Panel OKs More Firepower for LAPD Officers

By MATT LAIT

March 19, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Seeking to even the odds against heavily armed criminals, the Los Angeles Police Commission agreed Tuesday to give officers the option of replacing their standard 9-millimeter service weapons with more powerful .45-caliber handguns.

The commission also voted unanimously to put more than 120 high-powered rifles in the squad cars of patrol supervisors, as well as allow the use of more powerful “slug” ammunition for shotguns.

“We’ve been outgunned on the streets of Los Angeles for many years,” said David Hepburn, president of the Police Protective League, which represents about 9,000 LAPD officers. “Now we’ve been given a fighting chance.”

The increased weaponry comes in the wake of last month’s bloody gun battle in North Hollywood with two brazen bank robbers armed with automatic rifles and outfitted with bulletproof vests. Officers at the scene were horrified when they saw their bullets bounce off the body armor of the gunmen.

Although that incident dramatized the need to better equip officers, commissioners said, the plan has been under review for many months and was not a “knee-jerk” reaction.

“This is not an arms race,” said commission President Raymond C. Fisher. “There was a substantial body of knowledge and research that’s gone into testing different kinds of weapons across the country. There is a good case to be made for greater stopping power.”

LAPD Deputy Chief John White, who presented the plan to the commission, said the goal is to “allow our officers to put a guy down on the first hit. We’re not trying to tear people apart or kill people. We’re trying to reduce the number of rounds we fire.”

Law enforcement experts said the .45-caliber handguns have more “stopping power” than the department’s standard 9-millimeter weapons, meaning the blow from the bigger gun is more likely to cause a serious wound and knock a criminal to the ground.

“The .45-caliber has awesome power,” said Hubert Williams, president of the Washington-based Police Foundation. “If you get hit in the hand, it can knock you down.”

“It makes an ugly wound,” added Rialto Police Capt. Timm Browne, spokesman for the California Peace Officers Assn.

Some gun experts, however, said some officers may sacrifice accuracy because the heavier .45-caliber handgun tends to be more difficult to control. Additionally, smaller officers may have difficulty with the larger grip of the gun, even though they come in a variety of sizes, they said.

“It has a powerful kick,” Williams said. “You need to have a lot of training to use it.”

Ramona Ripston, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said she was concerned that the LAPD was moving too swiftly on the matter and letting emotions guide policy.

“Of course we are concerned about police officers’ lives, but how much firepower do they need?” she asked. “I don’t want innocent bystanders getting injured because of this.”

LAPD officials said every officer who wants to carry the weapon will need to undergo special training. Furthermore, the officers must purchase their own weapon, which could cost up to $1,000.

In a survey of other departments statewide, LAPD officials identified 67 agencies that use .45-caliber weapons. The weapon is also used by the military. Before Tuesday’s action, only officers with the department’s SWAT unit and Special Investigations Section were permitted to use the weapon.

The department upgraded from six-shot, .38-caliber revolvers to 15-shot, 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistols as standard issue in 1986. Officers who prefer revolvers, however, are allowed to carry the old-style weapons.

Compared with the 9-millimeter’s ammunition, the “Hydra Shock” hollow-point bullet from a .45-caliber gun is larger and slower and packs a more powerful punch. The 9-millimeter, on the other hand, is a swifter bullet that often rips clean through a suspect.

Police officials said there have been occasions when a criminal was struck by a 9-millimeter bullet but not “incapacitated.”

Police said that the .45-caliber bullet may not pierce body armor but that the impact could knock a criminal off his feet.

Although the .45 will be available on a wide-scale basis, the commissioners said the distribution of the AR-15 type assault rifles will be much more limited. Under the approved plan, six rifles will be issued to each of the 18 patrol divisions, and four to each of the four traffic divisions.

White said the rifles are far more accurate than pistols, and have a range of up to 1,000 yards. The round used in the rifle will be “a high velocity, high impact that will knock a person down,” he added.

Initially, 550 police supervisors will be trained to use the rifles. The cost of the weapons and the training is about $174,000.

Another part of the weapons upgrade was permitting the use of slugs for the officers’ 12-gauge shotguns. Instead of BB-sized pellets, the slug is a single, large lead ball that weighs several ounces.

“When somebody gets hit by this, they’ll know it,” White said. “It would be like having a bowling ball dropped on you from several floors up.”

Some law enforcement officials said it would be better to strengthen gun control laws than increase the firepower of police.

“This type of escalation doesn’t bode well for a democratic society,” said Williams, director of the Police Foundation. “Battlefield weapons have no place in our society. . . . But as the criminal element ratchets up its power, you can expect the police to respond in kind.”

Rank-and-file officers said they support the commission’s action.

“Beautiful. That’s long overdue,” LAPD patrol Officer Stephen Meagher said when told of the commission’s move.

Meagher, based in Venice, said the decision should prove a major boost for morale for the city’s officers.

“It’ll give us more confidence, and we’ll sustain fewer injuries from wounded suspects because they’ll be on the ground,” he said. “We need the stopping power. Police officers are hesitant to use their guns, but when we do shoot people, we need to put them down.”

Times staff writer Eric Lichtblau contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

LAPD Handguns (Southland Edition, A1)

9-millimeter bullet

.45-millimeter bullet

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CURRENT WEAPON

* 9-millimeter semiautomatic

* Nine to 15 rounds

* Most effective and accurate at fairly short range. Not always powerful enough to stop a wounded suspect from continuing to resist.

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NEW WEAPON