there was virtually nothing that could have saved them from harm other than not being there
cops aren't trained for the situation that happened today.
I understand what you're saying, but 11 officers? Has there ever been an instance were a greater number of cops were shot in one place? I wholeheartedly support the notion that this could have been prevented if first responders were better armed.
That's something I'm not qualified to answer. I'd assume that roughly the same amount of officers would have died, considering that several of the attackers were allegedly 'sniping' them from high up. High-capacity rifles might have more stopping power than duty pistols, but they can't block bullets.
The problem here though is the capacity for intimidation and mistakes. When you confront a bunch of people with military equipment, you instantly escalate the situation to a point where everyone feels as though they're about to get shot to death.
I figure the same. I don't consider myself much of a gun expert, but as I understand it, the difference in lethality between a pistol and a military rifle isn't actually that large.
It's not about stopping power. I'm pretty sure the standard police side-arm is the Glock 22 which in chambered in .40, military rifles have smaller calibers, and even though those rounds are traveling fast, a .40 at close range from a Glock will be much more devastating than a .22 LR out of an AR-15.
The advantage in the military rifle is accuracy, ability to suppress at range, and it's adaptability to a developing hostile situation. The average military rifle would
not be useful in a scenario where you have to convince a jury that you didn't shoot an unarmed man in cold blood, because they are much larger and more difficult to operate than a handgun.
Here's the thing though, I don't actually have a problem with officers arriving in military equipment to a riot where people are already being violent. It's just completely inappropriate to show up to a peaceful protest as if you're about to mow down a crowd of people.
I understand that a carbine type rifle looks scary to the uninformed, and uninformed scared people are likely to panic. I'm not saying that I think we should approach traffic stops with massive automatic 7.62 rifles in the hip fire position, but I think it would be advantageous to the officer's safety to have it on scene rather than being required to wait for a special weapons team to arrive, and the weapon only be drawn when needed.
I feel that people would only be scared of a cop armed with a rifle because they're not used to it, or because fear-mongering gun control media is convincing them they should be.
