Posted 3/10/2008 05:12:00 PM by Douglas

Why on earth would a tiny Texas town of less than 4,000 people possibly need a police force armed with fully automatic rifles?

The nine police officers who patrol between the town's two stoplights have seen their training and weapons upgraded in recent years. Namely, the department now has an automatic rifle. An M-16, to be precise.

While it's unusual for such a small police agency to own a gun that powerful, Police Chief Ronnie Lawson says it's an appropriate upgrade because highways funnel more than vehicle traffic through this agricultural community.

"Before, there was never the threat there is now," Lawson said, adding that terrorists could possibly hitch a ride on one of the drug or immigrant smuggling routes that run through Jourdanton. "There's all types of possibilities."

Oh good lord. It's possible that Osama been forgotten is going to land his dual pronged amphibious air assault on suburban Jourdanton, but that doesn't seem very credible. You don't even have an exit off I-37, for Chrissake. But good job on filling out the right paper work to get free government money, Ronnie. But for the money quote, gotta go next door to neighboring Pearsall, Texas (pop 7,100) and Police Chief Joel Gonzalez:

Pearsall Police Chief Joel Gonzalez doesn't see the need for heavy firepower, such as M-16s, in his community. In his 11 years with the department, officers have only used a shotgun once to shoot at a snake, he said, so he'd rather focus his officers' energies on training and knowing the locals. Gonzalez also worries about the message big firepower would send in a small community.

"I know that every department wants to be prepared, but I really don't feel like we should escalate to that level," he said.

Wow, what a refreshing voice of reason. Too bad no one is listening.