American law enforcement workers can be responsible for conducting traffic stops, patrolling high-crime areas, and apprehending suspects – tasks that are naturally risky and unpredictable. As a result, police in the United States are equipped with firearms they are authorized to use when necessary.
Given that law enforcement officers rely heavily on their service weapons, police departments generally establish set standards for the firearms they authorize and approve. Those criteria often include physical dimensions, stopping power, reliability, accuracy, ergonomics, and weight and distance of trigger pull. Cost is also commonly taken into account. Gun manufacturers meeting these specifications find a readily available market with law enforcement agencies nationwide.
24/7 Wall St. examined firearms used by police departments and sheriff’s offices in cities across the U.S., along with those used by federal law enforcement agencies, to pinpoint the most popular police firearms. The majority of the list consists of standard-issue pistols, with the addition of auxiliary weapons like shotguns and backup handguns.
Two gunmakers that appear most on this list are Glock and Sig Sauer. Glock, an Austrian firearms manufacturer has been marketing guns in the U.S. since 1988. Many police departments opt for Glock handguns because of their magazine capacity, accuracy, light weight, and steady trigger pull. Similarly, handguns produced by Sig Sauer, a German company established in 1976, have many of the same attributes as well as additional safety features.
In the United States, handguns tailored for 9mm ammunition lead sales in the civilian market, and 9mm pistols are also favored in the law enforcement community. Numerous departments have transitioned from .40 and .45 caliber ammunition, as 9mm offers comparable ballistics performance at lower cost, increased magazine capacity, higher rates of fire, and diminished recoil.
Here are the most popular guns in U. S. law enforcement:
Smith & Wesson M&P 40
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: .40 S&W
- Est. base price: $500
- Users include: San Antonio PD
FN 509 MRD-LE
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm
- Est. base price: $830
- Users include: LAPD
Walther PPQ (replaced by the PDP)
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm
- Est. base price: $700
- Users include: Brevard County Sheriff’s Office
Sig Sauer P365
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm, .380 Auto,
- Est. base price: $640
- Users include: Indiana State Police
Glock 43
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm
- Est. base price: $450
- Users include: Asheville, NC PD
Sig Sauer P229
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm
- Est. base price: $1,400
- Users include: U.S. Secret Service, Memphis PD
Glock 21
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: .45 Auto
- Est. base price: $550
- Users include: Phoenix PD, Lawton, OK PD
Remington 870
- Type: Pump-action shotgun
- Available chamberings: 12 ga, 20 ga, .410 bore
- Est. base price: $500
- Users include: Alaska State Troopers, Memphis PD
Sig Sauer P320
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm, 10mm, .45 Auto
- Est. base price: $735
- Users include: Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma City PD, Delaware State Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Glock 22
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: .40 S&W
- Est. base price: $520
- Users include: Philadelphia PD, Houston PD, Phoenix PD, Alaska State Troopers
Smith & Wesson M&P 9
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm
- Est. base price: $500
- Users include: Chicago PD, Detroit PD, Cincinnati PD, Columbus, OH PD, CIA
Sig Sauer P226
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm
- Est. base price: $1,200
- Users include: NYPD, Houston PD, Dallas PD, San Jose PD, CIA
Glock 17
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm
- Est. base price: $540
- Users include: San Jose PD, Dallas PD, Phoenix PD, Houston PD, Chicago PD, Columbus, OH PD, Asheville, NC PD, FBI
Glock 19
- Type: Semi-automatic pistol
- Available chamberings: 9mm
- Est. base price: $510
- Users include: NYPD, Chicago PD, Philadelphia PD, D.C. Metro PD, Boston PD, San Jose PD, Dallas PD, Asheville, NC PD, FBI, CIA, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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