Chicago Police To Use M4 Carbines

Bad move. Last October, a young sheriff's deputy in the small town of Crandon, WI flipped out after being asked to leave a party and pulled out his department-issued AR-15 assualt rifle, killing six and seriously wounding another.

This would be quite something if this actually happens. The heaviest weaponry I've ever heard of being issued to rank and file police are AR-15's for the state troopers. Considering the rural areas they work in though an AR-15 isn't a bad choice. Putting out automatic assault rifles might be a bad idea considering that Chicago is an urban environment packed with civilians. As someone said, submachine guns would make more sense.

However I severely doubt that we'll see M-4's being issued to anyone but SWAT teams in Chicago anytime soon. The CPD is extremely restricted in what they can do and M-4's being issued would be a total turnaround, one that's certain to meet opposition that'll kill it in a heartbeat. A few things I've heard from a CPD officer include them only getting to carry handguns, insufficient shotgun training, certain vests being prohibited on the grounds of being to intimidating, not being allowed to use lights mounted on handguns, computers in the squad cars being from the first Gulf War, stuff like that.

So personally I doubt that this will actually come to be. And I actually disagree with the idea. I think that if anything they should be putting money into things that they actually need and loosening restrictions that hold back officers but wouldn't hurt the populace if repealed. Of course the whole crime problem in Chicago could be easily solved if the Cook County court system actually had the capacity to give everyone a fair trial in a timely manner.

This is nothing new. Many urban departments have been carrying these sorts of weapons for years.

Henderson, a burb of Las Vegas, has been issuing M-4s to all officers for years. They take them to work and most take them home.

M-14 and M-1 Carbines have been popular choices as well for decades.

I agree with the pigs having them.

I also think they should be issued to civilians as well.

Are you going to try and commit a crime against me with an M-4 slung over my shoulder?

The police can be trusted with these so long as the rest of us are too. Think checks and balances.

It's illegal to own a gun in Chicago. They have had a gun ban for over
20 some years.

Maybe that is the problem you think.

Maybe the CPD should consider the less obtrussive 9mm Calico series. They are still being manufactured by Calico

They are small, fairly light and carry a rather large amount of ammunition.
Video

Built for military and law enforcement Video

9mm will NOT go through multiple walls and people, is easily used in CQC.

Yeah well they'd actually have to come into contact wih the gangs to need the same kind of weapons. They don't mess with the bangers unless they absolutely have to. I see them all the time drive right past a bunch of gang bangers standing on the corner ( and they know they're gang bangers) only to stop further down and harrass some kids (who are not in a gang) for doing nothing but sitting on their front porch.


Maybe if they actually started confronting the gang members and gettin them off the street there wouldn't be such a problem. They know who they are and where they hang out wouldn't take much effort to keep driving around and chasing them off.

It is very true that these weapons could pose a threat to neighbors in a crowded inner city area. M4s fire a high velocity .223 round which is generally used for military combat and hunting meaning it WILL go through a person and a wall or two. I know this for a fact because I have one....not that I have or ever will use it on a person. I hunt bottles not people.

Originally posted by delta33
It's illegal to own a gun in Chicago. They have had a gun ban for over
20 some years.

Maybe that is the problem you think.

Actually its just a handgun ban and a few other ordinances concerning firearms. An assault rifle ban might be there, but I'm not sure about that. Of course the handgun ban in D.C. having been struck down means that the Chicago handgun ban will likely be gone shortly as well. But thankfully Chicago doesn't have a total gun ban, I think only San Francisco attempted that and failed.

Most big city police agencies already have m4,ar15,or the mp3's carried in their trunks of the patrol car.

I am really praying that we stop seeing these trends towards MORE firepower in the streets. We know the bad guys have BAD guns. They have ALWAYS had the best gear - they stay one step ahead of the curve ALL they way.

We issue Kevlar - they get AP rounds, etc. Stopping this will not require 'war-like' tactics. Cops MUST know that. They have to know that this problem can't be shot away.

I don't envy the peace officers. Or do they not do that anymore? Is it just Law Enforcement?

[edit on 15-7-2008 by Maxmars]

I would venture that they will NOT be issued full auto M4's. At the most they will offer 3shot burst fire models that can also be selective for semi-auto. If Daley is stupid enough to issue full auto, he's looking for real trouble. You just know that these will be carried in crowd control situations and tHats a recipe for mass injury!

Zindo

[edit on 7/15/2008 by ZindoDoone]

I couldn't help but find it strange that they claim to be needing M4a's to MATCH gangs' firepower. Anyone from the chicago area? Do you see gangs running around with M16's and M4a's?

reply to post by The Nighthawk

Or just legalize the drugs and instantly eliminate the black market that feeds the whole flippin' machine.

All the politicians who could do that are getting their cut to keep them in their place.
Just look at how much money the crime syndicates spent to try to prevent prohibition being repealed.

I still haven't seen a single Chicago Cop carrying an M-4.

this is no big deal. LAPD have been outfitting their cars with m4/AR-15's for some time now. I remember even as far back as 10 years ago seeing an m4 in the rack normally reserved for a remington shotgun.

It's no big deal.

The LA Sheriffs dept used one to kill a pissed off rouge puma that had killed a jogger a while ago. the m4 isn't that powerful it still took about 10 shots to subdue the lion. I'm sure a person would take less, but the high volume of lead flying to the target will get gangsters second guessing as to weather they should tangle with the cops.

Originally posted by cyberdude78

Actually its just a handgun ban and a few other ordinances concerning firearms. An assault rifle ban might be there, but I'm not sure about that. Of course the handgun ban in D.C. having been struck down means that the Chicago handgun ban will likely be gone shortly as well. But thankfully Chicago doesn't have a total gun ban, I think only San Francisco attempted that and failed.

Actually the only gun we can have here in Chicago is a shotgun, and it can't have a pistol grip because then it's considered an assualt weapon and becomes illegal. You also must keep a trigger lock on it, that's real helpful isn't it? So if i wake up in the middle of the night to a home invasion i can just tell them hold on a minute while i take my trigger lock off please, i'm sure they'll do me that favor lol.


Yeah as soon as DC's law got struck down they filed a lawsuit against Chicago's, Daley's havin a fit lol, i hope they strike our gun laws down too.

Well, if you guys are correct. And I sincerely hope you aren't.
But if the US is preparing for martial law, these so called "gangs" are just dumb enough, and brave enough to end up being the revolutionary forces.

Like I said though... I sincerely hope we're wrong about martial law.

[edit on 16-7-2008 by johnsky]

reply to post by The Nighthawk


I absolutely agree.... this is such propoganda.... I have lived 45 miles outside the city 30 years... I constantly frequent the city and i know that there are not these kind of firefights that they speak of where the cops are OUT-GUNNED....crapppp all crap.... this is just a police state being born....NYC and all there checkpoints and arrests and holding of SUPPOSED terrorists(which there is a million of them now), This is just another way to pin us down starting with the major cities. Either this or this is them getting ready for a terrorist attack and need to know if there is unrest they are armed....WHO is paying for this anyway and do I know about it as a taxpayer in illinois??? Havent heard nothing....

reply to post by Xilvius


Yeah there are some that have assault weapons, but those are mainly the higher up members and they're not runnin down the streets with them. What they normally run around with are 22s, 38s, 9mm, etc typical handguns. It's also not normal for the gangs to go up against the cops, it's not like they're out there havin shoot outs with them. Usually by the time the cops get there the shooting's already happened and the bangers are long gone.


A couple years ago i was walking home from shopping and i got caught right in the middle ( and i mean right smack dab in the middle) of two gangs shooting at each other, about 30 guys all shootin across the street at each other on a very busy street in a shopping district in the middle of the day. Cops got there about 10-15 minutes after it finished and they were all gone. I think the civilians are actually in more danger than the cops are.