[Ed. note: The Need for the Patrol Rifle is part three of a series on Tactical Patrol. The prior articles are Tactical Patrol Mindset and Patrol Response to Critical Incidents.]
The use of a patrol rifle is not a new concept. In fact, when you think about the “old west” the image of a lawman with a trusty Winchester lever-action is the standard. The 20th century witnessed the creation of some of the most deadly criminals to ever prowl our country. Names like Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, and Al Capone. This was the era of the “Tommy” gun, even BAR’s, and of course shotguns. Those heavier weapons ended the careers of many criminals.
After WWII times were good, America was growing, the Baby-Boom generation was in full swing. Then the 1960’s came. The Civil Rights struggle, the progressively unpopular Vietnam War, and the emergence of radicals saw America suffer home-grown terror from groups like the KKK, the Black Panthers, and the Symbionese Liberation Army.
During this time America had its first, real taste of an active shooter when a murderer mounted the bell tower at the University of Texas in Austin and shot multiple victims before two brave patrolmen and an armed citizen raced up the tower and ended his reign of terror. The racial, political, and social violence led police departments to look for a way to counter this new era of deadly threat.
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I read a story last week about an East Dublin, Georgia police officer who shot and killed a man on a traffic stop. Without even touching the circumstances of the shooting, there was a serious training issue in the 2010 case. The officer had not been through state-mandated use of force training in the prior year, and because of that did not have the legal power of arrest under Georgia law.
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