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Thread: 1911 use by LE agencies...

  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by FrankB View Post
    If you go to the 7:00 minute mark, an officer empties his 1911 into a kidnapper. This occurred on April 16, 2020.
    https://youtu.be/R-Yfj24jpWU
    The year 2020 is long past the heyday of the revolver
    We wish to thank the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, without whose assistance this program would not have been possible.

  2. #22
    The Nostomaniac 03RN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FrankB View Post
    If you go to the 7:00 minute mark, an officer empties his 1911 into a kidnapper. This occurred on April 16, 2020.
    https://youtu.be/R-Yfj24jpWU
    Do we know if those were what hit the kidnapper? Pretty impressive through glass.

  3. #23
    Site Supporter FrankB's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 03RN View Post
    Do we know if those were what hit the kidnapper? Pretty impressive through glass.
    I don’t know, but you hear “Watch the Crossfire!” clearly... 😳😳😳
    Edit: I couldn’t find much info, except that the officer carrying the 1911 was the only Richmond PD officer on scene at that moment.
    Last edited by FrankB; 06-25-2020 at 04:42 PM.

  4. #24
    These are few near me: Hermosa Beach was and still is a big 1911 department, Hawthorne had a lot of 1911 users (looks like they are transitioning to Gen 5 Glocks), Manhattan Beach was about 50/50 during the revolver age and Long Beach PD (Home of the LB Operator).

  5. #25
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    going off of memory, but I recall

    Tacoma WA PD issued 1911.
    If you're going to be a bear….be a GRIZZLY!

  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by TGS View Post
    All,

    Does anyone know of any law enforcement agencies that used the 1911 during the heyday of the revolver? Let's say, 1980 as a cut-off date.

    Just to head off annoying tangents:

    1) I'm not looking for contemporary use by law enforcement.

    2) I'm not looking for your opinion on the efficacy of 1911 vs revolver for LE use.

    3) I'm not looking for one-off use by a "Tackleberry"....I'm more wondering about systemic, widespread use.
    Would like to know the reason behind the question...(?)
    I wouldn’t call them “Tackleberrys”, but men like Bill Allard, Jim Cirillo’s partner in the NYPD Stakeout Squad in the 1960s ran a 1911 with good effect. Reports of Chicago PD detectives having 1911s.
    Mas Ayoob ran a 1911 in some small NH PDs around that time.
    You have the US MPs, Navy Shore Patrol, etc., utilizing 1911s.
    Dilemma is many agencies didn’t “issue” sidearms, but allowed many brands. I rocked a Colt LW Commander in the 1980s off duty, for example. If you expand your cutoff to 1990, you get Tacoma, Denver...
    I cannot readily come up with any department that “issued” the 1911.
    Others have mentioned Texas Rangers, California agencies,etc. I am relatively confident one or more US “alphabet” agencies probably handed out a 1911 or two overseas(along with S&W revolvers).

  7. #27
    Member TGS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1Rangemaster View Post
    Would like to know the reason behind the question...(?)
    Just chattin' with a buddy about the use of 1911s when revolvers were the defacto standard for LE.

    The "tackleberry" comment is just that I'm not interested in one-off use by a gun guy, but (for the 3rd time now) widespread use among an agency.
    "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer

  8. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Trooper224 View Post
    The Colorado Springs PD used the 1911 as standard issue for some time. I don't know if they still do. Off hand, I can't think of any other large to midsize departments that issued it as standard, other than the Texas Rangers and I don't know if that case was issue or personal preference.
    Springs is now a S&W M&P shop.
    -All views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect those of the author's employer-

  9. #29
    Site Supporter Totem Polar's Avatar
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    I haven’t been able to verify how far back the Spokane Sheriff’s Department affair with the 1911 duty pistol goes. I know that deputies were carrying the 1911 back in the 90s, but that’s well after the transition to semiautos had begun sweeping the nation.

    I did stumble across this, just FYI:

    https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=268453

  10. #30
    During the 60s, the majority of cops in California carried S&W K frames. The CHP carried N frame 357s. Every now and then, you'd see a Colt double action revolver. It was rare to see a 1911.

    It was the same during the 70s, but S&W autos started gaining popularity. S&W autos started displacing even more revolvers in the 80s and autos gained even more popularity with the introduction the Beretta. Sig stated making inroads with the introduction of their DA/SA autos and Glock ended the revolver era with the 17.

    1911s were rarely seen in the holsters of beat cops and detectives. In the 90s, much was made of 1911s being adopted by elite units such as SWAT and HRT.

    The 1911 is my favorite handgun, so I'd always check to see what cops were carrying in their holsters, hoping to see Old Slabsides, cocked & locked. More often than not, I was disappointed. Catching sight of a cop carrying a 1911 was a rare sight.
    We wish to thank the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, without whose assistance this program would not have been possible.

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