Carona to Let Deputies Use Big-Caliber Guns

After heavy lobbying from the rank and file, Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona has lifted his department’s longtime ban on patrol deputies carrying large-caliber pistols while on duty.

The move to approve .40- and .45-caliber handguns for official use comes as law enforcement agencies across Southern California are allowing officers to carry more powerful sidearms amid concern that criminals are increasingly outgunning police.

Officers from Los Angeles to San Clemente are favoring the “knockdown” power of large-caliber ammunition, bringing to an end the dominance of the small but wieldy 9-millimeter handgun as the police pistol of choice.

Carona’s decision to allow deputies to carry an alternative to the department-issued 9-millimeters followed a survey by the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs that found 62% of deputies wanted a larger-caliber duty weapon.

“I want [deputies] to have firepower that’s consistent with the job that they do,” Carona said of his decision. “I want them to be safe out there.”

Debate among gun enthusiasts over the merits of various calibers has raged for decades. In the late 1980s, some consensus among police agencies emerged when a number of bloody shootouts with well-armed criminals persuaded police to switch from revolvers to rapid-fire, semiautomatic handguns. The most frequent choice was the 9-millimeter. But in recent years, the pistol has lost some of its popularity.

The Los Angeles Police Department, which once insisted that patrol officers carry only 9-millimeter pistols, relaxed its rules in the wake of the 1997 North Hollywood bank shootout.

Then, television footage showed the inadequacy of department-issued handguns as bullets bounced harmlessly off body armor worn by two bank robbers wielding assault rifles. Ten officers and two civilians were wounded in the gun battle. Soon after, police officials sanctioned use of .45-caliber pistols as alternative sidearms for patrol officers.

“That shootout clearly showed the problem with our officers not having proper weaponry to combat violent, well-armed criminals,” said Dennis Zine, vice president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. “The .45 will in most cases knock them down in the first shooting. It’s got a better kick.”

In Orange County, the Sheriff’s Department was the last agency to issue 9-millimeter pistols without offering a larger-caliber alternative, according to a deputies association survey of local agencies. And while seven departments continue to issue the smaller-caliber handgun, 12 others do not allow their patrol officers to carry it even as an alternative.

In Garden Grove, for example, officers are allowed to carry virtually every caliber of pistol except the 9-millimeter.

“The 9-millimeter is a speedy bullet,” Garden Grove Police Capt. Dave Abrecht said, “but the problem was whether it packed enough oomph.”

But other officers said they remain believers in the 9-millimeter, which they said makes up in speed and accuracy what it loses in power. Some said they like the small size of 9-millimeter pistols. Others preferred its high-capacity magazines, which carry 15 rounds--more than many of the larger-caliber handguns.

“It has tremendous firepower in terms of magazine capacity,” said Tustin Police Lt. Mike Shanahan, who carries a department-issued 9-millimeter pistol even though Tustin allows officers to use .40-caliber alternatives. “I have great confidence in the weapon.”