A New Option for LAPD Officers: Semi-Automatics

Los Angeles police officers, complaining that they are becoming outgunned by well-armed criminals, won permission Tuesday to carry semi-automatic pistols--weapons with more than double the firepower of revolvers now used.

In what was designated as a two-year “pilot program,” the Police Commission decided that officers who no longer want to carry department-issued .38-caliber revolvers will be allowed to buy the newly sanctioned 9-millimeter guns.

Those opting to use the semi-automatics will receive 16 hours of training at the Police Academy firing range, and will then have to prove their proficiency at the range each month for six months.

Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said training is to begin “as soon as possible,” and newly equipped officers may be on the streets by the end of June.

Unanimous Decision

Gates, along with about 30 officers who packed the commission’s chambers, applauded the board’s unanimous decision.

The 9-millimeter pistols--manufactured by Beretta and Smith & Wesson--are capable of carrying 16 and 15 bullets, respectively. The venerable Smith & Wesson revolvers presently used by Los Angeles officers hold only six shots. The bullets of all three weapons are comparable in size, although the 9-millimeter rounds to be used are less likely to go through walls, Gates said.

“It’s extremely important that our officers have complete confidence in their ability to return fire and to be at least on par with criminals,” said acting commission President Barbara L. Schlei.

Schlei, nonetheless, expressed concern that having weapons loaded with more bullets might lead some officers to fire more often. However, Gates assured her that officers using semi-automatics will continue to be trained using “one-shot accuracy.” He speculated that there may be fewer shooting incidents because many officers will feel more secure with the new guns and, consequently, less likely to draw them.

Will Monitor Performance

Department officials intend to monitor performance of the new weapons for the next two years. Afterward, they may recommend that the City Council purchase semi-automatics, holsters and ammunition for all 7,000 Los Angeles police officers at an estimated cost of $2.73 million.

Gates said that if a mandatory, department-wide switch to semi-automatics were approved, he would recommend reimbursement for those officers who purchased the guns on their own.

One officer who said he felt it would be money well-spent was Officer Archie Nagao. He was shot in the neck Dec. 19, 1984, and his partner, Officer Duane Johnson, 27, was slain when they responded to a silent alarm at a Chinatown jewelery store, triggering a furious gun battle that left two robbers dead and a shopkeeper wounded.

“My partner gave his life for what he believed in; and I almost gave mine too. . .,” Nagao, 30, told the commissioners. “I wouldn’t mind paying the extra money.”

Nor, apparently, would a large number of Los Angeles police officers. A Los Angeles Police Protective League survey conducted in April to gauge interest in the 9-millimeter pistols attracted more than 2,600 signatures in two weeks. “We’ve made many technological advances in police work over the years . . . but one item that has lagged behind for decades is the officers’ .38-caliber revolver,” George Aliano, the league’s president, told the commission Tuesday. “Officers have known for a long time that they have been at a disadvantage when it came to their sidearm.”

The only opposition expressed at Tuesday’s meeting came from American Civil Liberties Union attorney Catherine Leslie, who expressed concern that criminals might try to match the department’s upgraded firepower.

Gates scoffed at her speculation, insisting that “the escalation has already occurred. We’re just trying to keep up with it a little bit.”

Officers Out-gunned

Among other incidents, the chief has cited the October, 1985, slaying of off-duty Det. Thomas C. Williams as evidence that his officers are outgunned. A gunman shot Williams with an automatic weapon as the detective picked up his 6-year-old son from a day-care center in Canoga Park.

Gates said that he decided to endorse a possible switch to semi-automatics after last month’s street shoot-out in Miami between the FBI and two heavily armed suspects. The suspects, armed with an automatic weapon, were killed along with two FBI agents who returned fire with revolvers. Five other agents were wounded.

“We don’t need a Miami incident here,” the chief said, adding that he personally plans to purchase one of the new semi-automatics.

Such a pistol is armed by sliding a pre-loaded “clip” of bullets into the handle. Each time the trigger is squeezed, a bullet is fired and the gun’s internal workings automatically force another round into the firing chamber until the clip is expended. Officers can carry several pre-loaded clips.

With a revolver, bullets are loaded individually in a chambered cylinder which revolves each time the gun’s trigger is depressed.

Despite the fact that it is less easy to load and packs fewer bullets, the revolver is still favored by most law enforcement agencies. Its simple design, many experts believe, make it less likely to misfire.

That was among the primary reasons that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department decided to stick with revolvers. It also is the reason that former Los Angeles Police Chief Ed Davis has said he opposes semi-automatics.

“If they go to automatics, they’ll pay the price of accidental discharges,” Davis has said.