Feb 14, 2008 9:46 pm US/Eastern
City Commissioner Wants To Ban Assault Rifles
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Katrina Boursiquot (widow of Miami Detective James Walker), Miami Police Chief John Timoney and Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff hold news conference on plans to ban assault rifles in the city of Miami.
CBS
Taking a stand against a flood of assault weapons in the hands of criminals on Miami's streets, city commissioner Marc Sarnoff has come up with a plan to ban these dangerous weapons from being sold or used inside the city.
Citing the end of the federal assault weapon in 2004, Sarnoff said the number of murders and violent crimes committed with assault rifles have drastically risen in Miami.
"Guns once found in the hands of soldiers, are now cheap, readily available on streets and often pointed at those sworn to protect and serve us," said Sarnoff at a news conference Thursday to announce his initiative.
The commissioner pointed out that earlier this year that City of Miami detective James Walker was killed with an assault rifle in an alley in North Miami Beach.
"New York city passed an assault rifle ban," said Sarnoff. " I think it is up to the City of Miami, so I've asked the city attorney to start exploring to see if we can pass an assault rifle ban which would be substantially the same as New York city's."
One part of Sarnoff's plan is for the re-instatement the federal ban on assault type weapons. He's asking that all Miami residents send a letter to their Congressman demanding this re-instatement. The letter, which can be downloaded from
marcsarnoff.com, says in part:
"As you well know the Federal law banning the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons, known as the Federal Assault Weapons ban, has expired. I urge you to use all of your powers and votes to reinstate the ban on assault weapons as soon as possible. Until you do so, our citizenry, and in particular, our police departments are in imminent danger. These types of assault weapons have been used to perpetrate some of the most violent murders ever committed in our country. We cannot continue to allow public access to military style assault weapons." When asked how Miami police officers were combatting the growing assault weapon trend on the street, Police Chief John Timoney said they were trying to accommodate every officer who had requested to carry a department approved assault type rifle. Each officer approved must undergo a three day training course, but even with the training, Timoney says these powerful weapons must be used judiciously.
"You have a powerful bullet that comes out of these weapons," said Timoney. "Detective Walker's case is a classic case. When he was shot, there was a shooting before that and a woman a quarter of a mile away, ten stories up, one of those bullets went through her window and into her couch. That's how powerful they are. The bullets that we issue to our police officers are called 'frangible' bullets, they will stop, they will be powerful, but they will break on impact which reduces the possibility of ricochet."
Sarnoff also announced that the city will be forming the Detective James Walker Relief Fund in cooperation with Washington Mutual.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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