Opinion

Fair shot at protection: what NY troopers need

I can’t argue with State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt that the state troopers need a long-arm in their cruisers. However, I would debate which rifles they need (“Arm the Troopers,” Editorial, Feb. 22).

Where did Corbitt get his pricing? Wholesale gun-supply houses offer AR-15 type rifles for substantially less than the $1,360 he mentions.

And why does he want to arm his troopers with any variant of the notoriously unreliable, under-powered “poodle shooter”? If Corbitt truly cares about the lives of his men, he’ll arm them with a real rifle.

New York is in a recession. We need to be frugal, and, more to the point, our state troopers need rifles they can rely on. No AR-15 pattern rifle ever made meets that standard. Just ask anyone who had to carry one in combat.

Roy Jaruk

Patterson

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The Post’s support for arming the state police with semi-automatic AR-15 rifles is correct. Such action is long overdue, especially with the now constant threat of terrorist attacks. However, several statements about certain rifles are misleading.

There is no such thing as a “semi-automatic AK-47.” An AK-47 is fully automatic and a very different kind of gun.

Neither the AK nor the AR-15 can be considered “high-tech.” They were high-tech in the middle of the last century, but they are very old gun designs now.

Jerold Levine

Valley Stream

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I disagree with “Arm the Troopers.” At a time when the state is closing parks, historical sites and recreational facilities in the Hudson Valley, the expense of purchasing the equipment and providing the training is simply not affordable.

Furthermore, neither is it necessary.

Presently, every trooper has a high-capacity pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun in his car, and most counties have their own SWAT teams.

In certain areas it might be appropriate for a trooper to ride with a rifle but, generally speaking, this is something we don’t need.

Robert Reeg

Stony Point