Wednesday, March 26, 2008 9:02 PM CDT
Mattoon Police Department beefs up firepower with purchase of 30-round, semi-automatic .223 cal AR-15 rifles
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
MATTOON — Police Chief Dave Griffith smiled as he joked how he didn’t want to hear how one of his officers might run out of ammunition using the police department’s latest weapon.
Loaded with a 30-round magazine, a semi-automatic .223 cal. AR-15 rifle is designed for a full-fledged law-enforcement emergency. Thirty pulls of the trigger can lay down an intimidating volley of high-velocity rounds. Officers have backup clips as well, including one attached to the loaded magazine for quicker reloading.
Each squad car has one of the military-style weapons mounted alongside shotguns, the standard long arms used by Mattoon Police Department for years. The rifles were acquired last year through the Omega Investigation funds and through a law enforcement weapons acquisition program in association with the U.S. Department of Defense — all amounting to no direct charge to Mattoon taxpayers and a potential savings of $12,000 to $20,000 for the city.
“We now have shotguns and the AR-15s in the squad cars. These are two different weapons with different uses,” said Griffith, who explained the purchases were completed by former Mattoon Police Chief Larry Metzelaars. “You might have a situation where you want to avoid using buckshot and be able to fire off a rifle round. That might come with a hostage situation or someone barricaded inside somewhere. With a long distance involved, you might have a situation where the only useful weapon is a rifle.”
And in recent years, law officers across the country have run into people armed with paramilitary rifles. Associated Press recently quoted Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms statistics showing the number of AK-47 rifles linked to criminal incidents of confiscations increased from 1,140 in 1993 to 8,547 nationwide in 2007. The use of these weapons by determined criminals can leave officers outgunned when all they have is a shotgun and handgun.
“The potential is there for us to face it here, too. Criminals do have access to them and do use them,” Griffith said. “We might be called for backup for a state trooper on the interstate and if we’re not prepared as best we can then we’re doing a disservice to the public.”
So in many ways, the weapons can be considered an insurance policy when a violent crime occurs in Mattoon.
And anyone who thinks those kind of violent crimes will never happen here, Griffith notes what happened in Douglas County last summer. A crime spree there left one Douglas County sheriff’s deputy fatally wounded, a state trooper under fire during a high-speed interstate chase and then several bank employees held hostage for hours during an armed standoff.
But Griffith agreed it has been a long time since an officer fired a gun against a suspect in Mattoon. Still, he believes the department is trained and ready when the new weapons are needed.
“All our officers have completed the certification training and we have the weapons added to our use of force policy and procedure manual. Any officer violating the use of force policy can face discipline if there is no justification for the rifle’s use,” Griffith said.
In addition, there is another factor helping prepare Mattoon police for the new military-style firearms. There are 11 of 41 MPD officers with military experience.
“The military veterans we’ve hired always bring something to the table on tactics and weapons. This helps the officers learn from each other,” Griffith said.
So far, the weapons have kept a low profile with the public, remaining stored in stocks between the front seat beside the shotguns. These weapons are stored with electronic locks in the cars to prevent theft.
“People don’t even notice them. That is good,” Griffith said. But he hopes criminals do take notice.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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Ike Witt wrote on Mar 26, 2008 10:09 PM:
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