Miami Police Given Choice of Carrying Assault Rifles

Miami Police Given Choice of Carrying Assault Rifles

www.nytimes.com

MIAMI, Sept. 16 (AP) — Patrol officers here will have the option of carrying assault rifles as they try to combat the rise in the use of similar weapons by criminals, the city’s police chief said Sunday.

The chief, John F. Timoney, approved the policy last week, before a Miami-Dade police officer was killed on Thursday in a shootout with a man wielding an assault rifle.

“This is something we do not do with any relish,” Chief Timoney said. “We do this reluctantly.”

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The officers who choose to carry these weapons (AR-15), would have to undergo a 2 day training and since the money for the department to purchase these newly authorized weapons, if a police officer wants to have one immediately, the officer would have to purchase the weapon themselves.

A police spokesman was talking about gun control on TV last week during coverage of the killing of an officer in Miami, now they want to arm themselves with high power weapons.

I understand their concerns with the recent events but personally I don't want to see routine traffic stops turn into a scene from battlefield, with AR-15s poised on irratic drivers.

That is what the killer was pulled over for before he shot the 4 officers.

It gives the appearance of a police state IMO.

www.nytimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 2007/9/17 by JacKatMtn]

It doesn't give, it is. More preparation for martial law, normalizing police armed with assault rifles... the biggest problem is that most of the soldiers coming back from Iraq are hired as police... then you give them an assault rifle and they think they're back in Iraq with threats everywhere... which is very bad.

reply to post by Vitchilo


I doubt that most returning military are becoming police officers, the problem is not veterans becoming ofiicers, the problem is perception of the public.

The ability for officers to have these assault weapons in their vehicle would not have prevented the killing in Miami, unless it was SOP for the officers to wield the assault weapon when they pulled over a vehicle driving erratically.

I don't think it will become an accepted practice for citizens who get pulled over for speeding, to have to stare down the business end of an AR-15.