Kampus Kops go full auto at Kent State!

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Published on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00

Written by Administrator

Steve sent us a really good link from The Akron Beacon Journal about the State of Ohio authorizing new rifles for police to use at Ohio Universities. (They even had the nerve to include Kent!). Follow the link for the actual story or Read More to see Steve's comments and the story itself. This from theAkron Beakon Journal... My comments are in bold italics

Campuses to acquire automatic weapons

State OKs new guns for police at Kent State, University of Akron

COLUMBUS: Campus police are getting M-16s.

The University of Akron wants 10.

Kent State? Just eight.

On Monday, the state controlling board approved an Ohio Department of Public Safety request to buy about 150 fully automatic M-16 assault rifles for, among others, university and metropolitan park police.

Most of the M-16s will be converted to semiautomatic rifles. Police say the weapons will be used for training or to replace older rifles that need expensive repairs.

But one controlling member, state Sen. Rhine McLin, D-Dayton, is questioning the need for such weapons on college campuses and in parks, as well as the experience of the officers who will be using them.

``We're going to allow the officers to have M-16s to keep the peace, to help with drug operations?'' asked McLin, one of two controlling board members to vote against the measure.

``I mean, I've seen some of those park people and I don't know how comfortable I'd be knowing -- even though they are classified as peace officers -- that they have access to M-16s.''

Campus police said McClin was misinformed about their training and that they are trained as thoroughly as any other police department.

Campus police departments applied to purchase the guns, part of a federal surplus program, because they're cheaper than semiautomatic weapons on the market.

``We applied for the grant because the firearms were available,'' said Newt Engle, deputy chief of the University of Akron Police Department.

``We're also a training police department so we have firearms instructors and we train other agencies.''

Engle said university cruisers currently are armed with AR-15s, which are basically a semiautomatic version of the M-16.

Remember the above line ...

Those rifles cost about $800 each compared to a government surplus price of $440 for an M-16.

UA will use the new M-16s strictly for training purposes, he said.

Training for what!?!

``This is really a routine purchase receiving a lot of attention,'' said Lt. Bill Buckbee of the Kent State Police Department.

``I'm not saying the M-16 is an ideal replacement, but other rifles are just so much more expensive.''

Buckbee said Kent State currently uses aging 9 mm rifles that need frequent repairs. The department wants an M-16 for each of its five cruisers and three extras.

Here we have it... Remember from above? These folks have 9MM AR-15's!!! I WANT ONE!!!

KSU plans to remove a device on the new guns that allows the shooter to fire a three-round burst of ammunition.

Leaving just semi and full auto...

Buckabee said KSU officers will be trained on the new guns.

Even some controlling board members who voted to approve the purchase said they initially had reservations.

``It's very appropriate probably that our first impression is that campus police are going to be charging across campus to take on a girls' dorm,'' said Sen. Doug White, R-Manchester.

But White voted for the measure because he said it only makes sense, in the event of an emergency, that police officers be as well armed as the criminals they're charged with apprehending.

on campus? Criminals?

``My assessment of the situation is that it's part of the ongoing training that these police departments try to provide their members,'' said state Rep. Bill Harris, R-Ashland, who is one of seven board members.

``But I think some of the other members would have been more comfortable if there had been some additional information,'' Harris said.

The Akron Police Department doesn't use M-16s or AR-15 guns, but the Special Weapons and Tactics Team has a civilian version of the AR-15 known as an M4-LE (law enforcement) model.

SWAT commander Capt. Mike Madden said he is familiar with the government sale but that the Akron police department has not put in a request.

Oliver Clark, president-elect of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement administrators, said he has not seen a big move to M-16s or semiautomatic rifles among campus police departments.

However, he said, there is a general trend toward rifles, including M-16s, in law enforcement agencies.

Ohio State University, the state's largest university, still arms its cruisers with 12-gauge shotguns.

UA, Kent State and Akron police departments all said M-16 rifles can be safer than traditional shotguns, because they are more accurate and less likely to ricochet.

``These weapons are considered assault weapons, but police assault no one,'' Engle said. ``The truth of the matter is that this particular cartridge in this particular gun . . . is actually safer for the public.''

Hmm...

Campus police dismissed McClin's concerns about their training.

``We are a fully accredited, 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-aweek police department that just happens to be located on a university campus,'' Engle said. ``We go through extensive training and, in some cases, have more experience than officers on municipal police force.''

``I think sometimes people think we're a security detail,'' said Kent's Buckabee.

``We're a fully functional police department. We're not guys with blazers that kind of just walk around and write parking tickets.''

So now we have police on campus armed with military grade weapons in squad strength, Who's main targets are STUDENTS!

I don't know, maybe it is just me that has a problem with this picture...

-Steve

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