Findlay police officers will soon be allowed to carry semi-automatic rifles while on patrol.
The police chief is changing policy in reaction to recent mass shootings across the country like Sandy Hook.
In addition to Glock .45 handguns and Remington shotguns, the Findlay Police Department's 57 officers will also have the option to carry semi-automatic rifles.
They're another tool as officers patrol the streets within a department with its lowest staffing levels since the 1980s.
Findlay's Tactical Unit already uses M-16 automatic weapons, but beginning in April patrol officers will be allowed to carry AR-15's on duty.
"There's approximately ten officers with the police department that have placed orders," says Sgt. Ryan Doe.
Sgt. Doe is shelling out nearly nine hundred bucks out of his own pocket for the semi-automatic rifle which has better accuracy over longer distances.
"I thought it was a right opportunity, right time to take advantage of that where I could own the weapon, have it available on duty in the event that need ever came up," says Sgt. Doe.
"With current events, I thought it'd be a good time to go and give our officers a better chance, kind of level the playing field," says Findlay Police Chief Greg Horne.
Chief Horne says with budget cuts he couldn't afford to buy the guns, but he's allowing the officers to do so. They get special deals through some manufacturers.
Findlay police officers can also go out to a gun shop and buy their own AR, but the prices are a bit steeper because of supply and demand right now.
"The AR sales did explode with the Sandy Hook situation," says Larry Corbin, sales manager at the Buffalo Trading Company on Bright Road in Findlay.
Corbin says talk of an assault gun ban in Washington made these rifles harder to come by.
"We're constantly getting new customers coming in all the time," says Corbin. "But we do have a regular fan base, too. Guns have always been a good investment."
More police officers think so, too.
"Hopefully we never have to use them, but I would rather have that tool at our disposal in the event that something did happen," says Sgt. Doe.
Officers don't yet have the AR-15's on patrol yet. They'll have to go through training first in April.
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