hahaha, same here, my new sig
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A DPMS LEO AR? Yes. My agency has had a couple of select fire DPMS guns for several years. They kinda-sorta work. Sometimes.
Just because individuals are assigned to an agencies Firearms Training Unit, doesn't mean they are knowledgeable about firearms.
They may be recreational shooters, who's knowledge base comes from reading Guns and Masturbation magazine. They may be connected within the agency, but know nothing about firearms other than what they may have learned from annual qualifications. There is more than a little politics involved in assigning personnel to units within an agency.
When my agency first instituted a Patrol Rifle program, we were at about 1,150 officers. The first 35 AR's we bought were Bushmasters. The overriding decision to go with this gun was that it included a free hard plastic case! Oh yea, the cases lasted about 2 months of officers throwing their gear bags on top of the gun case when both were in the trunk. Solution was to buy Uncle Mikes soft cases, as they're cheap. Did you know that Uncle Mikes glues the zippers onto the fabric of their gun cases? Care to guess how many times they've had to be replaced since 2005? Not so cheap any more...
Once a decision is made to buy into a particular piece of equipment, it's often difficult to change it. If you're going to spend 5-7 figures worth of an agencies funds, only to say "OOPS" we made a bad choice and would like a do-over, many will rather not admit that. Not very career enhancing. That individuals regularly have to go into harms way using the equipment choices made by these individuals is to me the ultimate irony.
Also keep in mind that it is very possible to ascend within the ranks of an agency and have little to no actual personal experience in dealing with violent individuals or have been involved in a critical incident.
After 19+ years of dealing with this environment, I have permanent scars on my forehead from banging it on various walls.
I have seen first hand how the decisions of bean counters can impact officer safety. The agency I work for does not issue raidos to officers who go into the field. This means that we must make our field visits with no easy means of contact other LEO's. Despite having been in numerous sitautions that required additional support from the local cops our agency still has not purchased radios. So it is no suprise to me that other agencies would cheap out on patrol rifles. In fact I am often shocked to see how little most Police officers actually know about firearms in general. The hiring practices of most agencies are vastly different compared to what they were 20 or 30 years ago. It's much more politically correct, and they don't always hire the "best" candidate. These less than adept officers usually find their way into administration very quickly, and with little if any real field experience. Thus you have bean counters who don't know of any difference between Colt, and DPMS other than price.
Has there ever been a study done to say like - In the past 10 years 15 officers have been killed or wounded because thier "brand" rifle didnt fire? maybe on a state level or even a national level?
The dept. I work for runs DPMS.
Why? They were low bid. But really we haven’t had any trouble with them. If I had a choice I would take my personal rifle (Spikes) over my duty rifle. Mainly due to having a higher round count and more time behind the rifle.
No don't worry, I'm not going to ask! I'll be purchasing my own this summer. If they're in stock....... I have to say. While I'm aware my RRA isn't a high tier fighting rifle. I have been very pleased with it's performance. I went to the range just today in fact. My round count is in the lower 4000 now, so I'm watching out for the breakage prone areas a bit more.