Chattanooga police have a new weapon to help protect you against armed perpetrators.
They held a demonstration of their new Bushmaster 2-23 caliber rifles at
the police firing range on Moccasin Bend Road this morning.
Officers must complete a two day training course prior to deploying them.
The rifles are engraved with the Chattanooga P-D badge for identification purposes.
Lt. David Roddy says they give officers a huge advantage over handguns and shotguns, "Workplace violence and school violence weren't a thing that we had to deal with when these weapons were brought about. We have to be as progressive as we're seeing the criminals become."
The department used Federal Asset Forfeiture Funds to purchase enough of the new rifles to arm patrol officers and supervisors.
Tonight on WDEF News 12 at 6:00, Anchor-Reporter Reneé LaSalle gets a chance to fire the new weapon.
[1]