Law enforcement technologyMississippi wildlife officers want bigger guns
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks says it needs bigger guns; the agency hopes to purchase 250 high-powered AR-15 assault rifles to boost its crime fighting power and is currently accepting bids
The AR-15, a versatile and highly configurable weapon // Source: tactical-life.com
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks says it needs bigger guns.
The agency hopes to purchase 250 high-powered AR-15 assault rifles to boost its crime fighting power and is currently accepting bids.
The AR-15 is the civilian version of the U.S. military’s M-16 combat rifle and is currently used by the Mississippi Highway patrol.
Jim Walker, a spokesman for Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, said criminals are outgunning wildlife officers and the more powerful weapons would be a major asset to their mission. Walker added that the agency’s officers are often the first responders on scene when an incident occurs in Mississippi’s rural areas and therefore need to be well armed.
In an ad in a statewide newspaper, the wildlife agency noted that it sought four magazines per gun, night sights, and trade in allowances for existing weapons.
Phil Hemphill, a retired highway patrolman and current weapons instructor for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said he welcomes the idea of conservation officers carrying AR-15s.
“If you have a game and fish officer, and you have got a state trooper out there, they’ve got the same weapon, the same magazines, if one guy gets out of ammunition, they can swap the magazines,” said Hemphill.
Walker said the days of officers carrying a shotgun and .38 special are over.
