Henrico police plan to use smaller guns
.40-caliber pistols replace .45s; ease of use, reliability cited
BY MARK BOWES
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Related
Audio report: Spokesperson for Henrico Police weapons
A change in police firepower is coming soon to Henrico County. Beginning next month, the county police department will end its 15-year relationship with German gun manufacturer Sig Sauer and begin one with Austrian gunmaker Glock.
As a result, the department will replace its standard-issue sidearm, switching from an eight-shot .45-caliber semiautomatic Sig Sauer pistol to a 16-shot .40-caliber Glock.
The decision was based on several factors, not the least of which was a growing concern about the .45's reliability, police said.
"We've had a lot of problems with the Sig Sauer .45 over the years," said Henrico Lt. G.H. "Hutch" Hutchison, the department's range director. "More recently it's been with magazine feeding problems, and we've had some major parts break in the guns."
"It got to the point where the officers' confidence in the weapon was somewhat lower that it should be," he added.
In response to a Freedom of Information request on the department's gun switch, Henrico Police Chief Henry W. Stanley Jr. released a written summary of the transition. The report said that in addition to magazine failures, other gun problems included:
signs of abnormal wear on weapons only a year old;
broken trigger springs, trigger bars and extractors;
a gun with an incorrect part installed.
Police said the problems surfaced during firearm qualification sessions for officers at the range. "We have never had a gun that has failed in a street situation," Hutchison said.
Sig Arms representatives worked with police to resolve the issues, including replacing all the guns' magazines, but the problems persisted and were never corrected to the department's satisfaction, the report said.
"While Sig Arms was unable to specifically identify what was causing the abnormal wear and parts and magazine failures, they indicated that the ammunition being used by the division might be a problem," the report said.
The department conducted "extensive ammunition testing," police said, and "did not identify the ammunition as a concern."
The department then began testing a variety of alternative weapons and decided on the .40-caliber Glock. The department is buying 557 of the Glock 22 models, and 50 of the slightly smaller Glock 23s.
The Glock "was the preferred weapon of the officers that we brought [to the range] to test-fire the guns," Hutchison said.
The Glocks were easier to handle for smaller shooters, especially female officers. A slightly smaller, lighter weapon was needed "as our police department becomes more diverse," Hutchison said.
Police also liked the .40-caliber round. It "in some ways ballistically outperforms the .45 ammunition we used to carry, as far as penetration and expansion," Hutchison said. "We felt the .40-caliber bullet was the best way to go because [it's] the perfect marriage of high capacity and large caliber."
The switch in guns will cost the department almost nothing, officials said. Town Police Supply of Richmond, the vendor supplying the Glocks, is taking the department's .45 Sig Sauer pistols in an even trade. The .45s are about 18 months old.
Each officer will receive a new gun, three magazines with 15 rounds each, a night sight, new holster and a magazine pouch. The value of those items to the department comes to more than $300,000.
The only expense the department will incur is $52,239 for new holsters and magazine pouches, but that money is coming from assets seized from drug dealers, police said. In addition, Glock has agreed to train the department's firearms technicians at no cost.
Officers will also get a new gadget -- a $100 flashlight attachment that fits on the end of their guns. Those were purchased separately several months earlier.
The devices will make it easier for officers to use their guns and flashlights at the same time. Instead of officers carrying a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other, "their weapon will now have a light attached to it," Hutchison said.
Henrico police will be the third Richmond-area police agency to carry the Glock. Sheriff's deputies in Henrico and Chesterfield counties also use the gun.
Chesterfield police carry .40-caliber Sig Sauers, Richmond police carry .357-caliber Sig Sauers, and Richmond sheriff's deputies carry 9mm Sig Sauers. Hanover sheriff's deputies carry the .45-caliber Sig Sauer, the same weapon Henrico is replacing.
Henrico police will begin phasing in the Glocks the week of Aug. 22.
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or
mbowes@timesdispatch.com
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