Guns and crime

Violence in Chattanooga is apparently reaching levels heretofore not seen outside of Falluja, and the Chattanooga PD is “gunning up” with Bushmaster “urban assault rifles” which have an operative range between 400 and 696 meters (440-760 yds, 2.5-4.3 city blocks). Watch the video clip for a demonstration of the guns "range and effectiveness" at 25 yds on the police range.

They also fire rounds that either do not penetrate past the intended target, assuming you hit the target, or else penetrate through some implied levels of cover, depending on which ammo the gun is loaded with when the officer brings it into play. This is described as an improvement in public safety as you will now be able to proceed about your business while the gunfight rages, knowing that the cops never miss, their bullets never over penetrate, and if they do miss, they also claim that the strays quickly disintegrate in the air in embarrassment. What effect this has on the guns effective range is not mentioned.

Columbine is trotted out as justification for all this, notwithstanding that by the time the cops actually entered the school, the shooters had finished for the day, and courteously offed themselves. Additional justification is the increasing number of mass-murdering psychopaths the officers are allegedly encountering, although the only cited use of the weapon so far was against a suspect in a house, who came out peacefully when ordered. A revolver was found in the house, which in Chattanooga is considered a “powerful and dangerous weapon”.

The rifles are to be kept locked up inside the officers patrol cars until needed, and will eventually be issued to all patrol officers including the bicycle officers who patrol downtown.

Monies for this upgrade to the police “tacticoolness quotient” comes from federal forfeitures from gun dealers, purchasing agents, and anyone else who can’t produce an a permit to carry over $10K in cash. People like this are described as “drug dealers”.