FBI wants to arm Boston Police with assault rifles

[Jenn! 918]

BOSTON -- An FBI official said Boston police officers should be armed with assault rifles to make the city more prepared for a terrorist attack.

Warren Bamford, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Boston, said Tuesday that he is baffled by opposition to a proposal to give some neighborhood police officers the semiautomatic weapons.

In May, Boston Mayor Tom Menino criticized a proposal to arm up to 200 officers with M-16s that the police department had ordered from the U.S. military. Menino said only specially trained units should have the guns.

Bamford said he believes more officers should have access to the guns in the event Boston becomes the target of a terrorist attack like the one that killed 166 people in Mumbai, India in November.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/20451561/detail.html

Edited August 19, 2009 by Jenn!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I've seen police with submachine guns in London and NYC, can't really imagine then walking around with full size rifles. Why not grenades and rocket launchers too - then we can get rid of the police entirely and deploy the army on our streets

[Peikko 1,575]

Yes, terribly baffling that people might object just a tad...

[Niels Bohr 72]

I remembered at JFK Airport, riding the Air Tran to get to my gate destination. This National Guard Trooper walked into the cabin with a gun about 6 feet long. Dam. Everyone who was in the Tran cabin wasn't quite freaked by that moment. He was patroling JFK.

I mean, it was an intimidating gun to say the least.

Edited August 19, 2009 by Niels Bohr

[doodlebugg 10]

I think the citizens should get the guns to defend them from the Boston Police!!!!

[Otto 83]

I tought that's what S.W.A.T was for...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

In LA a few years ago (1996 I think) there was an infamous bank robbery where the 3 or 4 perps (head to toe in body armour) ended up in a huge firefight with the cops and managed to completely outgun them with automatic rifles.

One of the implications of a society like this one where firearms are so prevalent among the general population is that the police end up wanting better weapons than the criminals they are coming into contact with. Can't really blame them for that, but when the police end up no different from the army you may as well go the whole hog and declare martial law.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I remembered at JFK Airport, riding the Air Tran to get to my gate destination. This National Guard Trooper walked into the cabin with a gun about 6 feet long. Dam. Everyone who was in the Tran cabin wasn't quite freaked by that moment. He was patroling JFK.

I mean, it was an intimidating gun to say the least.

It was telling me. Don't mess with me man. Or, don't come close to me. Who would be freaked with the size of the gun? One shot from that gun will vaporize you. I can almost garuntee it.

[Otto 83]

In LA a few years ago (1996 I think) there was an infamous bank robbery where the 3 or 4 perps (head to toe in body armour) ended up in a huge firefight with the cops and managed to completely outgun them with automatic rifles.

[Jenn! 918]

I think the idea first came up a few months ago and they said the reason was to combat gang violence. Since that reason didn't fly, now it's protection from the terrorists.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Can't blame them for wanting to be better armed that the criminals, but is gang violence and terrorism honestly such a problem in the Boston area that they really need it?

You could understand it parts of Los Angeles or NJ perhaps, but Boston?

[Niels Bohr 72]

Does anybody know where the Police Station is located in Boston? It's located in South Boston where there are mostly black residents, peurto Rican residents, and some Asian. It's located near the Fenway. Well, a little drive from Fenway Park. But, nonetheless, I think the police are intimidated by the poor minorities.

[nowhereman 1]

I don't see a problem with it, as long as they receive the proper training.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

As long as they only shoot criminals and not innocent people, why not?

[Peikko 1,575]

The police have an excellent record in that regard.

Actually, one of the things that I find most disconcerting, the fact that so many alleged criminals are shot to death instead of arrested - and the frequency that it transpires that the alleged criminal was not carrying a weapon of any kind.