5-400 Firearms Requirements and Policies
5-401 HANDLING OF FIREARMS (03/11/16) (12/17/18)
A. All employees shall safely handle firearms while performing on-duty assignments or while acting in a law enforcement capacity, in a manner consistent with MPD training and policy.
B. An employee’s finger shall be kept out of the trigger guard and indexed on the frame of the handgun until the employee is on target and intends to fire the gun.
C. Employees are responsible for any discharge of a firearm in their custody. Any unintentional, reckless, unlawful, or other discharge inconsistent with MPD training and policy may result in discipline.
5-409 SHOTGUNS (11/27/02) (10/24/03) (12/18/06) (10/05/09) (02/06/12) (05/02/20)
II. PROCEDURE / REGULATIONS
A. The Remington, Model 870 shotgun is the authorized MPD shotgun.
B. All sworn personnel who are not Certified Rifle Operators (in accordance with P&P 5-410) shall qualify and attend annual shotgun training and shall retain annual shotgun certification.
C. The shotgun shall be “squad ready” when in a vehicle.
1. To be squad ready, the shotgun shall have six rounds in the magazine with the hammer dropped (trigger pulled). There shall be no round in the chamber and the safety shall be in the “fire position.” The shotgun shall have a single strip of masking tape around the barrel and fore-grip with the preparing officer's initials, date and time written on the tape.
2. At the start of a shift, uniformed officers assigned to a marked squad shall obtain a shotgun, inspect it and ensure the shotgun is set up squad ready, unless the officers will have a rifle in accordance with P&P 5-410.
3. Upon completion of their shift, officers shall remove the shotgun from the squad car for storage in the precinct or unit armory. When stored, the Remington, Model 870 shotgun shall have the slide open with no rounds in the weapon.
5-410 RIFLES (03/31/06) (04/23/10) (08/01/11) (09/04/12) (05/02/20)
I. PURPOSE
To establish policy and procedure for the use of Department authorized rifles.
II. POLICY
A. Officers certified to carry Department authorized rifles are authorized to do so as part of their regular duty assignment. When deploying a rifle officers shall adhere to the Constitutions of the United States and Minnesota, and to all state and federal laws and MPD policies pertaining to the use of deadly force.
B. Only magazines issued by the Range or brands of magazines approved by the Range shall be used (in accordance with P&P 5-408). A list of approved magazines will be maintained at the Range. Officers will be issued one 30-round magazine, and may elect to carry more magazines.
III. PROCEDURE / REGULATIONS
A. Certified Rifle Operators
1. Certified Rifle Operators shall attend annual training and pass a qualification course to retain their certification. The certification course will be determined by the Range Master.
2. A Certified Rifle Operator who has used the rifle in violation of this policy or in an unsafe manner may have their certification suspended or revoked.
3. Failure to attend a scheduled rifle training session may result in the suspension or revocation of rifle certification.
B. Rifle assignment and condition
Certified Rifle Operators will be assigned a department issued rifle to carry on patrol.
1. Checking the rifle in and out
b. When checking out a rifle, officers must conduct the following checks and inspections:
i. Inspection for damages.
ii. Inspection for proper lubrication.
iii. Co-witness check of the electronic optic with the back-up iron sights.
iv. Manual function test using the loading/clearing barrel, verifying the rifle is in proper working order.
c. At the end of the officer’s shift, the officer shall verify the rifle is unloaded and returned to the precinct or unit armory. Officers shall not leave rifles in the squads at the end of their shift.
2. Rifle condition
a. Officers who carry a department issued rifle will maintain the rifle in the same condition as it was issued to the precinct or unit.
b. Officers are responsible for general maintenance and cleaning of the department issued rifle.
3. Accessories
Accessories may only be added or removed by authorized Range personnel, and only authorized accessories may be used.
a. The Range maintains a list of the authorized accessories that may be added to a Rifle (by authorized personnel).
b. Officers may not remove the assigned suppressor from any Department rifle.
C. Rifle Program Duty Declaration form
Certified Rifle Operators who are assigned a Department issued rifle shall sign a Rifle Program Duty Declaration Form (MP-9068) which outlines the rules associated with carrying the rifle. The Rifle Program Duty Declaration Form will be maintained by the Range in the officer’s file.
D. Rifle storage and transportation in vehicles
1. Rifles shall be “squad ready” when in a vehicle:
· The rifle’s bolt is forward on an empty chamber with the safety on.
· The rifle shall have the authorized magazine loaded with issued duty ammunition inserted into the magazine well.
2. Rifles shall be transported in one of two ways as follows:
a. In a squad mounted lock in the front passenger compartment of the vehicle, or
b. Cased in the trunk of the vehicle. If the rifle is cased in the vehicle’s trunk it may be brought into the cabin of the vehicle prior to arriving on a call that will require use of the rifle.
E. Deployment of rifles
1. Rifles may be deployed when the unique features of the rifle provide a tactical advantage.
2. It may be necessary to use a rifle in a building if the call involves an active shooter, a suspect wearing protective body armor or other serious situations. Officers should be aware that serious damage may occur to their hearing or the hearing of others in close proximity to the area if a rifle is fired in a building.
3. Officers should be aware of the area behind their intended target if they need to fire their rifles in an urban area.
5-414 DUTY HANDGUNS
(03/14/03) (01/27/05) (03/13/07) (07/19/07) (02/06/12) (11/08/13) (06/09/15) (12/17/18) (03/05/21)
A. Duty Handguns for Sworn Employees Hired on or after December 1, 2018
1. Sworn employees hired on or after December 1, 2018 shall only be permitted to carry Department-owned firearms as their primary duty handguns.
a. The MPD Range Master shall maintain the approved list of the Department-owned primary duty handguns authorized by the Chief of Police.
b. The authorized caliber for primary duty handguns is 9mm.
2. Sworn employees who wish to convert to an authorized Department-owned handgun as a primary duty handgun shall attend and pass an appropriate conversion course at the MPD Range.
3. Upon successful completion of the conversion course, the authorized handgun shall be the only handgun a sworn employee is authorized to carry as their primary duty handgun while on duty.
B. Second Handgun
1. Sworn employees may elect to carry a second declared handgun while on duty, provided they have passed the appropriate conversion and qualification courses for the particular handgun.
2. The MPD Range Master shall maintain the approved list of second handguns and calibers.
3. Sworn employees may only carry a second gun that is under the same platform (striker or hammer) as their authorized primary duty handgun.
4. Sworn employees working in an active undercover capacity may use their second handgun as their duty handgun during these operations for officer safety purposes with approval of their Inspector or Commander.
5. Sworn employees who wish to carry a second handgun on duty shall carry it concealed and in a holster.
C. Authorized Handguns for Sworn Employees Hired before December 1, 2018
1. Sworn employees hired before December 1, 2018 are authorized to continue carrying any handgun that was previously authorized, provided they have a duty declaration form on file with the range and they have qualified with that weapon prior to December 1, 2018.
2. Sworn employees will be permitted to replace a declared handgun that has been lost, stolen, destroyed or deemed inoperable by the range staff.
3. The Range Master shall maintain the list of firearms authorized before December 1, 2018.
D. Red Dot Sights (RDS)
1. RDS Weapon Training and Qualifications
a. Officers must attend and successfully pass an RDS transition course or have approval by the Range Master before they are authorized to carry an RDS-equipped handgun on duty.
b. Officers who carry an RDS-equipped duty gun shall score an 80% or better on the yearly MPD handgun qualification.
2. Approved Equipment and Altering of Duty Weapons for RDS
a. The Range Master maintains a list of manufactured weapon systems designed to accept RDS that are approved for duty use.
b. Milling or altering slides to mount RDS must be pre-approved by the Range Master.
c. The Range Master maintains a list of authorized manufactures and models of RDS and duty holsters that are approved.
d. Duty guns must have back up iron sights (BUIS) in the event of an RDS or battery failure.
e. If the RDS are not pre-installed by the weapon manufacture, installation of RDS and backup iron sights shall be done by range staff.
f. Range staff will perform battery changes on optics that require optic removal from slide.
g. Officers shall supply their own batteries for personally owned RDS systems. MPD will supply the batteries for department issued RDS systems. Replacement batteries are available at the range. Range Master maintains a list of approved batteries to be used.
E. Regulations Applicable to All Handguns
1. All sworn employees shall attend and pass annual firearms training required by the MN POST Board.
a. A Declaration of Duty Handgun form (MP-8876) shall be completed by the sworn employee and kept on file at the MPD Range for every handgun an employee has declared as a duty weapon.
b. Firearm qualification records shall be maintained by the MPD Range.
2. All sworn employees shall carry a declared handgun while on duty and in uniform, unless otherwise prohibited.
a. All handguns carried while on duty shall be fully loaded.
b. All handguns carried while on duty shall be carried in holsters.
3. Sworn employees working a plainclothes assignment shall wear their declared handguns in a manner that will not attract attention or be open to public view.
4. Sworn employees working in an undercover capacity may be permitted to be unarmed based on the nature of their undercover assignment, with approval of their Inspector or Commander.
5. Sworn employees working in uniform shall carry two additional fully loaded magazines for semi-automatic handguns or two fully loaded speed loaders for revolvers.
6. The Range Master shall maintain a list of approved lights and holsters for all handguns that the MPD uses.
a. The light attachment shall not be the primary flashlight. Employees shall carry an MPD approved flashlight (refer to P&P 3-203 Required Equipment).
b. Prior to adding a light to a declared handgun, sworn employees shall attend and pass a qualification course at the MPD Range with the new equipment.
c. Laser sight systems are prohibited.
7. Declared handguns shall not be altered in any way without approval of the Range Master.
8. Servicing (Gunsmithing and Alterations) of Department-owned handguns shall only be performed by MPD Range Staff. This does not include routine cleaning and general handgun maintenance, when performed by employees at the direction of MPD Range Staff.
Last updated Mar 6, 2021