I'm a South Carolina State Constable and have recently received monthly newsletter from the Constable Advisory Council, the council that advises SLED (the agency who regulates us) with a section that states we are prohibited from using patrol rifles.
Constables support many different agencies and have a vast differences in the type of work they perform. Most of them are older guys and the majority assist agencies in special events like parades, the fair, etc. Some of of us work regular patrol or with specialized units like K9, Marine Patrol, etc. I usually work with the County Sheriff (a full service LE agency) doing patrol; the main guy I work with does drug interdiction.
While rarely does a long gun need to be deployed, in my short time, there have already been circumstances in which we've needed them. One memorable time was a standoff with an armed suspect (http://www.postandcourier.com/articl...PC16/140639957). While SWAT was called in, the deputy an I were first on scene and were there for some time before backup came.
A little background on my abilities. While I don't claim to be the foremost expert on firearms, I do feel that I have a moderate level of knowledge. I'm a former Infantry Officer, an Arms Dealer (FFL) and fancy myself a gunsmith. I've done some studying on ballistics as well. As far as weapons qualifications, I've been qualified on Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, and Patrol Rifle.
Being an FFL and Gunsmith, I have a few, not a ton, but a few pretty good weapons. As far as a shotgun, besides a Mossy 500 that's pretty tacticool, I have a Saiga 12 in bullpup configuration that I'm sure would give just about any LE Shotgun a run for it's money. With that said, I feel a shotgun has it's place, but often times a patrol rifle may be more suited to certain situations. With the Seriff's Office, we often respond to very rural areas.
I'm wanting to write to the Director of SLED to ask for reconsideration of this decision. I've already found some studies from academic journals and articles from professional LE magazines that I will use to support my request. What I'm asking, does anyone have any information they could send me that I could reference in support of my request? If so, I'd sure appreciate the help.
I do believe the most powerful weapons we have is our brain and mouths. The best skill is to be able to deescalate a situation. As many of you know this isn't always the case. I'm aware that shotguns can be very accurate, but I feel that a patrol rifle certainly has it's place. While I hope to never use it, I'd rather have it on hand and not need it, than to be left in a situation where a patrol rifle could have minimized the negative impact of a situation.
Can anyone help?
Constables support many different agencies and have a vast differences in the type of work they perform. Most of them are older guys and the majority assist agencies in special events like parades, the fair, etc. Some of of us work regular patrol or with specialized units like K9, Marine Patrol, etc. I usually work with the County Sheriff (a full service LE agency) doing patrol; the main guy I work with does drug interdiction.
While rarely does a long gun need to be deployed, in my short time, there have already been circumstances in which we've needed them. One memorable time was a standoff with an armed suspect (http://www.postandcourier.com/articl...PC16/140639957). While SWAT was called in, the deputy an I were first on scene and were there for some time before backup came.
A little background on my abilities. While I don't claim to be the foremost expert on firearms, I do feel that I have a moderate level of knowledge. I'm a former Infantry Officer, an Arms Dealer (FFL) and fancy myself a gunsmith. I've done some studying on ballistics as well. As far as weapons qualifications, I've been qualified on Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, and Patrol Rifle.
Being an FFL and Gunsmith, I have a few, not a ton, but a few pretty good weapons. As far as a shotgun, besides a Mossy 500 that's pretty tacticool, I have a Saiga 12 in bullpup configuration that I'm sure would give just about any LE Shotgun a run for it's money. With that said, I feel a shotgun has it's place, but often times a patrol rifle may be more suited to certain situations. With the Seriff's Office, we often respond to very rural areas.
I'm wanting to write to the Director of SLED to ask for reconsideration of this decision. I've already found some studies from academic journals and articles from professional LE magazines that I will use to support my request. What I'm asking, does anyone have any information they could send me that I could reference in support of my request? If so, I'd sure appreciate the help.
I do believe the most powerful weapons we have is our brain and mouths. The best skill is to be able to deescalate a situation. As many of you know this isn't always the case. I'm aware that shotguns can be very accurate, but I feel that a patrol rifle certainly has it's place. While I hope to never use it, I'd rather have it on hand and not need it, than to be left in a situation where a patrol rifle could have minimized the negative impact of a situation.
Can anyone help?
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