The State - News from Sept. 27, 1987
Police officers in San Jose are trading in their basic six-shot .38-caliber and .357 cartridge revolvers for fast-loading, eight-shot 9mm semiautomatic pistols to better meet the threat of drug criminals armed with combat rifles. In announcing the change for San Jose’s 1,000 officers, Police Chief Joseph McNamara said that an assault rifle, capable of firing 30 shots in five seconds, is found in about one third of the drug-sale residences hit by investigators. Police departments in Los Angeles and Sacramento also have increased their fire power by switching to automatic pistols.
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