ARE POLICE OFFICERS OUTGUNNED ON STREETS?; CAPE CHIEF FEELS HIS OFFICERS BETTER ARMED THAN FELONS

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard "Butch" Boyd Jr. points a fully automatic submachine gun with a laser sight at the wall. The massive gun is longer than his arm and looks to weigh a good 30 pounds.

"You see that red dot on the wall there?" Boyd asks. A single red dot rests on the chest of a cartoon figure on the wall.

"I press the trigger down and hold it there, this gun will unload 32 rounds into that red dot.

"That dot poses a real psychological advantage for the person standing behind the gun," he continued. "Technology has finally caught up with law enforcement."

Last week's standoff between federal Firearms, Tobacco and Alcohol agents and a religious cult - a confrontation that some say should have never happened points to the difference firepower can make to successful law enforcement.

The assault had been planned for months but failed when the FTA agents encountered overwhelming firepower. In addition to the four agents killed during the gunfight, 16 were wounded.

The prime reason federal agents were held off, most observers believe, because they were outgunned.

Boyd believes his department will not be caught in that predicament.

"In general, I think we're armed just as well - perhaps a little better - than the people we deal with on the streets," Boyd said.

The department issues all its officers a model No. 28 Smith & Wesson .357-caliber revolver - "wheel guns," as most of the officers refer to them.

"(Smith & Wesson) doesn't even make that model anymore," Boyd said. "We'd have to get something else if we needed to order more guns."

But that does not appear to be a problem at least not in the immediate future.

All officers must carry the revolver for the first full year of employment with the department.

But for the past four years, Cape Girardeau police officers have been allowed to carry semi-automatic sidearms they have purchased themselves. The weapons must be approved by the department, and the officer must pass a standard shooting test with the weapon.

Officers wishing to carry semi-automatic weapons must also purchase the appropriate holster for the gun, bringing the total cost of the weapon ensemble to $500-700.

"It's not cheap," said Boyd.

The move to semi-automatic weapons was gradual, but necessary. Semi-automatic pistols came into widespread use among criminals about 12 years ago, Boyd said, leaving the police behind with slow-to-load six-round revolvers.

In 1966, the Illinois State Police was the first agency in the region to issue semi-automatic weapons to its officers.

When the FBI adopted the use of the Austrian-built Glock semi-automatic handguns about six years ago, other law enforcement agencies quickly followed suit.

The Glock is a unique handgun because it is made of plastic and has a steel barrel.

When the guns began coming into the U.S. in 1981, they received overwhelmingly favorable reviews. The initial reliability tests and the unique size and weight of the weapon made it a desirable sidearm for all types of gun-users.

The gun holds 20 rounds of ammunition, far superior to the six held by the standard-issue revolver. Bullets can be fired in quick succession, but not in a steady stream.

Gasses which build up in the antechamber of the gun when it fires automatically reload the chamber for the next shot.

"(Glocks) are a lot lighter," said Boyd. "They also have front and rear sights marked with tritium, so they glow in the dark, allowing the officer to line up the gun with his target at night."

One downside to some officers is that the gun has no manual safety switch to prevent it from firing.

Another gun equipped with the tritium night sights is the German-manufactured Sig-SAUER, a heavy semi-automatic handgun capable of speedily discharging 12 rounds of ammunition. Both the Sig-SAUER and the Glock are approved by the department for its officers' use.

"From an administrative point of view, the move from revolvers to semi-automatic weaponry is a symbolic show of support for the officers," Boyd said. "They are allowing us to at least have the same weapons as the people we deal with on the street."

The police have two Israeli Uzis that were seized off the streets of Cape Girardeau, but have since been pressed into department use. The department sent off a request to Washington to have the Uzis modified from semi-automatic weapons to the fully automatic weapons the department now has.

"It's rare for us to come across something like these," Boyd said of the Uzis.

The department SWAT team now practices with the modified Uzis. The Cape Girardeau police also have several assault rifles carried only by qualified officers and the H&K submachine gun with the laser sight.

"We see a lot of guns on the street," Boyd said. "(The assault rifles) may seem a little extreme, but we have to be able to protect ourselves."

During the recent Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force sweep of the area, police recovered a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.

Officer Roger Fields, a patrolman, carries two semi-automatic weapons when he works. In his hip-holster, he carries a model 5906, 9 mm Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol. As a backup, in an ankle holster he carries a Walter PPKS .380-caliber handgun.

Of the Smith & Wesson, Fields said, "I like the feel of the semi-automatic gun much more than the revolver. Reloading is also much simpler and I can carry three times as much ammunition."

Officer Jeannie Dailey, who will be the first to admit she has small hands, was issued a Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver with a small grip.

"I couldn't handle the bigger guns," Dailey said. "I'm far more accurate in target practice with the smaller gun."

Dailey also carries special ammunition for the gun rounds packed with more gunpowder than the standard ammunition.

Boyd himself carries a 9 mm H&K semi-automatic handgun with a smaller grip. He refuses to allow other officers to carry the gun because of a special safety that is triggered within the grip.

Boyd said several of his officers have shot themselves in the buttocks by reaching for the gun and triggering the safety.

Anyone who wants to own a legal handgun must apply for a permit at the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. For most applicants, filling out the one-page application takes longer than getting it approved by a deputy.

People who have a felony conviction or a history of drug- or alcohol-related offenses will be denied permits. Otherwise, most permits are granted within minutes for a one-time $10 fee.