More Firepower OK’d for Police Arsenal

All city police cars will now be outfitted with powerful semiautomatic rifles, the City Council decided this week after the panel expressed concerns that officers could be outgunned in a major shootout.

Prompted by fears that Tustin officers might not be equipped to handle a situation similar to the much-publicized Feb. 28 bank robbery attempt in North Hollywood, the council unanimously allocated $70,200 for the rifles, protective body armor, upgraded ammunition and officer training.

“I don’t want to go to a funeral of one of our men . . . who got killed because he didn’t have the proper weapons,” Councilman Thomas R. Saltarelli said.

The $70,200, according to a report from Acting Police Chief Steven Foster, will provide 24 .223-caliber, long-barreled semiautomatic rifles with state-of-the-art sighting systems; 24,000 rounds of ammunition for training and tactical use; 30 sets of body armor and 38 Kevlar helmets; 12-gauge slug ammunition for officers’ 12-gauge shotguns; and officer training.

In approving the purchase, council members were overriding Foster’s recommendation that just $25,000 should be spent on equipment.

“It’s not a demonstrated need,” he said of the $70,000 expenditure. “It’s an emotional response to what we watched on TV.”

Council members, however, said they wanted to provide officers with the best possible equipment.

“Given that we don’t have a SWAT team, I think we really need this,” Councilman Jeffery M. Thomas said.

Tustin police officers can contact surrounding law enforcement SWAT teams for assistance, officials said.

“But by the time SWAT arrived in L.A., eight to 10 people had already been shot,” said Councilman Jim Potts, a sergeant for the Irvine Police Department. “If you could stop the situation, this is worth every penny.”