LE pistol

[adrenaline151]

What are the requirements of a pistol to be suited for law enforcement, and as a police officer, do you get a choice, or are you restricted to an issued weapon? Most officers I see carry either Glocks, Sigs, and a few HKs. My brother and I are both going to school in the fall for law enforcement and right now he has a S&W 4006 CO. State Police Pistol and I carry an XD-40. Should we adjust our carry, or are we fine? I love 1911s, but I've yet to see any police officer carrying one. We are going to be taking some courses this summer and want to get in as much shooting time as possible, but not with a weapon we may never use as a duty weapon.

[agentcox000]

We were allowed to choose anything as long as it was a Glock 21... . Our Chief likes the .45 for knockdown power, or at least that's the only explanation I could get out of him. Personally, I'd rather carry a Glock 22 or Sig 226R in .40S&W, I feel .40 is a good compromise between magazine capacity and knockdown power. Just my two cents.

[Dutch]

adrenaline151,

The requirements for a LE sidearm are varied and distinct from department to department. Some departments require officers to only carry "issued" sidearms, while others may allow privately purchsed sidearms to be carried after department certification. Departments have been known to base their decison on a particualr brand while others may simply rely on a caliber. The key point you will find is which ever firearm a officer is allow/authorized to carry it will have to be of reputable desicgn and manufacture. A few local LEO agencies provide multiple plateforms for officers to pick from, i.e Glock, Kimber, Beretta in .45 or .40s&w. Even in this dasy and age there are departments who have allowed officer to maintain revolvers with or without "grandfater clauses". Often times the same rules will apply toward "back up pieces".

This is not all inclusive nor limited in any way. Though one weapon I have never heard of an officer using for duty is a Browning Hi Power, though just as soon as I hit post some one will be able to tell me of a guys who knows someone that carried a BHP for 20years. Just the way things go.

Check the department pages to see what agencies around you carry? The military made me carry a Beretta, currently I carry a Glock, I have carried S&W revolvers and semi auto Sigmas.

Sorry not a definitive answer but something to ponder.

Dutch

[Army Chief]

I don't believe there is such a thing as a definitive answer, really, as this varies from place to place. Dutch's analysis is on point, and the further you get from a major metropolitan area, the more likely you are to see this kind of variance.

We carried S&W 639s in my day, but were authorized to carry almost anything off-duty, provided that we had qualified with it. On duty, the issued sidearm was our only option, and I believe this was at least partially a question of liability; after all, we weren't using our own cars as cruisers, either. Standardization does seem to be one of the hallmarks of both the LE and military worlds, but these days you do see more and more agencies offering a choice between one of two sanctioned models, for instance.

Preferences, caliber, economics, existing contracts, past experience, proximity to urban areas, demographics ... all of these play a role in sidearm selection, and every department seems to have a slightly different recipe for mixing these ingredients. More often than not, however, you will be told what to carry these days.

AC

[Eric]

Great responses to this question already. But it truly is dependant on the specific agency.

Some departments conduct extensive testing during the selection process. This is typically done by the range staff. It may include function testing with a high volume of duty and practice ammo, as well as accuracy testing. Ergonomics and fit, to include smaller hand fitting may come into play. Factory support and armorer certificatrion may be part of the package as well. Some agencies may offer several models to pick from, while others might have a one-size-fits-all plan.

Some agencies might simply piggyback another local agencies testing. Others migh have a Chief that dictates what to carry, simply becasue it's something he likes. Some agencies have a list of approved choices.

[tac40]

Dutch, Eric and Army Chief are right on. Having sat on a firearms board to select a new department pistol was an interesting view on bureaucracy and felt like a role in shakespeare play-Macbeth maybe.

The selection process showed bureacratic basis, cost factors, and other elements which I don't care to say. All in all, when asked which pistol, the majority spoke but the selection was already made, so why ask then?

Look at the make up of your firearms unit, shooters/street cops vs bureacrats. If you can add your voice to any selection process, I can only encourage you to say something, likes/dislikes. Good luck.