A couple of days ago, there appeared on the front page of the Idaho State Journal, a picture of two state troopers escorting two young men who had been shooting in the Mink Creek area. The young men seemed to be in handcuffs, but the thing that startled some people that talked to me, was that the officers were both carrying M-4 assault type rifles. The reason I say, "assault type", is because as I understand it, these rifles are in reality, semi-automatic rifles, rather than automatic rifles. Still, the thought of the police responding to this incident with rifles that looked like and are very similar to the automatic rifles our troops carry in Iraq and Afghanistan, seemed to bother some people.

I think I understand the alarm that some of my friends had as they imagined the police using military style weapons in their Daley interactions with the general population, but I'm convinced that their concern is unfounded.

First, the chance that you might be confronted by an officer with an M-4 hanging across his or her chest by a one point sling, for a traffic violation or any number of reasons the police might need to talk to you, is pretty remote. If it does happen, just cooperate and relay your concerns to the officer's superiors after wards. You will probably find out that the officer had a very good reason for his or her actions.

Second, most of the general population is not aware of the changing needs of police departments across the nation as they try to make sure their officers are not at a disadvantage as they try to protect themselves and society against an ever increasingly better armed criminal element, including domestic terrorism issues.

Since the nature of police work is constantly changing, weapons and weapons training is also changing to meet the new demands of protecting society. The Glock and Heckler and Koch semi-automatic pistols in .40 and .45 caliber, the police in this area are using, are state of the art firearms in terms of reliability, safety, and effectiveness, and are as good or better than what the criminal element are using. The

M-4, rifles are also state of the art, and the .223 caliber round it fires is extremely accurate, and a proven one shot stopper if the officer must fire. In addition, many police departments also have purchased a number of Heckler and Koch MP-5 automatic rifles that fire the 9mm round for special situations that may arise. Most police departments also are purchasing less than lethal weapons such as bean bag shotguns and tasers.

For many years I was a volunteer with the College Station, Texas Police Department's, Knight Watch program where I patrolled an assigned area for several hours during the late evening and early morning, two or three nights a week. Our department issued it's officers a Glock in .40 caliber and required each officer to qualify two times a year. The departments M-4 rifles were selective fire, meaning that they were usually carried in semi-automatic mode but could be switched to a three or five shot burst if authorized. The department also had a number of H&K MP-5s as well as shotguns, bean bag shotguns, and tasers. Every officer had to qualify with the weapons he or she carried on their person or in the patrol car.

The College station Police Department realized early on, that the city was right in the middle of the highway system between Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, commonly called the MetroPlex, and that their crime problems would inevitably filter into our community.

The College Station Police Department was also fortunate, in that along with the city of Bryan it inherited an old Army Air Corps base, that was abandoned and given to the two cities after WWII. The old base was a perfect place for all kinds of training scenarios and both cities took advantage of the opportunity to use the old base for the training of their police officers. Gary Bishop, the department's training officer and Dan Severn, the department's swat team leader were able to invite instructors from the military elite units as well as instructors from other swat teams around the country to come in and train our personnel in advanced tactics.

It was in 1998, if my memory is still serving me, that the Texas DPS, which includes the Texas Rangers, switched from a Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol to the Sig-Saur 226 semi-automatic pistol in the .357 Sig. caliber. That change took place after Lt. Walker and Sgts. Riddle and Pittman completed a study designed to determine a more effective pistol and cartridge for the Texas DPS officers as they tried to meet the changing challenges of their profession.

When I moved back to Pocatello, one of the first things I did was to enroll in the Pocatello Police Department's citizen's Police Academy, I highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in how our police department works and the policies and procedures they adhere to. You might even get to shoot some of the weapons that you would like to know more about.

I was very pleased with the article by Debbie Bryce, " ARMED TO THE TEETH", in the Thursday edition of the Idaho State Journal. ISP Regional Commander Ed Gygli, ISP Lt. Eric Daley, Pocatello Police Chief J.R. Miller and Chubbuck Police Chief Randy Severe did an excellent job of discussing the changing challenges the police have to be able meet.

Since returning to Pocatello, I have had the privilege of getting know many of our local police officers. I have been very impressed with the quality of people working for ISP, The Pocatello Police Department, and the Bannock County Sheriff's Office, as well as the University Department of Public Safety.

The next time you see one of these officers, try applauding. If they look confused, just tell them that you caught them doing the community a great service. They will likely wonder what you have been smoking because they probably don't hear that very often.