Police
officers obtain cache of new weapons
Safety:
Campus police purchase a new arsenal of
semi-automatic and less-than-lethal weapons.
By
Monica Pardee
On-line Forty-Niner
In
a move by the Cal State Long Beach Police
Department to bring its tactical force up
to par with current national standards,
several pieces of new weaponry have been
purchased for issue to the department's
officers.
Toward
the end of last spring semester, the CSULB
Police Department obtained five Colt AR-15,
semi-automatic, government carbine assault
rifles, five less-than-lethal 37mm, impact
projectile or chemical cartridges launcher
and three pepper ball guns.
Although
violent crime has constituted only 5 percent
of all crime on campus for the last three
years, the weapons are seen as a necessary
step for the protection of the campus.
"What
you have to understand is that there are
40,000 people on this campus, it's like
a city of 40,000 people and we have all
the same problems that a small community
has," said Sgt. Scott Brown of the
University Police. "Regardless of the
number of statistics you can come up with,
you can do anything with statistics, but
a human life is worth so much more than
any number."
"We
haven't had a major incident where we've
actually utilized firepower on somebody,
we haven't had a situation where an officer
has discharged their weapon in a few years,"
Capt. Stan Skipworth of the CSULB Police
Department said. "That's a great thing,
if we never have to use these things that
would be a great thing. But that doesn't
mean we shouldn't have them to be prepared
in case something does happen."
The
AR-15s would replace the shotguns that are
currently installed in the police cruisers.
The Colt assault rifles possess an 800-meter
kill range and are considered highly accurate
and flexible weapons. The Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
banned AR-15s produced before the ban due
to the high number of deadly features. Law
enforcement agencies are still permitted
use.
"Before
Columbine the whole ideology was we're going
to set up a perimeter and we're going to
wait for S.W.A.T. to arrive," Sgt.
Brown said, "But that's no longer the
way things go. Too many kids died because
that's exactly what they did."
The
less-than-lethal 37mm launchers are used
for firing rubber bullets or chemical cartridges
that would disable a threat without causing
any real or permanent damage to the suspect,
according to Sgt. Fernando Solorzano of
the University Police.
The
pepper ball guns are similar in design to
paint ball guns used for recreation. Using
small plastic spheres, the pepper ball guns
make pepper spray use possible against a
suspect who is a safe distance away. According
to officer Christopher Schivley, the department
expert on the guns, they can be fired safely
at suspects in a range of 1 to 35 feet.
The guns were used against protesters during
the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization
meeting.
The
effects of the pepper ball would last for
roughly a minute and would affect the respiratory
process of the suspect and burn the skin
if activated by the suspect's sweat. Officer
Schivley completed an additional 16 hours
of training put on by the manufacturers
to be qualified as a trainer and will be
one of the two officers responsible for
the training of the other officers.
"In
all reality it could save the state millions."
officer Schivley.said. "All it takes
is one incident when we use this as opposed
to shooting someone or use this as opposed
to using a baton."
Both
the less-than-lethal and the pepper ball
gun would be used against a suspect as an
alternative to more dangerous methods of
neutralization. Both methods would act to
temporarily distract aggressive suspects
and permit officers to take other actions.
"The
way it works is there is the mental and
the physical and they connect and if you
offset one of them it should solve the problem."
officer Stivley said. "Someone who
is on drugs or is mentally ill can be affected,
once it affects them and it breaks the cycle
they go from 'I'm going to kill you' to
'Oh my gosh, what am I doing, what's happening.'"
Each
AR-15 costs the department between $869
and $969 and each pepper ball gun costs
$460. The training provided by manufacturers
is in addition to the price of the weapon.
"The
actual expense is not that great."
Capt. Stan Skipworth said. "The figure
that is involved in all of the particular
tools that we're talking about is a very
manageable figure in the grand scheme of
things."
Although
there has been a 5 percent overall budget
decrease to all departments within the university,
the final budget for the Fiscal Year 03-04
has not yet been decided. Last fiscal year's
budget for the University Police was $2,005,815
according to Janet Parker, director of budget
for the university.
According
to Capt. Skipworth, additional funds were
not allocated for the special purchase by
the department. The department had recognized
a priority and the goal to purchase the
upgraded weaponry and set aside a portion
of their operating expenses.
Cherine
Haskell, a senior English education major,
feels the expense may be unnecessary in
a time of fiscal crisis.
"I
would rather have them use [less-than-lethal
weapons] than actually use real bullets
on somebody, I think that someone might
have a better chance of surviving if they
had a chemical shot at them than a bullet."
Haskell said. "But I already feel safe
on this campus, I don't think that these
weapons will make me feel any more safe."
"If
I were coming to school here I would be
thrilled to know that those things were
in place." Capt. Skipworth said. "To
know that not only does the department have
those, but that they have the people trained
to perform in accordance with the law and
within the scope of the training they have
received."
"If
we never have to use these things that would
be a great thing. But that doesn't mean
we shouldn't have them to be prepared in
case something does happen."
-- Stan Skipworth, University police
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