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What does Law Enforcment use a .50 BMG Rifle for?

U8Dust

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Went on a tour of the Kent Police Department a few weeks ago.. they showed me everything from old open case files of the Green River killings, to their patrol cars, their AR-15's, their shotguns, and pretty much everything they had. Then he went to show me their .50 BMG Barrett Rifle. I asked what they would use it for, and he responded to "Well, we've never needed to use one, but it's for in times of need" and that's all he said.

My question is, what would a Law Enforcement agency need with that kind of firepower in city limits? That's a little overkill. I could understand some rural department out in the middle of nowhere, but KENT?! Jeezus
 

sv_libertarian

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Get some crazy drug dealers boarded up thick, or someone running around in a homemade armored vehicle, or??? Who cares? As long as I can have one too, I'm not horribly worried. It's when they can have something and I can't that I get pissed off.
 

U8Dust

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Not sure if citizen's can possess IEDs and other explosive devices..
 

Boo Boo

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don't think they legally could use that. i think there are guidelines they have to follow. but then taxpayers money buys frivolous stuff.

maybe they are going to shoot airplanes down.
 

Citizen

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U8Dust wrote:
SNIP My question is, what would a Law Enforcement agency need with that kind of firepower in city limits? That's a little overkill. I could understand some rural department out in the middle of nowhere, but KENT?! Jeezus

Detaining little old ladies who cross after the "hand" turns on?

Making girl scouts vacate the street corner so police can get their own protection money...um...collect for their own charity?

Eradicating feral chihuahuas?

Getting rid of trolls onlaw-enforcement forums?



Did they happen to mention whether they had thethe tactical nuclear warhead ammo for it?

:)
 

U8Dust

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To my knowledge, the police departments can possess whatever weapon they want, with the Chief's and City Council's permission, I believe. Basically, they could use it, but if they damaged private property or killed an innocent civilian, they have high grounds for a law suit.

I just don't think it'd be a smart thing to use in an urban environment, but hey, they got a nice toy so let 'em enjoy it.
 

Citizen

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U8Dust wrote:
SNIP To my knowledge, the police departments can possess whatever weapon they want...
Excluding intellect, of course. For some reason, probably natural law, they seem too frequently unable topossess that particular weapon.

:)
 

U8Dust

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I feel bad for all of the good officers out there. I know a lot of Des Moines Police Officers and they're all great guys. There are a lot of D Bag cops out there, and it's really too bad they give a bad name for all of the truly noble officers in the state.
 

Dave_pro2a

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Well, in California the police use them as props (when addressing the mediaand elected officials)to advocate for more anti-gun laws.
 

U8Dust

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All of the cops I know are all very pro gun and are all for a citizen's right to own and carry. I suppose it gets more political when you start dealing with the Chief's and Sheriff's, seeing how their closer to politicians than Law Enforcement Officers.
 

Citizen

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U8Dust wrote:
SNIP All of the cops I know are all very pro gun and are all for a citizen's right to own and carry.
Sounds like my kinda guys.

The rest of you can find your own cops to support you.

:D
 

Batousaii

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There was a case (in CA. i think) where a guy stole a older tank (no ammo) from a military armory and drove it down the freeway. It was some years back, but all they could do was follow him as they had no equipment to deal with something of that nature... it only stopped when the guy high-sided the tank on the cement divider and ran... if he had stayed inside, it woulda taken a couple days to get him out.

-- They probably have it for bizarre situations like that ...

Just a guess.

Bat
 

U8Dust

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Yeah, I remember that case. There was also a case of a pissed off construction worker who was angry at the city council for not granting his building permit, so he locked himself inside an armored bulldozer and went on a rampage. No one had any way of stopping him, but he eventually ran out of fuel and killed himself in there.

Other than a .50 BMG, I don't see what else would be able to stop a mad man in a tank or armored bulldozer. Explosives would be too dangerous to use in city limits, so I guess it would make sense for departments to have one for one of those "just in case" incidents.
 

cynicist

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where a guy stole a older tank (no ammo) from a military armory
I recall about 15 or so years ago ( I was very little at the time) the cops raided some guys house in Bothell and found, among his thousands of guns, a stolen armored car in his garage. Don't know any more details than that.
 

Batousaii

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Always thought it would be fun to restore an old Sherman Tank. When i was with 10th mountain division we had a bunch of old tanks from the korean war era. They all worked, they all just sat there... neet toy if one could be aquired ina legit manner.

4x4 anyone ?? i'll bring my sherman ok ??

lol - Bat
 

colt45ws

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U8Dust wrote:
Yeah, I remember that case. There was also a case of a pissed off construction worker who was angry at the city council for not granting his building permit, so he locked himself inside an armored bulldozer and went on a rampage. No one had any way of stopping him, but he eventually ran out of fuel and killed himself in there.

Other than a .50 BMG, I don't see what else would be able to stop a mad man in a tank or armored bulldozer. Explosives would be too dangerous to use in city limits, so I guess it would make sense for departments to have one for one of those "just in case" incidents.
He was the owner of a muffler shop. He was essentially put out of business after a concrete company bought all the land around him via that terrible practice I cannot remember the name for wherein the city took all the land. He fought it and was able to keep his piece of land but everything around him was owned by the concrete company. He bought the bulldozer so he could make a path to his shop, but neither the company nor the city would allow him to do so. He leveled the concrete company first then he went hitting various city building along with any buildings owned by the former mayor of the city.
He didnt run out of fuel, he overheated the engine trying to get it unstuck and blew up the radiator. The armor was layered steel-concrete-steel in the important places and about the only thing that would have stopped it would be a shell from an abrams or a mine to remove the tracks. Also, contrary to what some news agencies reported there were no gun port holes. It was completely sealed, and he had a CCTV system setup so he could see.
 

911Boss

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Batousaii wrote:
There was a case (in CA. i think) where a guy stole a older tank (no ammo) from a military armory and drove it down the freeway. It was some years back, but all they could do was follow him as they had no equipment to deal with something of that nature... it only stopped when the guy high-sided the tank on the cement divider and ran... if he had stayed inside, it woulda taken a couple days to get him out.
He did more than run down the freeway. He crushed cars parked on the street, destroyed a big RV , even took out a couple of houses. It threw a tread when he tried to go over a jersey barrier on the freeway. He didn't run, he kept trying to get it going. A CHP officer with balls the size of cantelopes scrambled up onto the turret, and popped the hatch. When he didn't comply, he was shot and killed inside the tank.
 
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