Hudson Valley News

Assault Rifles For Police Patrol Officers

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published April 26, 2013 at 7:59 PM EDT

A Columbia County town is outfitting its police with assault-style weapons. The Germantown Town Board unanimously approved the purchase of two Bushmaster AR-15 style Patrol Rifles for the town’s Police Department. The Columbia Paper reports that the town’s five part-time police officers will be trained by the Sheriff’s Office in the use of the new rifles, and will not carry them until the Sheriff’s Office has signed off on their training. Cost of the rifles is $755 each.

Officers currently carry two shotguns when on patrol, locked in the trunk of the police car, in addition to pistols on their persons.

Hudson Valley News

Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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