Centreville Police Department

Transcription

1 Centreville Police Department Title: Firearms Directive #: 12.1 Issued: Revised: Approved by: Charles M. Rhodes, Jr. Chief of Police A. Carrying Firearms 1. Officers are considered to be available at all times. 2. When Officers are on-duty, they will be armed with an agency issued or approved firearm and carry their badge or CPD identification card unless otherwise authorized for covert operations. 3. When required to carry a firearm, Officers will carry the firearm upon their person. B. Firearms in Court 1. While attending any court where carrying or displaying of firearms is restricted, CPD employees will comply with those restrictions. 2. CPD personnel shall not carry a firearm when they are a defendant in a civil trial unless the court action occurred as a result of their official duties as a member of the CPD. C. Issuance of CPD Firearms 1. CPD firearms may be issued to individuals. Whenever a firearm is issued or transferred to another police employee, the Agency Armorer will ensure that the make, model and serial number of the weapon is recorded on a Uniform Issuance Record and placed in the officer s personnel file. The weapon will remain the responsibility of the individual it was issued to until notified of the change. D. Safety and Security 1. Only Officers and those civilian employees specifically authorized, may use, clean or otherwise handle CPD issued firearms. 2. Officers should relinquish their weapon for inspections only to a officer of higher rank or a firearms instructor, and only after the weapon has been unloaded. Page 1 of 6

2 3. All firearms should be unloaded in a safe manner and made safe before storage in an employee s home or in a locked storage area. 4. When available, personnel will properly secure firearms in a locked storage facility whenever they are not worn. When stored in a motor vehicle, firearms must be secured in a locked trunk or in a locked storage compartment if the vehicle has no trunk. 5. Firearms shall be kept out of reach of the public and shall not be left unsecured or unattended, unless properly stowed as outlined elsewhere. E. Repairs and Maintenance 1. Officers will regularly inspect and maintain their assigned firearms(s), extra magazines, ammunition and holster to prevent accumulation of dirt, the formation of rust or corrosion and excessive wear. 2. Ordinarily, firearms will be cleaned at least once a month or when subjected to inclement weather or other contaminants. 3. Firearms will be cleaned promptly after they are used; however, it is imperative that this cleaning be done in a safe location free from distraction. 4. Only the Agency Armorer may repair or make any modification to CPD weapons, unless otherwise permitted by the Chief. F. Primary Handguns 1. The primary weapon issued by the CPD for on-duty sworn personnel below the rank of Lieutenant is the Glock 40 caliber, model 22 pistol. This does not prohibit officers from carrying an approved secondary in addition to the primary weapon. The primary weapon issued by the CPD for on-duty sworn personnel Lieutenant and above may be, either the Glock model 22 or Officers working a non-uniformed investigative assignment performing undercover work may carry their authorized secondary or off-duty firearm as their primary weapon but only while working the assignment provided that: a. The handgun is not a revolver b. The handgun has at least an 8 shot magazine and, if the weapon has less than a 12 round capacity, an extra magazine must be carried. c. The handgun is a 9mm caliber or larger d. The Chief of Police approves of carrying other than the CPD issued handgun. The approval will be documented and placed in the employee s personnel file. e. All ammunition carried in and used for qualification with personal firearms must be purchased at the employee s expense. f. Officer s will maintain and fire an annual passing score with the CPD issued Glock. Page 2 of 6

3 3. While officers are in uniform, only the department issued Glock.40 caliber handgun shall be carried on the duty belt, along with other issued and/or approved equipment. G. Off-Duty/Secondary Handgun 1. All personnel carrying a secondary/off-duty firearm must purchase it at their own expense. 2. Off-Duty/Secondary handguns must conform to the following specifications: a. Only semi-automatic pistols conforming to the following standards may be approved for use by department employees: (1) First shot single or double action with either single or double column magazine design incorporating a firing pin block. (2) If equipped with an external hammer, the weapon must be equipped with a de-cock lever which allows the cocked hammer to be lowered without pulling the trigger. 3. The ammunition used with personally owned secondary and off-duty weapons will be CPD approved ammunition. Additionally, ammunition for secondary and off-duty weapons shall be purchased at the expense of the employee. 4. Officers requesting approval to carry secondary or off-duty weapons shall demonstrate proficiency in use, carrying and cleaning of the weapon prior to approval by the Chief of Police. After consultation with the Agency Armorer, the Chief may approve the carrying of a secondary or off-duty firearm. 5. Officers will not carry more than two handguns at any one time. If authorized to carry a secondary handgun, Officers will not allow the secondary gun to be in view of any person while on-duty. H. Shotguns 1. Officers are authorized to carry either a CPD issued or approved shotgun in the patrol vehicle. 2. Officers requesting approval to carry personally owned shotguns shall demonstrate proficiency in use, carrying and cleaning of the weapon prior to approval by the Chief of Police. 3. Safety precautions when carrying shotguns in the patrol vehicles: a. Shotguns may be carried in a patrol vehicle with a fully loaded magazine, but no ammunition shall be carried in the chamber. (Car-carry condition) Page 3 of 6

4 b. Weapons will be encased or fastened in a CPD approved rack or secured in the vehicle trunk. c. Shotguns will not be laid on the seat where they may be thrown about the inside of the vehicle. I. Patrol Rifle 1. Policy a. The patrol rifle is issued into the CPD standard operating procedure to compliment the issued handgun and shotgun and shall only be issued to individual personnel who are trained in its use. The patrol rifle will be utilized by trained personnel during instances where the handgun and/or shotgun fail to supply adequate firepower and the accuracy necessary for the protection of the officer and/or innocent civilians. This policy is not intended to limit or restrict the use of the patrol rifle or suggest that the CPD pistol or shotgun must be used first or instead of the patrol rifle. This policy does not seek to articulate the only situations where rifle deployment is appropriate. The on-scene judgment of the officer or supervisor is the first indicator of appropriate deployment. The following examples are not meant to be all inclusive: (1) Suspect wearing body armor (2) Suspect armed with assault style, shoulder or other weapons including rifles and/or shotguns (3) Incident requiring the ability to deliver accurate fire at greater distances b. Personnel must be trained as mandated by the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission in order to carry or utilize the patrol rifle. c. During transport, the patrol rifle will be carried in the trunk of the patrol vehicle unless an authorized and approved rifle rack is installed in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The rifle will be carried, cocked, no round in the chamber, on safe and the bolt closed with a fully loaded magazine inserted in the weapon. 2. Procedure a. Deployment of Patrol Rifles (1) Patrol Rifles shall be deployed only in situations that the officer reasonably believes that the tactical advantage afforded by the rifle may be necessary. (2) The patrol rifle may be deployed in situations where the officer believes a suspect: (a) He/she may encounter may be wearing protective body armor; and/or (b) Is believed to be armed with or has immediate access to high powered or (c) shoulder fired weapons; and/or Is believed to be armed and situated in a distant or fortified location which affords the suspect a tactically superior position. (3) The patrol rifle may be deployed in situations where approval for deployment of patrol rifle is authorized by a Supervisor. Page 4 of 6

5 b. Physical readiness of the rifle (1) Rifle magazines will be loaded consistent with the training provided by the Department Firearms Instructor and Department policy. (2) The rifle will be carried, cocked, no round in the chamber, on safe and the bolt closed with a fully loaded magazine in the weapon. (Car Carry Condition). (3) As with all other agency issued weapons, the rifle shall be inspected frequently and cleaned after each use or at least monthly. c. Training (1) Officers carrying or requesting to carry a patrol rifle, either department issued or personally owned, shall qualify with the rifle as mandated by the MPCTC and Department Firearms Instructor. (2) During qualification, failure to achieve a passing score will result in a second attempt within 30 days. Failure to achieve a passing score on the 2 nd attempt will result in the officer being suspended from the patrol rifle program for a period of not less than three months. (3) Upon failing to achieve a passing score on the second attempt, the officer shall surrender the department issued rifle to the Department Firearms Instructor. d. Personally Owned Patrol Rifles: The Centreville Police Department may allow individual officers to purchase and carry their own patrol rifles, on duty, pursuant to this policy. (1). Qualifications for to carry Individually Owned Patrol Rifles (a). The officer must have successfully completed his/her probationary period. (b). The officer must submit a request to the Department Firearms Instructor, who will after review, forward to the Chief of Police or his designee. (c). The Chief of Police shall approve the request before a personally owned rifle can be carried on duty. (d). The rifle shall be inspected by the Department's Firearms Instructor and Armorer in accordance with established policy. (2) Weapon Specifications (a). Rifle shall be a gas-operated, semi-automatic,.223-caliber rifle of the type commonly known as AR-15, but with various designations depending upon manufacturer. (b). All personally owned rifles, must be approved by the Department Firearms Instructor to be carried by CPD personnel on-duty. (c). The rifle barrel shall not be shorter than 11 inches. (d). The rifle shall be equipped with an approved tactical sling. (e). The rifle shall be equipped with either fixed or flip-up iron sights and may have an optical sighting device attached. (f). Officers shall only use magazines approved by the Firearms Instructor. (g). Officers must have an appropriate case to protect the rifle in the patrol car. (h). Ammunition shall be approved by the Department Firearms Instructor and shall be supplied by the officer. Department ammunition may be provided at the discretion of the Chief of Police or his designee. Page 5 of 6

6 (i). The owner of any weapon(s) approved pursuant to this policy; is responsible for all expenses related to the care, repair and maintenance of the weapon unless otherwise approved by the Chief of Police or his designee. e. Storage (1) When not being used, patrol rifles, both agency owned/issued and authorized personally owned, shall be securely stored in the patrol vehicle, as follows: (a) An approved patrol vehicle mounted locking weapon rack; (b) An approved carrying case locked in the vehicle trunk; or (c) Any other approved container that securely locks the rifle. (2) Rifles shall not be laid or stored on the vehicles seats or unsecured anywhere in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, where they may be thrown about or easily removed by unauthorized persons. (3) When the patrol vehicle is not being used for a period of 4 or more days, the patrol rifle shall be removed from the vehicle, ammunition removed from the weapon and the weapon secured with a gun lock or other similar device, either at the CPD Office or in the officers residence. Page 6 of 6