feature By Mike Wood


FOREFRONT


No Glocks For Cops? An Alternative View


An Alternative View


You can’t fi x a software problem with hardware


 When the DA/SA pistols were King, we saw this a lot. The manual of arms is more complex on these guns, and shooters often forgot to “decock,” under stress, when they came off target. Unintended discharges sometimes followed, often while re-holstering.


Photos by Linda Babcock 8 The Police Marksman Summer 2015


n a recent LA Times op-ed piece (“Why The Police Shouldn’t Use Glocks,” May 7, 2015, http://www.latimes. com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-owens-glock- accidents-20150508-story.html), a respected member of the gun community caused a fi restorm when he argued that law enforcement offi cers shouldn’t carry modern, striker-fi red pistols (such as the popular Glock) because they were “accident-prone,” especially under stress. The author, Bob Owens, argued that the short travel of these triggers, combined with the lack of a mechanical safety independent of the trigger, makes them unsuitable for general issue to offi cers who are likely to place their fi nger on the trigger during moments of peak stress, perhaps without even realizing it. As a substitute, Mr. Owens suggested issuing a traditional Double/Single Action (DA/ SA) design, which would largely overcome these weaknesses in his view.


I www.policemarksman.com


No Glocks For Cops?


SUMMARY


A recent editorial that declared Glock pistols unsuitable for law enforcement because they were “accident-prone” misses the target, and going back to Double Action pistols (as suggested) is no solution. The proper focus is on people and training, not hardware.


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