Sunday, April 08, 2018

AR-15 Style Rifles on Tempe Police Motorcycles



 


Link to video above

More and more police agencies are issuing AR-15 style rifles to their officers, as police recognize the many advantages of the rifle for defense of self or others. One of the latest groups to be issued the rifles are Tempe, Arizona Motorcycle officers. Motorcycle officers present a challenge for AR-15 issue because a method had to be found to keep the rifles both available and secure.

Link to video


From phoenixnewtimes.com:
The latest accessory for Tempe police motorcycles is causing double-takes in this Phoenix suburb: a rear-mounted AR-15 rifle.

The department quietly has outfitted eight of its duty motorcycles, more than half, with the upright mounts for semiautomatic rifles.

Chief Sylvia Moir, the former chief of El Cerrito, California, brought the idea with her when she was hired by Tempe in September 2016, and it was embraced by officers, said Tempe police Commander Michael Pooley.
AR15 rifles are common in many police and sheriff departments. The special motorcycle mount used by the Tempe Officers are said to make removal of the rifle difficult, unless the "tricks" are known.

It appears a combination of movements is required to remove the rifle. it is also possible that  an electronic lock is used that may be dependent on an RFID device or similar system.

The maker of the gun mount used in Tempe was not readily found. I suspect Alternative Vehicle Accessory Manufacturing in Prescott Arizona. The add shown does not give a picture of their motorcycle mount for police, but their description seems compatible with the Tempe mount.

The advantages of an AR-15 variant for a patrol rifle include 20-30 round, easily available magazines, light weight, accuracy, ease of use, a significant power advantage over most pistols, and a familiarity gained from military experience.

All of those advantages apply to everyday citizens of the United States, who, after all, by definition, face similar threats as police officers do.

 Tempe Police thought their might be negative reactions to carrying AR-15 rifles on motorcycles. That did not happen. From phoenixnewtimes.com:
Pooley said the agency was braced for a backlash when it deployed the guns: "We're always concerned about public perceptions. We don't want people to think we're carrying these around for no reason."

So far, he said, the agency has "gotten a lot of positive feedback" from people in the community.
Arizona, as a state, is known as a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights. It is likely most of the residents of Arizona recognize America's Rifle, and respect its capabilities and advantages for both police and non-police alike.


©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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4 comments:

mobius said...

I'm sure they need them down there.

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine how hard it was to design a mount for an AR-15. Typically, horse and motorcycle mounts are up front, so a rear mount is a radical choice. In any event the first question that comes to mind is can it be removed from its mount one-handed?

That is, must your bike be stopped and stabilized to remove your rifle?

ExpatNJ said...

This story is reminiscent of a print advertisement for the Thompson ('Tommy') .45 sub-machine gun for law enforcement; it showed a motorcycle police duo (1 in sidecar) shooting that firearm on full-auto while riding. Can you imagine that shot pattern? Could one imagine the shot pattern in THIS present-day instance (assuming these AR-15s are select-fire)?

"AZ ... strong supporter of 2A rights". But, for how long? If/when AZ's gun laws take a tragic turn towards victim-disarmament, this news story will no longer be seen as legitimate Police FORCE, but a Police STATE.

Anonymous said...

@ExpatNJ
Considering that AR-15's are built to be Semi Automatic, Meaning they can only shoot one bullet per trigger squeeze I highly doubt they will be using Full Automatic Whist riding the bike, As for you also making the assumption that they are even allowed to fire them WHILE riding the motorcycle is incredibly incompetent, I don't see any way for a Officer to fire the rifle and steer the bike, Tempe Police also has department policies restricting and officer using there rifle whilst in a moving vehicle, Im sure they will be just fine.