Tulsa police also feeling the pinch

By NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer

8/18/2007

The scarcity of ammunition for law enforcement use has complicated training for the Tulsa Police Department.

The department's rangemaster, Sgt. Mike Eckert, said Friday that the department has enough .40-caliber ammunition available for officers' Glock sidearms for both on-duty use and for qualifying at the range. However, it took five months to receive the last shipment after it was ordered, he said.

Eckert, who became the rangemaster in January, said officers who have worked there for several years said that typically they could pick up the phone, order .40-caliber ammunition and receive it in a week or two.

"So it has greatly increased the time from ordering to arrival, and because of that, the range staff, or police administration in general, has to stay so far ahead to keep enough ammunition on hand not just for practice but for duty use," Eckert said.

The manufacturers have explained to him that the delays are due to the increased demand of the components that make up bullets, so the resulting shortage is not caliber-specific to military ammunition, he said. How long the shortage might last is unknown, he said.

"Until there is not a need on the part of the military, law enforcement is going to have to take a back seat," Eckert said. "We all understand that. We are not mad at anybody for it. It is just a reality we are going to have to live with."

Eckert said the shortage has delayed officers' ability to qualify to use rifles while on patrol.

Officers who attend a three-day school and meet stringent shooting standards can qualify to arm themselves with semiautomatic rifles that were purchased either by the officers themselves or with grant funds. During the school, the officers shoot more than 500 rounds to become certified, Eckert said.

The department is still waiting for a $25,000 shipment of .223-caliber ammunition that was ordered more than six months ago for use in the patrol rifles, he said.

"We have patrol rifles sitting here in our vault that are ready to be issued, but we don't have ammunition to put with it," Eckert said.

Copyright Tulsa World 2007. Format differs from original publication.