Assault Rifle Used in Killings May Have Been on Banned List : Weapons: Gun is identified as an AR-15 semiautomatic, a type copied in several models. While some are legal in California, others are not.

NORTHRIDGE —  The semiautomatic rifle used in Tuesday’s killing of rookie Los Angeles Policewoman Christy Lynne Hamilton may have been on the list of assault weapons that are generally banned for sale in California.

Los Angeles Police Chief Willie Williams identified the weapon used by the teen-ager believed to have been the gunman in the Northridge shooting as an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle.

The AR-15 is a rifle manufactured by Colt but also copied in several models by various companies. It is often called the civilian version of the M-16, a semiautomatic assault rifle used by some of the U. S. Armed Forces.

In general, the AR-15 is a medium-powered, .223-caliber rifle capable of carrying between five and 20 rounds of ammunition, several gun experts said. It has been used in competitive shooting and has been coveted by gun collectors ever since the M-16 emerged in the Vietnam War.

While some of these types of rifles are legal in California, others are not.

“This is an area where there is a lot of confusion,” conceded Michael Broderick, manager of the California Department of Justice’s firearms program.

The state’s landmark Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 specifically outlawed the sale to civilians of dozens of assault guns, including the AR-15s manufactured by Hartford, Conn.-based Colt Manufacturing Co.

“Usually, AR-15 refers to the Colt AR-15,” said state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys), who co-authored the weapons-control legislation with former Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles).

While the sale of the Colt AR-15 is now generally against the law, thousands of Californians still own them legally. The 1989 law allowed civilians to keep any of the weapons that were banned if the weapons had been legally acquired before June 1, 1989. Owners, however, were required to register them.

About 62,000 assault weapons of all kinds are registered with the state, Broderick said. While he did not know the exact number of Colt AR-15s, he said, “it is one of our two biggest categories.”

But the ban on the Colt AR-15 merely prompted gun makers to become more creative, Roberti said. “At least seven or eight copycats have been manufactured,” primarily since the weapons-control law took effect.

The copycats look the same and function the same, he said. “I’m told the only difference is the trigger mechanism on the copycats isn’t interchangeable.”

The most popular AR-15 copycat is the Colt Sporter, Roberti said, adding that ironically Connecticut banned the sale and possession of the Sporter in that state in 1992.

California Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren filed a lawsuit in 1991, calling the Colt Sporter a Colt AR-15 look-alike and redesign of the same gun. Colt and other manufacturers responded by challenging the constitutionality of the 1989 weapons act, and sought to prevent the attorney general from adding any other guns to the list of banned weapons until the constitutional question was decided.

In late December, the Superior Court in Sacramento decided that the weapons act was constitutional. While Colt and the other plaintiffs may still appeal that decision, Lungren is now free to “go forward and add additional assault weapons to those already banned,” Deputy Atty. Gen. Paul Bishop said.

Roberti urged Lungren to add facsimile weapons to the list soon and to “make it as expansive as reasonably possible.”

“The AR-15 series of weapons are very dangerous and all that come within that series should be prohibited,” Roberti said. “What more do we need than the tragic death of Police Officer Christy Hamilton in order to emphasize that point?”

Violence Against Police

IN CALIFORNIA

The number of police officers killed and assaulted in the line of duty in California has fluctuated over the last several years. An assault is defined as serious injury to an officer, or the use of a dangerous weapon or substantial resistance.

IN THE U.S.

The number of officers killed in the line of duty has decreased since a peak of 134 in 1973. The rates for all assaults--ranging from mere threats to the actual battering of officers--has fluctuated.

Number of Number of assaults officers killed per 100 officers 1986 66 16.9 1987 74 16.8 1988 78 15.9 1989 66 16.4 1990 66 17.4 1991 71 15.5 1992 62 17.6

Note: Accidental deaths are not included.

Source: California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training, state Department of Justice’s Law Enforcement Information Center , FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program

Also contributing to this story was Times staff writer Carl Ingram.