Let’s hope the politicians in Illinois missed this story.  The brain surgeons in charge of the Fairfax County, Virginia County Police have decided to trade in their buckshot for beanbags.  What could possibly go wrong?  I’m sure if someone tips of Big Brain Brandon up in Chicago that this would be a policy he would enthusiastically champion!

Let’s face it:  Any Every time police try kinder, gentler policing, criminals cheer enthusiastically from the sidelines. 

It’s true:  police administrators in Fairfax County, VA have stripped patrol officers of their shotguns.  Instead of sending officers out with 00 Buckshot or rifle slugs to put down violent offenders threatening innocent life, their “lucky” beat cops are deploying with bean bags.  Some might even get nothing for surrendering their tried and true, fight-stopping shotguns.

From the Fairfax County Police Department News:

Fairfax, VA– In the Spring of 2023, FCPD’s Law Enforcement Training unit took another step forward in its less-lethal options in policing by transitioning and equipping all the department’s patrol officers with less-lethal shotguns.

Prior to March, every police cruiser was equipped with a 12-gauge shotgun as a use-of-force option. In an effort to give officers, FCPD reviewed the data, discussed use-case issues, surveyed patrol districts, and determined that department more less-lethal options, shotguns could be better utilized in a less-lethal capacity. This new solution provides officers with an additional option they can use when faced with less-lethal use situations.

In the months it took to safely make this transition across the department, FCPD took 800 shotguns out of circulation and has now put 630 less-lethal beanbag shotguns into use.

So they took 800 shotguns out of circulation and replaced them with 630 “cornhole” shotguns firing bean bags?  That’s not “transitioning and equipping all of the department’s patrol officers with less-lethal shotguns.”  Unless they’re cutting the number of patrol officers by 170, which in today’s world isn’t out of the question.

Image via Fairfax County Police Department News.  Maybe I should stencil “MORE LETHAL” on the buttstock of my shotgun.  After all, I won’t be shooting beanbags at bad guys.

Because, Lord forbid, shotguns be lethal to bad people with evil in their hearts!

The new less-lethal shotguns are similar in weight, size, and appearance to the original patrol shotgun but look very different. These shotguns are now outfitted with a bright orange stock, fore-end, and large “Less Lethal” lettering on the stock (see picture). This color change will provide officers with an awareness that the shotguns are equipped with a less-lethal beanbag projectile.

Wait until one of the officers is sighting down his or her “less lethal” shotgun when a bad guy pulls up a fully lethal firearm.

Officers, who were all required to go through training on the use of the less-lethal shotgun before being allowed to use it, are taught the appropriate targeted areas for deployment to help eliminate major injuries. 

“Appropriate targeted areas”?  Is that like Joe Biden telling cops they should shoot for the arm or the leg to stop bad guys trying to kill people?

The good news for the woke social justice warriors in Fairfax County, Virginia is that their icky police will be employing “less lethal” tools against potentially lethal threats.  That might make them feel better, but for the rest of us, it just means putting cops needlessly at further risk.

Image via Fairfax County Police Department News.

After all, it’s not like crime is on the rise there in Fairfax County.  From the Fairfax Times:

At two months into the new year, crimes against person and crimes against property in Fairfax County are on track to outpace 2022. 

The two types of crime are those against persons and those against property. Crimes against a person include assault offenses, homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping, and sex offenses. Crimes against property cover a broader range of offenses, including arson, bribery, burglary, vandalism, embezzlement, fraud, and theft.

In 2022, there were 936 crimes against person cases across the county compared to 1,187 as of Feb. 15. This trend parallels crimes against property, totaling 2,952 for 2022 compared to 3,176 as of Feb. 15, according to data provided by the Fairfax County Police Department.

This data builds on an upward trend in which crimes against person and crimes against property jumped by 10.5 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively, from 2021 to 2022. 

 

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