Miami Cops Get Traceable Bullets (?)

Txs

They aren't already uniquely marked? **************Ammo to Link Cops, KillingsMiami Herald 3/6/2002 Prompted by the police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old man nearly a year ago, the Miami Police Department has switched to different ammunition that will make it easier to trace bullets back to a particular officer's gun.Three officers shot at Nicholas Singleton during an April 2001 chase after spotting him and a friend driving a stolen Jeep Wrangler through Overtown. Investigators could not determine which gun fired the bullet that tore into Singleton's brain and killed him.Although all three officers were cleared by a judicial inquest last week, the police department began looking into changing the ammunition of its roughly 1,100 officers a few months after the shooting.''Ordinarily, if you have one officer shooting, you know who shot,'' Assistant Chief Noel Rojas said. ``But if you have multiple officers shooting, sometimes you have problems identifying which rounds came from which gun.''That can be a problem when sorting through a police-involved shooting, Rojas said -- figuring out who fired which bullet and who, if anyone, is disciplined or even criminally charged.The change in ammunition is part of a shifting policy in the way Miami police approach the use of ly force.In October, the department quietly tightened the guidelines for firing at a suspect. Before the policy change, officers could fire at a violent felon who was fleeing; now they can shoot only when their lives or the lives of those nearby are in ''immediate danger,'' Rojas said.As for ammunition, Miami police had tried to fix the identification problem several times in the past decade.Miami police officers used department-issued Smith & Wesson revolvers until the late 1980s. At that time, the department switched to Glocks -- first the 9mm, then the .40-caliber -- because the weapons had greater firepower to match an increasingly well-armed criminal population.But in the early 1990s, there were several police shootings in which multiple officers were involved. The department suddenly realized it was having problems identifying which bullets were fired by which officers, Rojas said.The department contacted Glock, which developed what later became known as the ''Miami barrel.'' These barrels marked a ''signature'' groove onto the bullet's casing when it was fired.But several problems subsequently arose, Rojas said. The Winchester Ranger SXT bullets' copper jacket, the part of the slug that bore the signature mark, often ripped off the bullet's lead core on impact. That made identification impossible.After years of firing, first on the practice range, then in active duty, the barrel on the Glock .40-caliber often wore down and lost its ability to imprint the bullet with the signature grooves, Rojas said.''It just wasn't working for us anymore,'' he said.Representatives of the Glock company could not be reached Tuesday night for comment.The police department has been huddling with Glock officials since September to come up with a barrel that does not lose its ability to mark a bullet, Rojas said. And the department is also looking at switching to Speer Gold Dot bullets, whose copper jacket is electronically fused to its lead core so it will not rip apart upon impact.Technicians are still testing the new barrel at the Miami-Dade police lab. In the meantime, the Miami Police Department has already started handing out the new bullets.Community leaders praised the department's move.''Coming in conjunction with the agreement to modify the use of ly force, I think it's a great idea, because it creates accountability,'' said Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, president of the Greater Miami Chapter ACLU.

badboybob

My God! Now we have politically correct bullets, so the scum bags know which LEO to sue when they are arrested

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PC=BS

competentone

I read "traceable bullets" and thought someone had developed a Low-Jack type tracking system for bullets!If the bad-guy was shot, but still ran away, the police could find him from the homing beacon emitted from the bullet...Oh well, guess I just have overly optimistic expectations on technology...(not to mention my expectations about the "intelligence" of the people using it)...

offeror

This whole thing could be used by a good lawyer to cast doubt on the notion that barrel rifling is nearly as unique as fingerprints and can prove what gun fired what bullet. Of course, it could be that the slow process of matching rifling to test-fired bullets under the magnifying glass is a lot slower -- particularly when a number of guns and rounds are involved -- than the "signature" method. Of course, once law enforcement adopts such a thing you can bet there will be a clamor for every gun to have a signature bore, from certain predictable quarters -- without being bothered with the question of whether it's technologically possible. Then, if they can't have signature bores, they'll start saying law enforcement has I.D.able bullets so we all should too. And start looking for other ways to mark ammo. No, I don't have a crystal ball. It's just that anti-gunners are creakingly, boringly predictable.

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"The 2nd Amendment is about defense, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member."

offeror

Let's call this one the Lone Ranger loophole -- didn't he fire silver bullets? Or was that the Werewolf loophole?

daddo

Am I missing something here? If I were with two other guys and shot someone, I would bet a ballistics person could match my gun with the bullet. This sounds like a bunch of cover up to me! Lets don't go thru the trouble for leo's.