Dubliner uses firepower to take on Miami gun gangs
A DUBLINER dubbed 'America's Best Cop' by Esquire magazine is to issue up to 200 assault rifles to his police officers in the fight against gun gangs in his adopted home, Miami.
Dublin-born John Timoney last year authorised his officers to carry AR-15 rifles -- a semi- automatic version of the military's M-16 -- because of a rise in assault rifle use by criminals.
So far, 50 rifles have been issued to patrol officers in Miami, but Timoney (50) aims to acquire 150 more.
"This is a national problem. Police agencies all over the US are going to bigger weapons," Chief Timoney said.
The rifles fire 5.56mm bullets with enough velocity to penetrate body armour and have greater accuracy than handguns.
AK-47s have become the "gun of choice" for criminals in Miami, he said, adding: "My police officer who was killed (in January), that was an AK-47 bought by an 18-year-old."
The Miami police chief is a native of Dublin. His family emigrated to the US when he was 12 years old.
He is a former police chief of New York and Philadelphia and is a recognised expert on shootings involving police and armed gangs.
He was speaking as new figures showed that last year, 69 police officers were shot to death in the United States, up from 52 in 2006 and the highest level in five years.
Chief Timoney has advised the Irish Government on crime and was profiled in Esquire magazine under the front cover title: "The best cop in America on the trouble with cops."
His Leitrim-born father ran a pub in Dublin's Wood Quay before the family emigrated to New York.
Here in Ireland, only the Garda's SWAT team, the Emergency Response Unit, has access to 5.56mm rifles. Most armed detectives still rely on pistol calibre Uzi 9mm sub-machine guns, with just one third the range of the rifles, which will not penetrate body armour.
- Michael Lavery
