Shotguns OKd for Motorcycle Officers

Barely a month after the North Hollywood bank shootout, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan Tuesday to arm motorcycle officers with shotguns, a step supporters said would have improved the police response to that incident.

The motion, initially introduced by Councilman Hal Bernson and later amended by Councilwoman Laura Chick, passed 11 to 2, with council members Nate Holden and Rita Walters opposed.

“We need to give officers a chance to compete with the firepower that’s out there today,” Bernson told the council. “If we don’t, it’s just going to make them more vulnerable, and therefore the public will be vulnerable.”

Equipping motorcycles with locking shotgun racks will cost $60,000 in unused overtime funds, officials said.

Holden called the extra firepower unnecessary and a possible danger to innocent bystanders.

“What happened in the Valley was an anomaly,” he said. “The probability of someone having to use a shotgun from a motorcycle is unlikely. . . . We don’t need officers out there saying, ‘I’ve got a bazooka with me and I’m going to do what I want to do.’ ”

Los Angeles police have said that one of the first officers on the scene of the Feb. 28 shootout arrived on a motorcycle carrying only a handgun. Fellow officers said a shotgun could have knocked down the bank robbers, who wore bulletproof armor and carried AK-47 assault rifles.

Police Sgt. Doug Meyer testified before the Public Safety Committee, which approved the measure earlier this month. On Tuesday, he repeated his testimony that handguns and shotguns are considered defensive and offensive weapons, respectively. When pursuing an armed suspect, police are encouraged to use the latter.