Arming cops better

The LAPD started their SWAT program in 1965 and only those members had access to weapons such as the M-16. The patrol officer just has a .38 revolver or in the 80's a 9mm handgun. The only heavy firepower they had was the 12 gauge shotgun mounted in their patrol cars.

Sine the North Hollywood shootout LA cops carry either a Beretta 9mm, a S&W .40 or a Glock .45acp. I read but haven't seen personally that some cops carry a M-16 or an AR-15 mounted in their trunk.

It is a sad commentary on our society that police have carry military weapons because the bad guys carry the too!

EDIT: I found this in the WIkipedia:

Service weapons
Before 1988, LAPD officers were armed with the Smith & Wesson Model 15, also known as the .38 "Combat Masterpiece". This was specifically designed at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department. It was a Smith and Wesson Military and Police .38 Caliber revolver with non-snag, high profile adjustable sights or the Model 36 "Chief's Special". In the car, locked to a steel bar, was an Ithaca Model 37, 12-gauge shotgun, loaded with "00" (double aught) buckshot, nine pellets to the cartridge. The shotgun was made specifically for the Los Angeles Police Department, and was called the "L.A.P.D. Special". The shotgun was based on the Ithaca Model 37 "Deerslayer", which was a weapon designed to hunt large game with rifled slugs. As a consequence of being designed for use with slugs, it had rifle sights, unlike most shotguns. The "L.A.P.D. Special" had a dull parkerized military finish instead of the more usual high gloss blue finish. The barrel was 18 and a half inches long, as opposed to the twenty inches of the civilian version. The advantages of the Ithaca Model 37 Shotgun over the Winchester and Remington models were that the Ithaca weighed a pound less, and could be used with equal ease by right or left-handed shooters due to the unique bottom ejection used. In response to increasing firepower carried by criminals, including fully automatic weapons and assault rifles, LAPD patrol officers were issued Beretta 92FS. Later, officers were able to carry the Smith & Wesson Model 5906, a semi-automatic 9mm pistol, in addition to a few other approved weapons. In response to the North Hollywood shootout of 1997, LAPD officers had the option of carrying the Smith & Wesson Model 4506 and 4566 service pistols. Until 2002, LAPD officers standard issue pistol was the Beretta 92F. However, when William Bratton was appointed Chief of the LAPD, he allowed his officers to carry the Glock pistol, a weapon which the two previous departments he was chief at (the New York City Police Department and the Boston Police Department) carried. New officers graduating from the LAPD academy are now issued the Glock 22 but can qualify in a variety of firearms. Officers now have the choice of carrying
Beretta:
92F, 92FS, 92FS-Stainless Steel, 8045 (4” barrel)
Smith & Wesson:
459, 5904, 5903, 659, 5906, 645, 4506, 4566, 4567, 5903 TSW, 5906 TSW, 4569 TSW, and 4566 TSW.
Glock:
9mm: Model 34, Model 17, Model 19
.40 caliber: Model 35, Model 22, Model 23
.45 caliber: Model 21
The LAPD SWAT team decided to go with the Kimber Custom TLE II in 2002, renaming it the Kimber LAPD SWAT Custom II.[79][80] Before that, LAPD SWAT carried modified Springfield or Colt M1911 pistols.[80] SWAT's primary weapons are the Heckler & Koch MP5 series submachine guns and most officers choose the fixed stock A2 model. For assistant weapons, officers carry AR-15s and CAR-15s. In the '80s and early '90s they carried Colt RO727s and RO733s. In 2000 they imported the M4A1s. The LAPD recently announced that their new shotgun would be the Benelli M4 Super 90.



I'm a hairsbreadth from riddlin' you with holes, Doctor!