Sheriff’s office gets $14,000 worth of rifles

— Thanks to the generosity of citizens of Mississippi County, sheriff’s office deputies will soon have up-to-date weapons.

Members of the public contributed enough money to buy 20 Panther A2 rifles. The cost of the rifles was approximately $700 each. That means residents of the county contributed more than $14,000.

The idea came from Justice of the Peace Donnie McDaniel of Wilson and several other residents of the southern section of Mississippi County.

“After what happened to the officers in West Memphis, I wanted our deputies to know how much we value them and their efforts to protect us,” McDaniel said.

Two West Memphis police officers were killed May 20 at a traffic stop with an automatic weapon. Their assailants were later killed in a gunfight with other officers on the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in West Memphis.

Two other officers were injured that day - Crittenden County Sheriff Dick Busby and his chief deputy, W.A. Wren. Wren’s family, who lives in Mississippi County, purchased one of the rifles for the sheriff’s office, McDaniel said.

The response to the fundraising drive was overwhelming, Sheriff James Sanders said.

The 20 rifles have been received at the sheriff’s office. Before the rifles are put into service, the department must create a training manual andpolicy for use of the weapons. That process is expected to be completed in a few days.

Each weapon purchased will feature the names of the person or group who contributed toward its purchase. Mc-Daniel said a list of contributors will be placed on a plague in the sheriff’s office as well.

Most of the contributors bought weapons outright, McDaniel said.

“We bought 20 rifles with donations from 22 contributors,” he said.

McDaniel was pleased with the response from the public.

“I am so glad that the people contributed,” he said. “It lets the deputies know how much they are appreciated by the citizens of the county.”

The Quorum Court alwayshas tried to make sure the officers were properly equipped. But its members said the expense of the rifles was too great to fund in the middle of the year.

Sanders said he appreciates the effort.

“I am so thankful for the response of the people of Mississippi County,” he said.

The gesture “boosts the morale of the officers” and gives them extra courage against “the dangers we face daily,” he said. “This means a lot to us.”

The rifles will be issued to the regular patrol deputies, the sheriff said. The county’s Special Response Team already has similar rifles.

“These are for the front-line officers, the ones who are first on the scene,” Sanders said.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 09/09/2010

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