Tuesday night (June 9) in Norman

[SoonerP226]

You are correct, that's the way almost every dept runs. My response was to another post who said beat cops don't need that kind of gear. Yes, a beat cop assigned to a specialized secondary unit would because they don't know when they would be called out. My response meant a dedicated specialty unit would take officers off the street. Thus the second line of my post you quoted. So I was saying the same thing you just did.

I don't think he was necessarily arguing for a dedicated unit that does nothing else, just that they don't need most of their officers outfitted like that most of the time. At least, that's what I inferred from "There are no decent reason why a beat cop needs to run around looking like (and having the equipment) they are busting down doors in the Helmand province."

FWIW, I first heard this argument when NPD switched from their old brown uniform shirts to the dark blue/black BDU-style uniforms back in the '90s (and some of the worst criticism came from older officers who were also veterans). To be fair, though, I've not seen any NPD "beat cops" who ran around dressed for busting down doors most of the time...

 

[bigfug]

I don't think he was necessarily arguing for a dedicated unit that does nothing else, just that they don't need most of their officers outfitted like that most of the time. At least, that's what I inferred from "There are no decent reason why a beat cop needs to run around looking like (and having the equipment) they are busting down doors in the Helmand province."

FWIW, I first heard this argument when NPD switched from their old brown uniform shirts to the dark blue/black BDU-style uniforms back in the '90s (and some of the worst criticism came from older officers who were also veterans). To be fair, though, I've not seen any NPD "beat cops" who ran around dressed for busting down doors most of the time...

He stated that beat cops don't need that equipment. If a beat cop didn't have the training and equipment for it, who else but a dedicated specialized unit? The current units are staffed by beat cops who can be called out at anytime, thus the need for them rolling out with that equipment. Now, not quite 80% have that equipment or training, but most of these units use similar equipment, uniforms etc, but perform different, very specific job roles. OCPD has ERT, USAR, Tac team, bomb squad, VCTF, officers trained for riot control, rifle operators etc. Most people would mistake any of those for "SWAT", so it would appear that 80% of the dept is ready to "bust down doors in the Helmand Province".