The Police Carbine

Bad guys have used rifle fire effectively against law enforcement. From Platt and Mattix in the infamous Miami F.B.I. shootout of twenty years ago, to the North Hollywood bank robbery shootout with suspects Phillips and Matasareanu against the L.A.P.D. ten years ago, to an untold number of shootings before and since, suspects have delivered devastating fire against law enforcement with rifles. In the past, officers were forced to engage in gun battles against these suspects while armed only with pistols or shotguns. However, over the last few years this has changed with the work of such firearms instructors such as: Clint Smith, Jeff Chudwin, the NRA Law Enforcement Activities Division and many more across this country who have brought the concept of the patrol rifle and effective carbine training to law enforcement. Why rifles, what rifles, what kind of ammunition, how much training? Those are the questions we will delve into and attempt to answer.

Why the Rifle

Rifles offer law enforcement:

• Increased accuracy based on the longer sight radius and inherent design
• Increased penetration against suspects behind cover & wearing body armor
• Increased ballistic performance on human beings
• Increased ability to hit at a distance
• Greater intimidation value
• Greater magazine capacity

Now, we never want to get into an arms race with criminal suspects attempting to "out-gun" suspects armed with AK-47s, spraying bullets all over a neighborhood. It is the accuracy of rifle fire and the improved ballistic performance against human beings that are the best arguments for police carbines. If you know you are likely to be involved in a shooting, get a long gun.

What Type of Rifle

In law enforcement, only centerfire rifles of .223 (5.56 NATO) or above should be considered. I have shot or witnessed numerous pistol caliber carbines fail on the range or experience other problems because they were not designed to withstand the rigors of hard use. Similarly, an adjoining city agency has opted to put pump action carbines on the street, citing a non-aggressive image and ease of training. Unfortunately, their firearms trainers could not complete a serious training and qualification program using the rifle. Other agencies have opted for overly expensive weapons systems that are out of reach for most agencies. For this reason I believe the semi-auto M-16, AR-15 rifle to be the carbine of choice for law enforcement. It offers all of the above benefits with little perceived recoil to small stature male or female officers. The design is ruggedly reliable with easily obtainable magazines, spare parts and a large assortment of accessories. Many agencies have obtained surplus U.S. military M-16A1 rifles. After firing many of these thirty-year-old rifles, I can attest that except for needing larger aperture rear sights, they are still serviceable.

Although there is the tendency of some officers and firearms instructors to add too many aftermarket parts and doohickeys to the rifle, there are a couple of add-ons that make sense. First of all is a good sling system. The standard U.S. military type sling is not sufficient for the police carbine. Tactical slings are not necessary and can sometimes get in the way of the patrol rifle. The Israeli military has a simple sling system that allows a more versatile carry of the carbine for extended periods of time, and yet can be quickly brought on target. Next is a white light system. Although these range in price and sophistication, a simple high performance light firmly affixed to the carbine is enough to allow an officer to locate and identify potential threats in low and subdued lighting.

Ammunition

Ballistics tests against a myriad of building and car materials have dispelled the myth that 5.56 rifles over-penetrate. Indeed, most times .40 caliber handguns exceed the penetration of .223 carbines. That said, there is a good argument for having two types of ammunition available for the police carbine. Ammunition designed to perform well against a human being sometimes will not penetrate through cover such as automobiles, wall board, etc. For this reason some agencies issue thirty-round magazines loaded with rounds designed to be effective against people, and then issue specially marked or twenty-round magazines that are loaded with rounds more effective against cover. Spare ammunition can be affixed to the butt stock or deployed in bags slung over the shoulder or in a similar manner.

Training

Not falling into the "equip-mentality" that I warned against in a previous column, we must understand that the trained officer fielding a carbine is what is effective. Simply putting the rifles on the street with little or no training is dangerous and fraught with liability. An agency absolutely must properly train its personnel in the use of the carbine. The Industry standard is now a 24 to 40-hour basic training program with each officer firing1,000 to 1,500 rounds. Everything from the care and feeding of the carbine to deployment and long gun retention must be covered. Reduction of training time due to budgetary constraints simply denies vital training to officers, and comes at a much higher liability risk. It is truly amazing to see how competent an officer can become in a short period of time with quality high intensity carbine training.

The Advantage of Police Carbines

According to the 2004 F.B.I. Officer Killed Summaries of the 545 officers killed with firearms in the ten year period from 1995 to 2004, rifles were used against law enforcement in 114 incidents. The largest percentage of police officers killed by rifles were in ambush situations (31 of the 114 officers killed). The 7.62 X 39mm (AK-47 and SKS) was the caliber most frequently used to kill American police. Whether from the influence of TV or violent movies, today's suspects know the effectiveness of rifles, and with Soviet bloc rifles readily available, the threat against police officers is very real.

As I write this, two incidents are in my mind that show the violent and deadly nature of today's criminals. In one, a despicable suspect inflicted death and destruction on innocent young Amish girls attending school. In the other reported on the news less than an hour ago, one female Alabama officer was killed from ambush, and a male officer wounded. It is when officers face the worse of the criminal element that police carbines show their worth. That combination of a valiant well trained officer armed with a rifle capable of delivering accurate, effective gunfire on target to win the day is the goal of modern police carbine programs. In the North Hollywood shootout that I mentioned at the start of this column, it was the well trained members of the L.A.P.D. SWAT team that used effective rifle fire to stop rampaging bank robber Emil Matasareanu. When the best are armed with the best, community safety and officer survival are enhanced, and that is the goal of tactical survival!