Sheriff Lott's New Toy

Franklin Harris | September 1, 2008, 1:16pm | #

Uh oh. My county's sheriff is going to be jealous and insist on upgrading his APC.

MAX HATS | September 1, 2008, 1:22pm | #

As anyone who's ever manned a .50 cal can tell you, there's only one little butterfly trigger that makes it go boom. Without proper discipline, it's quite possible to have loose gear or a lazy hand set it off. I wouldn't say negligent discharges were common on the fifty cal, but they certainly happened here and there, maybe averaging every other unit once per tour.

So I'm thrilled to see such a ridiculously powerful weapon in the hands of police who don't necessarily have any military training whatsoever.

Hell, even most members of the military don't know how to work a .50 cal.

It can also be a little tricky to unload if you don't know what you're doing.

Oh, and aiming it? You generally can't sight down the weapon from a turret, so the SOP in country is to estimate, then walk it in. I'm thrilled to see American law enforcement presumably expect to rely on the same methods. And the bullets go through cars, by the way.

One of the units in my battalion thought they were getting suicide bombed by a bus. A gunner opened fire with a .50 cal, firing three rounds. Two people on the bus died, and six were wounded.

So, perfectly reasonable for a law enforcement weapon. Perfectly reasonable.


Good lord.

Elemenope | September 1, 2008, 1:33pm | #

Someone needs to call Hans Gruber.

For APC control, you understand.

Elemenope | September 1, 2008, 1:35pm | #

Or, as we're now seeing in Minnesota, perhaps on raids against leftist political activists.

Fucking finally, BTW. I mentioned this one two days ago, and Glenn Greenwald had it four days ago over at Salon. I would have thought a Libertarian website would have been all over this shit like white on rice.

Bingo | September 1, 2008, 1:50pm | #

I for one feel safer knowing that criminals won't stand a chance! This is a perfectly reasonable acquisition, are you saying that child molesters and rapists should go free?

Naga Sadow | September 1, 2008, 2:08pm | #

"The Peacemaker"? More like "The Jackboot"!

sage | September 1, 2008, 2:15pm | #

This thing will probably end up being used like that tank on the movie Dragnet, where Tom Hanks and Dan Akroyd plow through the front door of a milk company rather than the criminals they were after.

Wait, wait. Raid the wrong place? How silly of me. That doesn't happen in real life.

sage | September 1, 2008, 2:29pm | #

Just think of how many family pets you can shoot with a fifty full auto. Even the biggest balls of fur will get ripped apart like a cutting torch through butter.

Naga Sadow | September 1, 2008, 2:33pm | #

50 cal's might have a dual use . . . hunting. No more following the deer's thrashing trail when you blow it's head clean off. Might damage the antlers a bit though.

James Anderson Merritt | September 1, 2008, 2:59pm | #

Any weapon that comes into general militia use (and by that I include police forces, e.g., "military-lite") is fair game for citizens to keep and bear under the 2nd Amendment.

I wish they were still making the Andy Griffith show. Wouldn't you just love to see Barney Fife roll into Mayberry with a vehicle like this that he got at a federal auction, where he was just supposed to pick up a new police car? Hilarity would definitely ensue.

TWC-Shilling for NoStar (still) | September 1, 2008, 3:03pm | #

I believe that a 50 cal is illegal for police work in Californicate. I know for sure that our POleece helicopters are unarmed.

TWC-Shilling for NoStar (still) | September 1, 2008, 3:06pm | #

Well...we do have some tactical nuclear weapons lying about...

I WANT THE ATOMIC BAZOOKA!

How cool is that thing?

pmp | September 1, 2008, 3:31pm | #

Former resident of Richland County here. What can I say? The police aren't particularly overly aggressive there. All of South Carolina seems "under-policed" compared to Virginia.

There's no excuse for arming civilian officers with this sort of thing. It's complete bullshit because it "tempts fate." What was Mrs. Thatcher's quote? "What's the point of having this wonderful army if we're not going to use it?" Good call, Maggie.

South Carolina has the highest violent crime rate of anywhere in the country. What does it need to fix that? Better schools, a more vibrant economy, and, yes, more police officers.

Tanks do nada--zip, zero, zilch--to reduce crime.

This absurd bullshit has been brought to you by 30 years of hysterical, lobotomized anti-crime policies..

anon | September 1, 2008, 3:40pm | #

"Dayer using ahtillery ahn us!!!"

Warty | September 1, 2008, 3:46pm | #

Not to defend the pigs here, but I know that if I had the chance to get an M2, I would certainly go for it, just to have such an awesome toy. Can you imagine how much fun that would be?

gun: BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM
me: hurr hurr hurr hurr hurr hurr
gun: BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM

The real problem here is the federal subsidies giving these toys to Barney Fife.

Huey | September 1, 2008, 3:57pm | #

"rounds go through pretty much anything short of concrete blocks or steel"

Uh, no. I've fired one, and the rounds go through concrete blocks or steel.

Stew | September 1, 2008, 4:08pm | #

This is ridiculous. Where are they going to shoot this .50 cal and not have to worry about the bullet carrying through to kill innocents?

Hopefully that country is completely rural.

Episiarch | September 1, 2008, 4:18pm | #

"Not big enough. We need something that can take out an entire army. Something you could commit a war crime with--(GASP)"

Seriously, there is absolutely no possible use for a Ma Deuce outside of war. This is beyond ridiculous. Do you realize just how fucking huge the rounds in a .50-cal are?

Episiarch | September 1, 2008, 4:25pm | #

It's a quote from Futurama, John. I'm revoking your Adult Swim Reference Card.

Happy Jack | September 1, 2008, 4:34pm | #

the LAPD actually sent the Barretts they had

Has the PIT maneuver lost its luster in ending a chase, or were the RPGs in the shop?

Do you realize just how fucking huge the rounds in a .50-cal are?

We use to make lighters out of the empty casings.

Naga Sadow | September 1, 2008, 4:42pm | #

Jack Travis: You know what a future a cop has, Murph? None. You punch a clock for 30 years, retirement, pension... nothin' to do. Drunk at noon, bullet in the brain by evening. Well, not for this kid! The police department's got it all: guns, ammo, drugs, cash... it's a one-stop shopping center. If you've got the balls and the brains, there's not a fucking thing anyone can do about it!

Episiarch | September 1, 2008, 4:54pm | #

Naga, quoting Lethal Weapon 1 or 2 is acceptable, but anything afterward is not. I am relieved, for your sake, it was at least 3 and not 4.

CSI | September 1, 2008, 5:11pm | #

Someone needs to call Hans Gruber.

Die Hard reference. I like :)

But seriously, surely theres no way police are allowed to use 0.5" machinegun. Especially considering how trigger-happy and poorly trained many of these SWAT chumps are.

Elemenope | September 1, 2008, 5:23pm | #

Yeah, Epi, because the movie that introduced Jet Li to western audiences gets no credit. None at all.

You know, for all your supposed taste, you have some odd hang-ups.

Episiarch | September 1, 2008, 5:33pm | #

Yeah, Epi, because the movie that introduced Jet Li to western audiences gets no credit. None at all.

Whoa, why so serious?

Introducing a foreign actor to American audiences does not somehow make a movie magically good. Besides, The One had a much greater effect on his career.

TrickyVic | September 1, 2008, 6:31pm | #

The raids in MN show what the republican's really think about our rights. It's worth a thread on its own.

Mike Caprio | September 1, 2008, 7:08pm | #

I'm sure the zombie apocalypse will start in South Carolina, and a tracked vehicle with a .50 cal will come in very handy for running over corpses and mowing them down.

Richard Grabman | September 1, 2008, 7:18pm | #

50 cals? Oh shit! They're the wet dream of every narco here in Sinaloa. You can make fajitas out of a pickup truck at a half kilometer with those suckers. Too bad they wipe out everyone in the neighborhood, but what the hell... South Carolina's the Bible Belt... "kill 'em all and let the Lord sort them out."

No wonder I moved out of the U.S. You've completely mad up there.

Mo | September 1, 2008, 8:20pm | #

What's amazing is that police don't need better weapons. Crime is at decades long lows. How do you sell, "Crime is going down, we need a 50cal."

Junter Klops | September 1, 2008, 8:48pm | #

According to my scarcely informed opinion, it is far more likely that a disgruntled, recently fired cop would use this to go postal than for it to be used for legitimate purposes. And that's even true when "legitimate" is taken to mean what the cops think it means, as opposed to us crazies.

Although I would say the chance of either of those happening is almost nonexistent.

edna | September 1, 2008, 9:12pm | #

more guns, less crime.

lott. get it? har, har.

BakedPenguin | September 1, 2008, 11:31pm | #

Of course, when some idiot cop shoots some innocent bystanders, the murder one charge will be dropped on the shmuck selling dime bags they were going after.

This has to be a violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the Posse Comitatus Act.

LarryA | September 2, 2008, 4:03am | #

Hey now. If they use this thing in a drug raid and it goes through a perp and kills an innocent three year old in the next room, that is just collateral damage. If the kid's dad hadn't been selling drugs according to our jailhouse snitch, the kid wouldn't have been killed. And hey, what is the life of a three year old versus the safety of the officers involved?

What if the three-year-old is two or three houses down the street.

I hope there are no innocent bystanders within hundreds thousands of yards of whoever gets shot

A .50 on semi-auto is accurate sniping out to 1500 meters. The maximum range is four and a half miles.

John | September 2, 2008, 7:55am | #

"What if the three-year-old is two or three houses down the street."

Again, what is the life of a three year old or any civilian when compared to the safety of the officers? You job as a bystander is to die so police can do their jobs with absolutely no risk to themselves.

ben tej | September 2, 2008, 8:40am | #

it looks like the sheriff is playing pocket pool in the photo

loupeznik | September 2, 2008, 9:40am | #

there is a little part of me that says, "my squad can take 'em!"

Nigel Watt | September 2, 2008, 10:38am | #

I don't know, maybe the cops think they need to maintain a monopoly of violence in the heavily armed - though I'm sure very polite! - society they police. Thanks, Second Amendment! You guys didn't really think the state would allow itself to be outgunned on the streets, did you? How does widespread personal firearm ownership look to you now? I know there are several factors involved in the militarisation of the police, but surely it's worth considering that .50 cals mounted on APCs could be an epiphenomenon of the right to bear arms.

No. That's retarded. Civilians can't own anything comparable to that thing.

Unfortunately.

TrickyVic | September 2, 2008, 11:51am | #

War = Peace

Lamar | September 2, 2008, 12:26pm | #

If you aren't breaking the law, then you have nothing to fear, unless of course you are an innocent victim of police tactics gone horrobly awry, in which case the chief of police will smear your character and convict you in the media such that it doesn't matter if you were breaking the law, you probably deserved it anyway.

Just think of how many black Labradors (endangering the lives of police officers) a .50 cal could take out!

Sheriff Lott | September 2, 2008, 2:30pm | #

What was that you said about my manhood being too small, BITCH?

TrickyVic | September 2, 2008, 4:53pm | #

A fun web site
Students for the Orwellian society.
http://www.studentsfororwell.org/

I'd like to see them adding current relative news articles.

monty | September 2, 2008, 7:50pm | #

You can ask Sheriff Lott if he is using this big gun to compensate for his shortcomings here: sheriff@rcsd.net

joe | September 2, 2008, 10:03pm | #

Man i wasted all this time and effort in becoming a soldier in the US Army, when all i needed to do was join the sheriff department to play with a M2 and drive a tank.

Sheriff Lott | September 3, 2008, 12:30am | #

"Can we call this overkill, yet? Is there any weapon people like Sheriff Lott would consider inappropriate for use against American citizens?"

Don't worry, it's only for them illegals!

irspariah | September 3, 2008, 1:00am | #

No black helicopters?

Jeff Capes | September 3, 2008, 5:00am | #

5623 Two Notch Road
Columbia, South Carolina 29223
(803) 576-3000 phone (803) 576-3195 fax
sheriff@rcsd.net

Spunkdrinker | September 3, 2008, 7:35am | #

Those tools remind me of the deputies in the first Rambo movie..

Bum | September 3, 2008, 8:17am | #

Part of the mission of the police is to use weapons with as minimal a risk of collateral damage as possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABGIJwiGBc

This brilliant man fires a .50 bmg round at a steel plate and it does a near-180 and he cheats instant death by mere inches.

In a more developed environment that one stray round could have killed several people... and this damned tank fires those rounds full-auto.

It's very sad when innocent citizens have good reason to be mortally afraid of the police.

ikonnoklast | September 3, 2008, 9:42am | #

Richland County is home to the capital, ladies and gentlemen... Columbia, SC. good god. a TANK. THAT's what I want rolling down the same streets with my children...

nikolai | September 3, 2008, 10:33am | #

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Maricopa County, AZ) is crying in his Wheaties right now... He only has an armored Humvee with a .50 cal!!

Uzziel | September 3, 2008, 1:03pm | #

In Soviet Amerika, pigs force peace upon YOU!

On a lighter note, anyone know where to procure an RPG-7 or a Javelin for that matter?

-Uzziel-

Kevin England | September 3, 2008, 2:02pm | #

I have found some practical uses for my 50-calibre machine gun in the game "Far Cry."

Seriously, though--after the North Hollywood shootout, in which virtually an entire police force couldn't handle ONE heavily-armed and armored man, I thought "that's what these hardened criminals need!" I suspect the sheriff expects to use it as a bluff, and to protect his officers, but, with the record of police abuse, and abuse of power, in general--I think he'd better be d*mned careful who he allows to operate that thing--like with thrice-a-week psychological tests, and monitoring of their Facebook and Myspace pages, which are sure to crop up with photos of their "pet."

Overkill. Back to the plastic, non-lethal bullets, and invest in body armor instead.

Burrito | September 3, 2008, 3:56pm | #

Maybe noone explained the Sheriff he can not stop a hurricane or a storm with a 50'cal...
Bloody rednecks! Showing off is all that matters.

Huck | September 3, 2008, 5:19pm | #

Hell, most cops cant even operate PISTOLS safely or effectively and these guys have a M2 .50 cal MG?

If Richland County, South Carolina has that serious of a crime problem why didnt they use the money wasted on that M113 and the M2 for hiring more deputies?

Steven Dunlap | September 3, 2008, 8:07pm | #

I recall reading about the "Bloody Sunday" riot in Belfast. A British Army armored car with a similar 50 or 60 caliber machine gun killed a small child in his home. The round traveled through an exterior and several interior walls before hitting him in his bedroom.

As for the North Hollywood robbery, I have always wondered why anyone thinks that the fact that the cops had to go into a gun shop to obtain the weaponry to take on the robbers would make a good argument in favor of giving police this kind of hardware. What's the problem? There's gun shops all over nearly everywhere. Problem solved. If in the very unlikely event that something like that happens again, just go to a gun shop and borrow some automatic rifle-- again. Don't worry, they'll be there. The gun shops and the automatic rifles.

Justin | September 3, 2008, 10:17pm | #

It's still better than the ED-209.

peaceweatherman | September 3, 2008, 11:46pm | #

ALLL RITEE THEN : Thanks guys now we are set for our own tienamen square . Always use the biggest hammer when swatting a gnat . Just good police footwork may man . This is why law enforcment is crying out for more money . Nice little toys like these that should "NEVER BE TAKEN OUT OF THE GARAGE" . Please look up "more americans incarcerated than ever before" news story . natzi pigs . and you thought you were living in a free state . HAH .

Tom | September 4, 2008, 4:16am | #

Obviously the taxpayers in this county need to rein in this insanity. Make sure this sheriff does NOT get re-elected. Elect county officials that refuse to fund amd allow equipment like this.

It's time for citizens to just say NO!

Liberty or Death | September 4, 2008, 8:42am | #

re- DasExperten

if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, calling it a duck does not make one a "moonbat liberal". I happen to be a conservative republican (not a neo-con pseudo-republican, a real republican who actually believes in limited government, low taxes and individual liberties) and am disgusted by the nazification of America. These goons you defend took an oath to uphold and defend your constitutional rights, yet they go to work every day and spend most of their time violating those rights (by enforcing unconstitutional laws) and doing the opposite of what they swore an oath to do. The fact is that in America today the police no longer protect and serve their communities and keep the peace, they follow orders, they 'enforce the laws' (regardless of whether those laws are constitutional or not), they generate revenue for the state and keep the multi-billion dollar a year prison-industrial complex in business (it's all about the money of course), and you (as most Americans) still consider them heroes? the good guys? these are the very same type of 'good guys' who carted millions of their fellow citizens off to concentration camps in Nazi Germany, but oh they're still heroes because they were only following orders right? Now in Nazi Amerika, they act as the arm of government that strips you of your rights and are prepared to use whatever force necessary to do it (a .50 caliber machine gun? talk about overkill) but obviously you and those like you don't care about your rights, you haven't the slightest idea of what they are and not only don't defend them, you fund their destruction and cheer for those 'heroes' who do the dirty work. The fact that morons like you are still by far the majority disgusts me to the point where I'm embarrased to be an American, truly a nation of apathetic sheep. The most tragic thing in all this is how many fought and died (or sacrificed and arm or a leg) to give you rights you don't appreciate and are unwilling to preserve, you are undeserving of the sacrifice they made...

Rev. Joel+ | September 4, 2008, 9:22am | #

If you don't live in Richland County or SC at least you really don't know what you're talking about specifically. There are areas in Richland County I wouldn't enter without tracks and a HBMG. The gangs are growing; the usual Bloods and Crips genre and now the wunderkind of the MS-13 and their ilk. Nice to have the tools to deal with these ammoral bottom feeders without endangering others.

Pax Christi
Rev. Joel+

ps...Probably the only time MaDeuce will sing will be on the Qual Range. The sight of her is usually enough to make the most hardcore banger fill his Depends.

Wendy Weinbaum | September 4, 2008, 1:33pm | #

I agree, the "police" should have NO ARMS that are denied to the PEOPLE. As a Jewess in the US, may I remind everyone that America wasn’t won with a registerd gun? And that criminals are stopped by FIREARMS, not by talk? That is why all REAL Americans put our 2nd Amendment FIRST!!

Swede | September 4, 2008, 5:51pm | #

I think we that stuff i Sweden in a near future.

koalabeer | September 4, 2008, 10:15pm | #

DasExperten:
i am glad to see this administrations "webwatch"
neocons are posting in this comments section too . yes people paid to support the dissemination of the misinformation side of the government . must keep up the "opposite side law and order and all that rot"
did you see the news story where a mom was arrested for child neglect . because she got out of the car and walked 20 feet to put money in a salvation army bucket ?

The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders . it is easy . all you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger .
herman goehring . nazi party nuremberg trials

matt | September 5, 2008, 4:26pm | #

I am not a liberal leftist and I am in 100 percent support of the protests at the DNC and RNC to end the war and stop their oligarchy rule over these United States. I am a states rights advocate,an old school Robert E. Lee lovin man from the south who never forgets state rights and what the feds have done to our nation.The army of the North is similar to the riot cops who carry out aggressive acts without thought about the U.S. Constitution.

pearl | September 5, 2008, 5:10pm | #

Enough, already, don't the taxpayers have any control over this? There can be no legitimate use for this weapon of war. I say the people in that county need to unite and oust this petty tyrant!

PavePusher | September 5, 2008, 10:28pm | #

"using a caliber of ammunition that even the U.S. military is reluctant to use against human targets (it's generally reserved for use against armored vehicles)"

Uuh, since when?? .50cal is an excellent long distance anti-personnel round. You friggen tools...

bugs bunny | September 7, 2008, 10:30am | #

You're all high or something.

Anything larger than a 22 will go into or through a car.

Lets arm th po po with bb guns and Boy Scout knives.

When you see an APC being used for traffic stops, fine, start yapping about jack boots. Until then you sound like a bunch of idiots.

Billy Beck | September 9, 2008, 2:25pm | #

"Anything larger than a 22 will go into or through a car."

I once watched an episode on The Military Channel in which an infantryman described the efficacy of 'Ma Deuce'. "Hollywood has done this weapon a terrible injustice," he said. "To give you some idea, go stand in the middle of an average downtown city block anywhere in America and look around. You will not see a structure anywhere that can protect you from it."

"Probably the only time MaDeuce will sing will be on the Qual Range."

See "Chekhov's Gun", fool.

Shane | September 9, 2008, 4:04pm | #

Why don't they just hire Rambo to police the County? Give the guy a couple RPGs, some dynamite, a tank, and a .50 cal. Let god sort em out.

No offense to the good citizens of Richmond County South Carolina, but your Sherriff is an IDIOT. Do you have any idea how much money it costs to maintain and insure that equipment? Let alone liability if its used improperly.

pat | September 9, 2008, 8:06pm | #

'DasExperten | September 4, 2008, 3:26am | #
All of you whiny "OMFG police state" liberals need to give it a rest. Yeah it may not look nice but old M113s are lying around everywhere and are probably cheaper than a modern armored car.'

That's that a logical argument for the over saturated Military-Industrial Complex influence in American Politics, as far as, I am concerned. Neocon.



'Also quit calling police officers "Nazi pigs" you bunch of moonbat liberals. Hundreds of officers have died in the line of duty serving this country, and you have the nerve to call them Nazis from your computer chair?'

Yup

'Do you dumbass really think cops wake up in the morning and think "I want to beat somebody's ass"?'

Some certainly do, it's the result of "conditioning mentally and physically", added with a predominance for adrenaline addiction, it turns nicely into Explosive Personality Dissorder, and the result is a person so fried mentally that they may as well be made of pudding.



'No 99% of them want to go to work, get paid, and head home to their families like everybody else.'

A number like that is untrue and unverifiable, placing an arbitrary number on that concept in no way helps your loose emotional rant.



'Somebody has to uphold society's laws and keep this country, or any modern country from falling apart.'


Taking the Masochistic's Role I see. Assuming that we are all in need of an overlord, or else its impossible.
'Somebody'?!

How about "WE All", have to uphold societies laws. Chances are that with the police scaled back, tied in with simple decriminalization of narcotics. You jut saved a lot of money pain and time, and actually disturb the circle of waste and violence.

The police are not working with or without their technology.

highpockets | September 12, 2008, 1:44am | #

Ii think this weapon has one good purpose. In a mosque the men line up in rows. One round, maybe 10 killed. I hope every town with a mosque gets at least two each. Never forget Islam is a relegion of peace. Making terrorist without interference the most imporant piece.