Police take case for more firepower to City Council
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
BARNETT WRIGHT
News staff writer
Birmingham police officers were at City Hall Tuesday to make a case for taking high-powered rifles on patrol. They got a chance to address the City Council, but not Mayor Bernard Kincaid.
The mayor, who must approve any change in weapons policy and recommend it to the council, was away on a vacation that had been planned months ago, said Al Herbert, chief of staff.
Sgt. Allen Treadaway, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he's been waiting since July to hear from Kincaid on a policy allowing officers to have AR-15s or similar semiautomatic rifles, a step already taken by some departments in the area and across the nation.
"We've been very patient," Treadaway said. "I could no longer wait in good conscience and sit on this issue. It's been reviewed for many months."
Treadaway, joined by two dozen officers, said Birmingham police were placing their lives on the line without adequate equipment. He urged the council to approve a policy that would give the department increased firepower.
Discussion of the weapons increased in June after officers Harley Chisholm, Rob Bennett and Carlos Owen - all armed with handguns - were shot to death with a semiautomatic, high-powered rifle. They were attempting to serve a warrant.
A rifle policy was drafted in July that would allow officers to carry a Colt AR-15 M-4 Carbine, a Bushmaster XM15 A-2 Carbine or a Ruger Mini14 Ranch Rifle. Each officer who chose to carry a rifle would first have to complete a training and qualification program.
Treadaway said the officers would be allowed to purchase the weapons without any cost to the city and keep rifles inside cases in patrol car trunks until a dangerous situation arose. The mayor is studying the request "and his response will be coming very soon," Herbert told the officers.
Kincaid said in an interview Friday he has asked the Alabama League of Municipalities to research the policies of similar-sized cities and give him a report.
"It's an issue I don't take lightly," Kincaid said last week. "I'm trying to arrive at the right decision."
Council members said they supported the officers, but the mayor would have to bring the item to the council.
"I don't want to drag the council in it," said Roderick Royal, a former police officer. "I'd rather leave it where it is, with the person who supervises all the departments. The chief of police has approved a policy that she believes is appropriate for the department. She has forwarded the policy to the mayor of this city."
Birmingham Police Chief Annetta Nunn said she was in the middle of a delicate situation.
"My decision to approve the policy was for the protection of the general public as well as my officers," she said. "Any decision I make can have political or perception ramifications for the mayor, and that concerns me just as Sergeant Treadaway is concerned about the perception of his membership."
Wesley Robinson, an officer in the West Precinct, said he's been called to scenes where criminals had better weapons.
"We are the first responders to the crime and we hear rapid gunfire from people who go out and buy these SKS rifles and we don't have anything to combat that," he said. "It's our lives on the line. Our families are worried about us and we're worried about other officers and nobody care about us."
Currently, Birmingham's officers are issued double-action semiautomatic 9 mm Beretta pistols. They are allowed to a carry their own semiautomatic handguns if they are properly trained in their use.
E-mail: bwright@bhamnews.com
