City Council arms PD
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By Carmen Ensinger
The Winchester City Council agreed to a number of artillery purchases for the police department at their March 6 city council meeting.
According to Police Chief Steve Doolin, the Department is lacking in this area.
“As previously discussed last month, the Department has only one handgun available to issue to employees,” he told the council. “Currently, myself and Officer McAdams use personally owned handguns. Officer Smith will be issued the remaining viable handgun upon completion of training. Officer Murphy also has a personally owned weapon he will utilize once his training is completed.”
Doolin said with all of the school shootings happening, even small towns like Winchester needs to be prepared for such an incident and currently his Department isn’t and he wants to rectify that.
“Recently, Midland Farm and Home ran a special sale on 12 gauge shotguns at $129.95 each,” he said. “It was a deal too good to pass up so I contacted the Mayor who thought purchasing two would be appropriate. I went ahead and purchased three – one for each squad car. If the Council does not approve of any or all three, I will gladly pay for them and keep them for myself.”
Total cost for the three shotguns was $389.85 and the council later on approved of the purchase of all three of them.
The next request wasn’t so cheap. It was for a duty rifle, which was more suited for going into schools and actually pursuing an active shooter. Officer A.J. McAdams, who is a full-time officer with the City of Roodhouse, brought their compact SIG duty rifle to demonstrate to the council how it would best fit their needs.
This gun is different than a regular gun in that it can shoot multiple rounds and has a collapsible arm making it good for hiding around corners. With a long barrel gun, the shooter would know the officer was there long before they got around the corner because they would see the barrel of the gun.
Right now, the Winchester PD has some old military M-16’s that they keep at the Police Department locked up in the safe. These new SIG rifles would be kept in each of the vehicles at all times on locking gun racks.
“The thing is, if you need it, you have to have it right now,” Doolin said. “If something happens, say an active shooter, you don’t have time to run back to the PD and get your guns – you need access to them right now.”
Officer McAdams explained that in Roodhouse these guns are kept in the squad cars in a very secure locking gun rack that can only be released by a hidden release that only the officer knows where it is at.
These SIG rifles are significantly more expensive than the shotguns at $1,300 each. Doolin requested three – one for each car for a total cost of $3,900. The cost of the locking gun racks was almost as much as the guns themselves at $2,900 for the three.
Mayor Rex McIntire believed it was a valid purchase.
“I believe we should be prepared because once it happens – its too late,” he said. “I know it’s a pretty good size expense, but I would like our community and officers to be prepared for anything that might come up.”
Doolin also requested the purchase of ammo for the qualification of new Officers Smith and Murphy at a cost of $750, which the council also agreed to.
The city’s tasers are having an issue with some of the batteries. He requested five new batteries and 10 new cartridges at a cost of $590, which the council approved.
Looking ahead to the future, Doolin said all police departments must be equipped with body cameras by January 1, 2025.
“There will be some grants coming out for that, they are just not out right now,” he said. “I have been invited to a demonstration in Roodhouse of a brand that they like so I’m going to go down there to that.”
In the radio department, Doolin said he has one radio that is bad and some batteries that are going bad in another one, making him down to just three radios. The batteries for these radios are $150 each.
“However, I can’t justify spending the money on a new battery because in the future those radios aren’t going to work,” he said. “Now, the future might be two years from now or sooner. It will be as soon as they turn on the new software in Morgan County. Scott County has it in place now. It is a new style encryption. I don’t care about me, but I want the people who work here – I want them to be able to hear what is happening in Morgan County which could affect us.”
The new radios, capable of handling the new software, cost approximately $1,375 each.
“You need to start thinking ahead now because you are going to have to have them,” Doolin said. “You might want to buy a little at a time. I know it is an expense, but I’m not asking for something we don’t need. There are no grants in the foreseeable future for radios for law enforcement.”
No action was taken on the radio situation.
