3.4 "There's certainly no reason to allow the sale of cop-killer ammunition which can penetrate bulletproof vests."
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This article is from the talk.politics.guns Official Pro-Gun FAQ, by Ken Barnes (kebarnes@cc.memphis.edu) with numerous contributions by others.
3.4 "There's certainly no reason to allow the sale of cop-killer ammunition which can penetrate bulletproof vests."
see_Uniform Crime Reports: Law Enforcement Officers Killed
and Assaulted 1982-1985,"FBI (see above)
In summary: Claiming that particular types of bullets or guns
are responsible for particular types of crimes, rather than
simply holding individuals who misuse guns responsible for their
actions, is the classic myth of "gun control". In point of
fact, any weapon can be a cop-killer in the hands of violent
criminals. Often, it's the police officer's own sidearm which is
grabbed by criminals in a struggle and used against him (see 1.2).
Armor-piercing handgun ammunition, originally developed for law
enforcement use in 1966, acquired public notoriety in 1982 when
a major U.S. television network, NBC, demonstrated the ability of
such bullets to penetrate soft body armor like that worn by
police officers. Other networks and media outlets followed
the "story," despite the fact that a little research would have
revealed that common hunting ammunition like that used in large
caliber rifles and in shotguns can also penetrate bullet-resistant
vests. Rather than diminishing the threat, media publicity about
the use of body armor by police contributed to some criminals
redirecting their aim to the head, neck, and other unprotected
areas of police, instead of buying expensive exotic ammunition
or sawing off rifles and shotguns to achieve the same effect.
[Officers shot in the head and killed while wearing bullet-
resistant vests: 1982 - 5, 1983 - 9, 1984 - 13, 1985 - 8]
Further, the "cop-killer bullet" scare, like the 1994 "Black
Rhino" hoax (see 3.4.a), took place despite there never having been
"one_law enforcement death resulting from such exotic ammunition
penetrating an officer's protective body armor. Two shooting
incidents occurred during the 1970s in which armor-piercing handgun
ammunition was used against police officers. In 1976, a Florida
State Highway Patrolman, Philip Black, and a visiting Canadian
police officer, Donald Irwin, were killed in Broward County, FL
by an assailant using AP ammunition, but neither of the two officers
was wearing a protective vest. In the only other such incident,
in 1974, Officer John Rixham, Jr., in Woodlawn, Maryland was shot
through his vest by an attacker using AP ammunition, and seriously
wounded. A ban on sales of any ammunition capable of penetrating
soft body armor was proposed in Congress, but initially opposed by
the National Rifle Association on grounds that the bill would prohibit
most ammunition used by hunters and sportsmen, in addition to the
so-called "cop-killer" AP ammunition. A revised bill, protecting
both police and the interests of hunters and sport shooters, was
passed and signed into law with the cooperation and assistance of
the NRA, but not before anti-gun groups had made the most of the
adverse publicity as a wedge issue between NRA and law enforcement.
As part of his re-election campaign, on May 15, 1996, President
Clinton called for banning any type of ammunition which can penetrate
a bullet-resistant vest "like a knife through hot butter." He also
introduced legislation in Congress March 5, 1997 which in effect
resurrected the original "cop-killer bullet" ban proposal, which would
have classified most ammunition, including that used by hunters and
sportsmen, as armor-piercing, and thus prohibited. The President's
proposal would also give to the BATF increased power to prohibit
the sale of new ammunition by reclassifying it as armor-piercing,
without requiring further action by Congress. This approach is
seen by many gunowners as a "back-door" means of gun prohibition,
and by the President's critics as an obvious political ploy.
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