Tempe Police outfit duty motorcycles with AR-15s

PHOENIX — Tempe Police added an assault weapon to the backs of eight motorcycles, and after about six months, has received “positive feedback” from the community.

Phoenix New Times reported Monday that none of the AR-15s had been fired yet and that an intricate safety release has minimized access to bystanders.

The weekly said Cmdr. Mike Pooley and others in the office had expected negative reactions from Tempe citizens.

“We don’t want people to think we’re carrying these around for no reason,” he said.

But the opposite has happened.

The department has received a “a lot of positive feedback,” he said.

Tempe Police, along many other law enforcement agencies in the state, has stocked AR-15s for years. Use has been limited to officers — patrol and SWAT — who have undergone 40 hours of specialized training and are almost only loaded into patrol vehicles.

Those kinds of weapons have been stolen from police vehicles. An AR-15 and other weapons were stolen from a Phoenix Police vehicle parked at a precinct lot in February.

Sgt. Ronald Elcock told Channel 12 News that the weapons on the motorcycles were locked and pointed downward when not engaged.

“Officers have come into situations or have had calls where they’re engaging with suspects that have that type of weaponry,” Elcock said.

He added motorcycles’ mobility through traffic made for quicker response times in certain situations.

Related

Thieves make off with weapons from Phoenix police cars at stationsArizona tax preparer convicted of filing false returns for clientsChandler behavioral health facility patients attack nurses and police, steal drugsNext phase of I-10 widening between Phoenix and Casa Grande beginsScottsdale police make case for keeping Flock cameras: ‘ALPR saves lives’Car hits, kills 78-year-old woman on mobility scooter in Phoenix