Police Handguns

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and all the Police I ever saw as a kid were carrying a 6 shot revolver. They had no speed loaders, they carried extra rounds in the small cartridge loops incorporated in their leather belt, this was in the 1950's. Law enforcement has changed drastically thru the years.

I remember when S&W came out with their model 39 and their model 59. The late great Major George Nonte told me he thought the S&W 39 in 9 mm was a major achievement in handgun development for a Military and Police Firearm. I have owned a number of S&W 39 and 59 handguns, I regret ever selling them. This was a major change in the thinking of not only the manufacturers but in what trends and mentality all Police Departments were going to.
There was this new mindset that began to have a Double Action first shot trigger pull to a Second shot through out the remaining bullets in the magazine.

The Military acceptance of the Colt 1911 pistol has cast this design in concrete as one of the all time favorite handguns in AMERICAN HISTORY.

At this point in time things have changed. Most Police departments will not allow an officer to carry a SA 1911 pistol in 45 acp. Some Departments are rethinking this policy at this time but they are few and far between.
The most popular three (3) handguns being used today by Law Enforcement is the Beretta 92F, The Sig Sauer Pistol, and the Glock Pistol. Another pistol that is gaining wide acceptance is the HK USP. The logical reason is that they are reasonably safe when a person is trained properly, and they are accurate, and offer a very high capacity of firepower, and they WORK VERY WELL.
Many Police have trouble qualifying on the target range, these user friendly pistols make it easier for these officers to qualify.

These Police departments and Federal agencies worry about legal problems in regard to a bad shooting in using a Single Action design as the 1911 pistol. They know that if the first round fired is in the Double Action mode, less accidental shootings will happen because of a "PANIC SITUATION". In the early 1970's I carried a Colt 1911 which jammed every other shot, I also carried an S&W model 60 Revolver using inverted hollow base wadcutter ammunition.

This current generation of Police guns work out of the box flawlessly, they may not have the best trigger pull, but they do work reliably and are accurate. I know that the different Federal agencies have selected these models that have met their testing procedures and their high standards.

NOW a Policeman or a Federal Agent can walk around with a pistol holding 15 bullets in his magazine plus 1 bullet in the chamber which totals 16 rounds of 9 mm and if he carries 2 extra magazines, thats another 30 rounds. He is now armed on his person with 46 rounds of super hot 9 mm bullets. In some cases if they use a 40 S&W caliber and the total number of rounds will be a little less.

That is like DAY AND NIGHT from the old BROOKLYN COPS that carried their 6 shot revolvers in 38 special with a total of either 12 to 18 rounds. We have come a long way since I was a kid in the 1950's era.

Teddy Jacobson