www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070227/LOCAL/702270322

Excerpted:

SWAT equipped for any situation

By ALICE WALLACE

Sun staff writer
February 27. 2007 6:01AM

When it comes to weaponry and firepower, local law enforcement officers know it's important to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.

Whether that means wearing body armor or carrying rifle shields, officials with the Gainesville Police Department and Alachua County Sheriff's Office feel equipped to handle just about any situation that comes their way.

"From a weaponry standpoint, we feel like we're in pretty good shape," said Lt. Bart Knowles, the commander of GPD's SWAT team.

According to a recent story that appeared in USA Today, some law enforcement agencies around the country have been upgrading their firepower in response to the fact that a national ban on certain assault weapons expired in 2004.

But local officials say they haven't necessarily seen an increase in assault weapons on the streets in the past few years since the ban was lifted.

"I would say that there is very little correlation between the ban on assault weapons and what we've seen," said Sgt. Steve Maynard with the Sheriff's Office SWAT team. "Criminals have always had the guns. The only thing the ban has done is prevent the law-abiding citizens from having the guns."

Both Maynard and Knowles said their SWAT teams have been trained to handle semiautomatic and automatic weapons for many years, though both officials were hesitant to reveal to the public the full capabilities of their arsenals.

"We've been utilizing fully automatic weapons for better than 10 years," Maynard said. "And they run the gamut from submachine guns to various types of long rifles that would be considered assault rifles."

Even though the Sheriff's Office and GPD are equipped to handle some serious situations, the SWAT members say they rarely encounter a criminal armed with an automatic weapon. But it isn't unusual to find handguns, shotguns and semiautomatic assault rifles during drug-related searches.

"The reason why most agencies are upgrading doesn't have to do with automatic weapons," Knowles said. "It has to do with rifle round capabilities compared to handgun round capabilities."


See the rest of the story at the link.

obviously he was forced to say that by the powerful NRA lobby.

You mean someone in the Peoples Liberal Republic of Gainesville actually said something that made complete and utter sense.

Expect him to be sent to a re-education camp shortly.

eta I have met some decent cops here in this town for GPD and ASO, sadly though I have yet to meet a Motor cycle cop that wasnt a dick.

So much for his career advancement.

Good on him though. Someone should find this guy's address and send him a mag or something.

OMG  Common sense???

I bet the police unions take his ass out for failling to hold the party line.

Whats his arfcom screenname??

Quoted: Whats his arfcom screenname??

+1  

What's his screenname?

About time someone from Law Enforcement publicly said somehting that made sense.

Sgt. Steve Maynard's career, I would like to introduce you to toilet.  
Toilet, Sgt. Maynard's career.




ETA: Too bad more of them aren't willing to speak the truth.

Nice to see it in print but nothing real suprising. The majority of those in LE are more or less pro 2nd.

Quoted: Nice to see it in print but nothing real suprising. The majority of those in LE are more or less pro 2nd.

Yep...surprisingly the media printed this one....some ppl need to learn that not all cops are against citizens owning firearms...just the ones the media like to portray...same w/ the bad cops that give good cops a bad rap...some of you need to learn a lil more about the media.

ban the media

As a long-time Gainesville resident, I was frickin shocked to read that article today.  Many of our local LEOs are actually pretty pro-gun, but they rarely say it.