Alpharetta approves purchase of back-up pistols

Police in Alpharetta needed to call for back-up.

And the cost for this particular kind of back-up is $69,058.94, but Alpharetta won’t spend a dime.

At an Alpharetta city council meeting on Monday, the council approved the use of DEA-seized funds to purchase back-up pistols for the City of Alpharetta Police Department. To be exact, 135 Glock 43LE guns with fixed sights and about $12,000 worth of ammunition.

Backup pistols are carried by sworn officers in the event of a catastrophic failure or the loss of a primary pistol during an active deadly force situation. Currently, sworn officers are authorized to carry a back-up pistol of their choice which they purchase. That means officers end up carrying different types of pistols and with different calibers of ammunition.

A uniform back-up weapon, the agenda item states, streamlines qualification, maintenance, inspection and reporting processes, and ensures common training and familiarization for all officers.

Officers will still be asked to purchase a back-up holster of their choice, but they will be reimbursed with the DEA funds, up to $100.

The guns will be purchased from Ed’s Public Safety in Stockbridge and the ammunition will be bought from Gulf States Distributors in Montgomery, Alabama.