The Bayfield Police Department soon will implement a new pistol program that will not only provide a tactical benefit amid the chaos of an active shooter situation, but also help incentivize new recruits to join the force.
Similar to the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Bayfield police’s new setup will make it easier for officers to help provide or exchange extra magazine clips with fellow officers who may be low on ammunition while on the scene. The program’s second perk is that Bayfield police will provide recruits with handguns, including Glocks and Tauruses, rather than recruits having to pay for the pistols themselves said Bayfield Police Chief Michael Hoguet.
“It’s very critical in incidents where we’re responding and we have to have weapons ready," he said. “It is tactically better to have the same platforms amongst everybody. So if there’s an instance where we have to exchange magazines, we know that our magazine will fit their pistol and theirs will fit ours as we go into situations.”
Hoguet said Taurus magazine clips will be interchangeable among Taurus pistols, SIG Sauer clips being interchangeable among SIG Sauer pistols, etc.
He said recruits previously would have spend as much as $400 to $800 on a Glock, depending on features they want to add. Now they won’t have to spend money on their pistol; they can simply complete field training and hit the ground running.
“We want to be able to make sure that when an officer gets hired, we provide them with everything they need,” he said.
Hoguet said being able to exchange magazine clips will be imperative when officers have to set up a perimeter when dealing with incidents such as a standoff or a school shooting.
“There’s a lot of incidents that could happen that pop up where we may have to be able to interchange our systems with each other,” he said. “If someone needs equipment or needs assistance, that’s what their radio system’s for. And if they’re right next to each other, they’ll be able to verbally communicate what they need.”
The town of Bayfield put in $6,000 in Capital Improvement Program money toward the program.
Bayfield police is planning to launch the program within the next couple of weeks, Hoguet said.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
