Policy Text
DEFINITIONS:
APPROVED BY THE RANGEMASTER AND RANGEMASTER APPROVAL - Will be
demonstrated in writing through a Rangemaster’s Firearms Security and Storage
Inspection Form. The form will be prepared by the Rangemaster. The original will be
maintained in the employee’s training record and a copy given to the affected employee.
BACK-UP FIREARM - A firearm authorized by the Rangemaster, owned by the officer
and carried concealed as a back-up firearm. The officer is required to qualify with their
back-up firearm annually.
BEAN BAG SHOTGUN - 12-gauge pump-action shotgun platform approved by the
Chief of Police and Rangemaster and issued by the Department for the exclusive use of
deploying less lethal munitions by specially trained and authorized officers.
BIENNIAL - Taking place once in every two years.
12/1/22
CHAIN OF COMMAND - Formal lines of communication going downward or upward
within the organizational hierarchy through each successive level of command.
DEADLY FORCE - Is a subject's hostile, attacking movements with or without a weapon
that create a reasonable perception by the officer that the subject intends to cause and
has the capability of causing death or great bodily harm to the officer or others.·
Examples include but are not limited to the subject refusing to drop a knife when
ordered to by the officer and moving toward the officer, the subject shooting or pointing
a gun at an officer or other person and/or the subject trying to use a vehicle to run down
an officer.
[4.1.2]
EMPTY - Police Rifle and Special Weapons - Bolt forward, chamber empty, safety off,
un-cocked, no magazine in the magazine-well. Bean Bag Shotgun - No rounds in the
magazine, chamber empty, safety off and un-cocked.
FIREARMS - Any weapon which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to
expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.
LOCKED HARD-SIDED BOX or HARD-SIDED CASE - A rigid container that can be
locked and completely enclose a firearm inside thereby preventing access by
unauthorized persons. Any hard-sided case or hard-sided box that can be opened with
little effort, even partially, is prohibited.
OVERNIGHT - Any period of time when an officer is not on official business of the
Department and the vehicle is left unattended and/or not within the officer’s immediate
control.
PATROL CARRY - Police Rifle and Special Weapons - Bolt forward, chamber empty,
safety off, un-cocked, and a full 20 or 30-round magazine inserted in the magazine-well.
Bean Bag Shotgun - Four rounds in the magazine, chamber empty, safety off and un-
cocked.
PRIMARY FIREARM - A firearm authorized by the Chief of Police and issued to an
officer by the Department for official use.
RANGEMASTER - A state certified firearms instructor designated by the Chief of Police
to oversee the Firearms and Range operations. The Rangemaster will be responsible
for evaluating and recommending Department issued firearms and ammunition for final
approval by the Chief of Police.
REASONABLE BELIEF - Is the facts or circumstances an officer knows or should know
are such as to cause an ordinary and prudent officer to act or think in a similar way
under similar circumstances.
[4.1.2]
12/1/22
SECURE AND SECURED - Locked in a rifle, shotgun or special weapons rack
approved by the Rangemaster and installed by the Department to a metal hard-point
within the vehicle compartment; a locked hard-sided box or hard-sided case approved
by the Rangemaster and affixed to a metal hard-point within the vehicle compartment;
use of a Rangemaster approved cable and lock/double locked handcuff method affixed
to a metal hard-point within the vehicle compartment.
SERIOUS BODILY INJURY - Means an injury to any person which consists of a
physical condition that creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal
disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or
organ.
SPECIAL WEAPONS - Firearms of any kind that have been authorized by the Chief of
Police for use by specially trained and authorized officers.
STORED AND STORAGE - The keeping of a firearm in a vehicle passenger, cargo
and/or luggage compartment for any period of time.
UNINTENTIONAL DISCHARGE - A non-deliberate discharge of a firearm.
PROCEDURE: