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Citizens Helping Arm Brentwood Officers With New
Josey1
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Citizens Helping Arm Brentwood Officers With New Weapons
Citizens Helping Arm Brentwood Officers With New Weapons
Reporter: Andy Cordan
On May 6th, a Brentwood bank robber stood in the middle of a crowded street and opened fire with a semi-automatic assault weapon. Police officers armed only with handguns returned fire. Eventually the suspect was killed, and two officers were wounded.
After the shootout, many in Brentwood saw a need for arming officers with semi-automatic rifles, but the $50,000 needed to buy the guns won't be available until the next fiscal year. Now, the police chief and some dedicated citizens don't want to wait.
On May 6th, Brentwood police officer Stephanie Bellis was in the fight of her life, armed with only her .40-caliber glock. She fired at bank robbery suspect Gary Thomas brown, who was firing back with his AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle. Bellis was hit in the arm; Sgt. Tommy Walsh was shot in the leg. The bank robber was shot and killed at the scene.
"We were certainly out-gunned."
To give his troops a fighting chance against a similar attack in the future, Chief Ricky Watson wants to arm each of his 54 officers with a weapon like the one the bank robber used: the AR-15.
"It's the weapon of choice. Very accurate weapon."
The chief wants the weapons now, but it's not in the city budget, so a unique thing is happening in Brentwood. Private citizens are coming forward. A check for $606, the exact cost of one AR-15, was written by Brentwood insurance broker Steve Kreal.
"The police here are fantastic, and I was tired of seeing bad guys with better weapons than the good guys," Kreal said.
"I'm still amazed and very humbled by that," said Chief Watson.
Not only are Brentwood citizens donating rifles like, but the chief said he's even received a call from a Korean War veteran in Mt. Juliet who plans to bring down 1,000 bullets. The bullets are specifically for Officer Bellis to train with when she gets her new AR-15.
"So she'll be better equipped should she face this type of situation again."
The chief said that several financial heavy hitters in town have come forward and are working to raise a big chunk of change to purchase the guns for the department. If all goes well, the chief hopes to have everyone trained, qualified, and carrying their new rifles by Christmas.
http://wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=934955&nav=1ugBBFAn
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Citizens Helping Arm Brentwood Officers With New Weapons
Reporter: Andy Cordan
On May 6th, a Brentwood bank robber stood in the middle of a crowded street and opened fire with a semi-automatic assault weapon. Police officers armed only with handguns returned fire. Eventually the suspect was killed, and two officers were wounded.
After the shootout, many in Brentwood saw a need for arming officers with semi-automatic rifles, but the $50,000 needed to buy the guns won't be available until the next fiscal year. Now, the police chief and some dedicated citizens don't want to wait.
On May 6th, Brentwood police officer Stephanie Bellis was in the fight of her life, armed with only her .40-caliber glock. She fired at bank robbery suspect Gary Thomas brown, who was firing back with his AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle. Bellis was hit in the arm; Sgt. Tommy Walsh was shot in the leg. The bank robber was shot and killed at the scene.
"We were certainly out-gunned."
To give his troops a fighting chance against a similar attack in the future, Chief Ricky Watson wants to arm each of his 54 officers with a weapon like the one the bank robber used: the AR-15.
"It's the weapon of choice. Very accurate weapon."
The chief wants the weapons now, but it's not in the city budget, so a unique thing is happening in Brentwood. Private citizens are coming forward. A check for $606, the exact cost of one AR-15, was written by Brentwood insurance broker Steve Kreal.
"The police here are fantastic, and I was tired of seeing bad guys with better weapons than the good guys," Kreal said.
"I'm still amazed and very humbled by that," said Chief Watson.
Not only are Brentwood citizens donating rifles like, but the chief said he's even received a call from a Korean War veteran in Mt. Juliet who plans to bring down 1,000 bullets. The bullets are specifically for Officer Bellis to train with when she gets her new AR-15.
"So she'll be better equipped should she face this type of situation again."
The chief said that several financial heavy hitters in town have come forward and are working to raise a big chunk of change to purchase the guns for the department. If all goes well, the chief hopes to have everyone trained, qualified, and carrying their new rifles by Christmas.
http://wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=934955&nav=1ugBBFAn
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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