For City Council Meeting [May 12, 2020]
TO: Honorable City Council
APPROVAL: Rod Foster, City Manager
FROM: Mark P. Kling, Chief of Police
Title
Request City Council to Approve the Purchase of Sixty (60) Colt LE6940 Rifles from ProForce Law Enforcement in the Amount of $67,126.10.
(ACTION)
Body
BACKGROUND
The Police Department is in need of patrol rifles. The patrol rifle supply consists of 36 Colt LE6940 style rifles, and an additional 60 are needed to assign each officer their own rifle.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The patrol rifle offers the benefit of precision target acquisition at distances in comparison with shotguns and handguns. The department owns 36 Colt LE6940 style patrol rifles, which are currently being shared by all officers. The benefit of precision is lost when multiple officers share from a pool of rifles, as shared rifles are not sighted specifically for one user. The results from firing an improperly sighted rifle places officers into a disadvantage position and increases the risk of a round not hitting the intended target. However, this type of risk can be mitigated by assigning a dedicated rifle to each sworn officer. This practice will ensure that in the unfortunate event a rifle must be deployed, the officer will be confident the weapon is accurately sighted and precise.
Additionally, a rifle assigned to each officer will be better maintained and accounted for, thus preserving the service life of the rifle and the department's inventory as a whole. This benefit is consistent with police department handguns, which are assigned to and cared for by each individual officer.
In order to maintain continuity in rifle models and ensure each patrol officer has a personally assigned rifle, staff has determined that 60 additional Colt LE6940 rifles are needed.
The formal bidding requirement was waived for this purchase, as ProForce Law Enforcement is the sole distributor of Colt rifles in the Western United States. Staff has worked with the purc...
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