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Anyone who has served in the enlisted ranks in the military ground forces knows that almost any military-specific vehicle takes an incredible amount of maintenance. My old Army MOS in the 1970s was 62B, so I turned a fair number of wrenches on dozens of models of Uncle Sam's treasure trove of camo painted vehicles that moved on wheels and tracks.
PD MRAPs are one of the dumbest things I have ever seen. Such over-kill for what the mission of the local PD requires 99.999 percent of the time, and is a big turn off to the local population.
PD / local LEO with AR-15? OK, but leave them in the trunk of the police cruiser unless they are really needed, which should be an extremely rare event. No local PD should be walking foot patrol in their regular neighborhood with an AR-15 on their back, unless there is some huge emergency eqivalent to martial law.
Don't give any regular PD officers M-16 full auto combat rifles. Anybody who has served in the military and fired M16 full auto on a firing range knows that accuracy compared to single shot firing goes out the window. Not a good thing in a typical local LEO situation.
I already know how many are located in which states. The "funny" thing? I quote that because it's you and me who are paying...is that those MRAP's may be "free", but they don't come with parts or mechanics, and where does Barney Fife take his MRAP for service when it breaks? They are ungodly expensive, and most departments will rue the day they ever accepted that "hand-out".
don't you know it. if the cops went to the taxpayers 1st before getting them, then most police departments would not have any armored vehicles at all, and that would be a good thing.
when police departments start to look like the military or already are as trained and equipped like the military, then it is time to get rid of that police department completely.
The vast majority of LE does have a long arm or two in the car. If you are asking why they don't walk around and respond to calls with them dangling from a three point sling, it is because Americans don't want that from their police.
True story. But I believe the greatest percentage of all LEAs have their cops availing of long guns. The AR being top choice. Lol, one deputy I know tried to get his agency to let him carry his personal AK as a cruiser rifle. Ummmm, they wouldn't go for it. Said that a deputy with an AK just doesn't fit departmental image. The AK being so ubiquitous with terrorists and all.
I already know how many are located in which states. The "funny" thing? I quote that because it's you and me who are paying...is that those MRAP's may be "free", but they don't come with parts or mechanics, and where does Barney Fife take his MRAP for service when it breaks? They are ungodly expensive, and most departments will rue the day they ever accepted that "hand-out".
When they break, they will throw it out and get another one to replace it.
Throw it out...throw it out where? Can I buy it? Uncle Sugar doesn't want it back...
Throw it where?
When you get surplus government equipment you sign a contract in which you agree to inventory and hold all property receive by the gov't until you turn it back in, give it to another agency, or have permission to get rid of it. If Uncle Sugar doesn't want it back, they will tell you how to dispose of it. You then fill out the appropriate paperwork to get rid of the old one and get a new one.
When you get surplus government equipment you sign a contract in which you agree to inventory and hold all property receive by the gov't until you turn it back in, give it to another agency, or have permission to get rid of it. If Uncle Sugar doesn't want it back, they will tell you how to dispose of it. You then fill out the appropriate paperwork to get rid of the old one and get a new one.
I believe maintaining the MRAP was part of the deal. Could be wrong, though.
I believe maintaining the MRAP was part of the deal. Could be wrong, though.
I have heard one chief and one sheriff say they are under no obligation to do so, but I do not have any first hand knowledge on the subject of maintenance.
The internet is full of discussions about the most effective handgun rounds etc. I've also seen discussions in the military they are issued handgun's just as emergency weapons just in case the rifle fails or they need the handgun to get them to their rifle. So here's the question. If it can be admitted that the rifle is the superior weapon and that a handgun is questionable for effective law enforcement use, why don't most police forces just issue rifles and handguns. Handguns for convenience carry, but rifles when they are prepared and going into a known potential threat situation. Police going into a hostile situation with just a handgun looks dumb. Give them at least a shotgun or a serious rifle.
Stop and think about it, it's much easier for a LEO, or anyone else, to always have a handgun on their side, rather that packing around a rifle. Fact is most patrol vehicles are equipped with either a rifle or a shotgun, where an individual officer is not. Budget problems also have something to do with the equipment a police officer is issued. A LEO is armed to protect himself, not for the purpose of protecting the general public.
Stop and think about it, it's much easier for a LEO, or anyone else, to always have a handgun on their side, rather that packing around a rifle. Fact is most patrol vehicles are equipped with either a rifle or a shotgun, where an individual officer is not. Budget problems also have something to do with the equipment a police officer is issued. A LEO is armed to protect himself, not for the purpose of protecting the general public.
Well, yes, and no. Yes, they are not obligated to protect the public, but also consider that someone who is shooting it out with a cop probably wouldn't hesitate to shot you and drive off in your car after the shootout, should they win potentially.
Personally, if I was a police officer, I would want the baddest gear I could get. The average life expectancy of a police officer is 20 years shorter than yours or mine. I'd like to be an exception to that fact, were I in LE, and better gear is part of the equation.
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