Quincy police in need of rifles

Currently outgunned

QUINCY - The Quincy Police Department requested better firearms to deal with armed gang members and other armed suspects in Quincy.

"We are outgunned already on the streets," officer Dan Dopps said. "Basically we're outgunned by every farm kid with a .22."

Dopps and officer Darren Smith created a slide show presentation for the Quincy City Council to demonstrate their need for better equipment and to show what law enforcement is dealing with on the streets.

Smith was not at the meeting. Dopps gave the presentation.

Dopps said law enforcement deals with aggressive and armed offenders regularly.

"The old adage, you don't bring a knife to a gun fight, well in today's day and age, you don't bring a gun to a gun fight. We (have to be) better armed and prepared than our offenders," he said.

Dopps said rifles will allow an officer to respond to an active shooting situation with better accuracy, increasing community safety.

He said officers at the department currently operate handguns. He said the handguns are not as accurate as the rifles and it is easier to train someone to use a rifle as opposed to a handgun.

Dopps said the accuracy of the rifle works two ways, it ensures the target is hit and ensures no innocent bystanders are harmed.

He said the handguns are better for short range shooting while rifles allow the officer to shoot at longer ranges.

Dopps said when responding to a call for service an officer can't be sure the suspect they are dealing with isn't armed.

He recalled going to a barber shop to arrest a subject for a warrant in Quincy. Dopps said the suspect decided to fight and attempted to flee the scene. After wrestling with the suspect and placing him under arrest, he found a loaded .22 caliber pistol in his waistband.

"Everyday," Dopps said.

He said the department deals with drive-by shootings, calls concerning someone hearing gunshots fired, stabbings, students carrying brass knuckles in the schools, robberies, unstable suicidal people, knife fights and numerous other weapons offenses.

"It just goes on and on," Dopps said.

He said school shootings have increased nationwide over the past 10 years.

Dopps said citizens and law enforcement of Quincy can't remain under the premises of believing a school shooting can't happen there.

He recalled the shooting that took place at Frontier Middle School in 1996, saying Moses Lake is right next door.

Dopps said the Quincy School District had a close call in 2002.

"An unstable student at the high school was arrested for possession (of a firearm) in his waistband," he said.

Dopps said the necessity of the rifles to the department is prevalent in other areas.

He said he has been involved with search raids and narcotics stings throughout Grant County with other agencies. Officers from other departments often asked him where his rifle was because he was in charge of securing the perimeter of the scene.

Dopps said if the police department got the rifles they would be up to par with other local law enforcement agencies.

He said the Grant County Sheriff's Office, Moses Lake Police, Coulee City Police, Ephrata Police and the Washington State Patrol all utilize rifles.

Dopps said the cost to the city could range from zero dollars to approximately $550 to purchase one rifle for each officer.

He said the cost of rifles can be reduced if the department auctions off seized weapons from the evidence room.

Quincy Police Chief Bill Gonzales said the department will work through the forfeiture process to sell the weapons.

"I think that's an excellent program," Councilmember Tony Gonzalez said.

He said the department should have the best equipment available.

"Not too long ago there was a shooting in our city," Gonzalez said. "This young kid, a young man from high school, he was shot. He was shot by a gang member. He was killed. Every citizen here knows who that kid was. It was terrible. This is what's going on in our city now. The more we grow, the more problems we're going to have."

The police chief said the department will make a formal proposal for funding from the council at a future meeting.