The Nation - News from Feb. 11, 1988

Police officers in the District of Columbia will be issued 9-millimeter semi-automatic weapons and resume high profile anti-drug patrols to combat the growth of drugs and violence in the nation’s capital, authorities said. Police Chief Maurice Turner said that in addition to the weapons provided to individual officers, squad cars will be outfitted with shotguns. The increased firepower is in response to violence associated with drugs. A record 44 people had been killed in the district this year, including 34 murders police attributed to the drug world. Turner said police this weekend will resume Operation Clean Sweep and will send large numbers of officers to make mass arrests at open-air drug markets.