Council Accepts 600 M-16s From the Army for LAPD

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday formally accepted 600 M-16 rifles donated by the U.S. Army to the Police Department after officers found themselves outgunned during last year’s North Hollywood bank shootout.

Los Angeles Police Department officials said the guns will be converted from fully automatic to semiautomatic, and will be carried by Metropolitan Division officers, as well as by supervisors who will keep them in the trunks of their patrol cars.

Although council members questioned the police about the training that officers will receive, they acknowledged that the time has come for police to be better armed.

“Unfortunately, in our city and in this time, officers have to have the right weaponry for the right time,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, head of the Public Safety Committee.