's.

"Out-gunned by criminals!" Is now many a department's excuse to move from 15-shot 9mm's to 11- or 13-shot .40's.

I'm gonna go out on a limb, here, and hypothesize that "Outgunned by criminals!" really translates as "We want some cool new guns like those other cops have, but we gotta justify the budget expenditure to this nosy reporter". ;)

Also, whence the assumption that, say, a .40 cal automatically renders the criminal bulletproof to mere 9mm slugs. If Mr. Goblin has a .45, are the .40's just going to bounce off? :rolleyes:
 
Funny...just last week I read statistics that describe the most commonly used guns by criminals, by brand and caliber of crime gun. The potmetal .380s, .25s and 9mm pistols topped the list. The handgun most popular with criminals is a .25 Lorcin.

Makes me wonder just where all those evil, AK-47 and Glock-armed criminals hang out. I don't deny that some crooks pack Glocks and SIGs, and maybe even SKS rifles or AR-15s, but the average goblin's armament is not all that impressive.

And one more thing: If the Crime Bill works, why do police need higher capacity magazines than the peasants?
 
HOLY SMOKES BATMAN that one millimeter is going to make all the difference for them. They should have saved their money and bought 9mm Winchester 127 +P+ that's doing 90% on the hit parade. I don't see how a handgun can do that much better one millimeter bigger. I hope they can hit what their aiming at with those much bigger caliber guns. You want bigger they should have bought the 45 Glocks. I see it as just another smoke screen for trading and buying new toys. I played the game and have done it myself.
 
I think they should stop wasting money on nicer/bigger guns and spend the money to train their officers better. Im not saying every officer is underqualified to carry a gun. But alot fo them are. Its scary. And to think someone who shouldnt even be carrying in the first place is carrying a bigger gun than last month should make everyone cringe.

Nothing upsets me more than seeing someone whos qualification test meant shooting 50 rounds into a 20 inch target at 7 yards with an acception of 70% or better makes them qualified. Great! now re-holster your weapon and hit the streets!

Ive seen 13 yr old children with more training that most officers. its sickning.

P.S. This is not meant to offend anyone. I just hate to see officers on the streets with guns in their holsters and dont even know what caliber it is. Ive asked some officers what model glock they were carrying and they just said "I dunno...I just know its a glock"

Ridiculous!!!!!
Unacceptable!!!!
Assinine!!!!


Just MHO

Tim
 
"Nothing upsets me more than seeing someone whos qualification test meant shooting 50 rounds into a 20 inch target at 7 yards with an acception of 70% or better makes them qualified."

This is very true. I asked my brother (a LEO) how difficult it is to qualify, and his response surprised me. He said it is easy to get a great score, but that will open you up for law suits if you ever shoot some one and kill or maim them :

Example-
Officer, you scored nearly perfect on the qualification test and you go to the range every week - why did you shoot the man in the heart/kidney/spine/etc? Surely you are a good enough shot to have only hit the BG in the leg/arm/whatever. Sounds like police brutality/homicide/unnecessary force/etc.

Most officers (in my region of the country) try not to shoot over 80-85. Too many opportunistic lawyers.
 
I'd much rather use the extra budget money's for training OT and Ammo!!! Ahh, that s just my opinion as a Training Officer. We already have glocks! It's very shiek to cover up training issues, like performance with half truths like " If only we had better guns " Hey Chief! how abouts some practice with the pistols we already have. Maybe a class or two ( god forbid ) on tactics! I know, I know that would mean we would be admitting that were tactically not up to speed. Its easier to blame the tools.

On another note, If I had the extra cash layin round, I'd buy the kids new combat tupperwere.

Whewww, I feel lots better
Think Safe / Stay Safer
C
 
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