In the resolution, WPD sought to purchase 180 rifles along with any accompanying accessories — including cases and car mounts — that would be needed for the switch. According to a WPD spokesperson, the exact make and model of the rifles had not yet been identified.
WPD said it had existing funding in its current budget for 90 and would request the other half of the funding in the upcoming year’s budget. The projected cost of the transition was expected to be $510,120 over two years.
At the City’s agenda review meeting on Monday, WPD Chief Ryan Zuidema said the 12-gauge shotguns that officers are currently issued can’t hold up effectively against the heavy firepower they may encounter on patrol.
Zuidema said, “We are routinely seeing criminals in this community and across the country who have firepower that exceeds what we have,” and that the department is about 30 years behind other agencies that have transitioned to patrol rifles.
Officers are operating under a “hodgepodge” system as it pertains to their weapons selection, Zuidema said.
“We have a policy in place that allows officers to bring their own patrol rifles,” he said. “We have to have armors that look at those to make sure they are a certain make, certain model, certain standard, with the caliber and things like that. But it's not consistent across the board.”
“We need to be able to have a consistent weapons platform across the board,” Zuidema said.
Both Mayor proTem Kevin Spears and council member Chakema Clinton-Quintana spoke out in opposition to the resolution at Monday’s agenda meeting.
“I don't think the timing is right for us to have this on the agenda, and I just want to verbalize that now and not take anybody by surprise tomorrow,” Spears said. “And honestly, I don't feel comfortable with it or making a decision on it right now myself.”
Clinton-Quintana agreed that the moment was wrong to present this type of request, suggesting it could be reviewed at a later time.
Subsequently, at Monday's regular meeting, Spears moved to withdraw the resolution, which Clinton-Quintana seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Both Spears and Clinton-Quintana alluded to the two most recent incidents of violence being the source of their concern — one being the fatal officer-involved shooting that killed Edilberto Espinoza-Sierra earlier this month, and the other, the shooting of New Hanover High School student 17-year-old Kamari McNeil on Tuesday.
“I know we've been in a huge uproar about the weapons for WPD, but it really alludes to the fact that there are just too many guns on our streets, whether by criminals, [or] by law enforcement,” Spears said.
And Clinton-Quintana issued a message to all residents about violence in general.
“I need for everyone to just take a pause and really think about this,” she said. “It doesn't solve anything, because at the end of the day, it was someone's child, brother, sister, whoever… it has to stop. The violence doesn't solve the problem.”
Editor's note: Some advocates criticized Clinton-Quintana's comments, suggesting she had been referring to protesters demanding justice for Espinoza-Sierra. Clinton-Quintana later told WHQR she was speaking about recent gun violence, not protestors, who have been peaceful.
