Local News in Brief : New LAPD Officers to Be Given Berettas
Los Angeles police commissioners Tuesday approved the semiautomatic 9-millimeter Beretta pistol as the primary department weapon and authorized issuing it to officer recruits to give them a better chance against heavily armed criminals.
Commissioner Robert Talcott called Police Chief Daryl F. Gates’ request to begin furnishing the 16-shot Beretta to new officers “a response in a small way to try to meet the challenges on the street that officers face on a daily basis.”
The approval followed a two-year pilot program in which officers were allowed to purchase and use Beretta model 92F 9-millimeter pistols, rather than the six-shot, .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolvers they were issued by the department.
More than 4,600 of the department’s 7,900 sworn officers reportedly switched during the program.
Gates said the Beretta is giving officers “a sense of confidence they did not have with a six-shooter.”
Cmdr. Larry Fetters of the commission staff said other veteran officers may use the 9-millimeter weapon, but they must buy their own.
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