rbhaxton72
Newbie
I am new here to Primary Secondary forums, as this is one of my first discussion posts. Retired Active Army, current civilian LEO. I've been tasked by department in soliciting bids for new duty pistols for our agency. I want to put forth some due diligence in selecting the right option for our agency, as I have witnessed other local agencies selected the new fad or "in thing" only to have buyers remorse afterwards. In trying to avoid these issues by other agencies, I want to make sure our decision is an informed and whatever platform we select, will be sustainable for years of usage by the individual officer. Our agency is a smaller agency just outside of a larger city in Iowa. Currently we have 9 full time officers with 1-2 reserves. We are currently issued Glock 22's and from my understanding have had them for almost 20 years. However, our agency does not mandate that you carry a Glock, but the individual officer has the choice of carrying another model, after the weapon has been inspected by myself. I currently carry an HK VP9 9mm for duty use and another officer carries a Sig 320 in 9mm. I am trying to pick the brain of some of fellow like minded LEO's and SME's (subject matter experts) in procurement and fielding new equipment. Obviously, I am looking for durability and reliability for police use, but also important is the maintenance and material piece. With those things considered, availability of duty holsters, weapon mounted lights and other accessories are critical. What criteria have some of you fellow LEO's followed? What were some of your findings in terms of researching different manufacturers for customer service and support? Does this include armorer's training and other depot level support to the agency? Some feedback from LEO's who have gone to other manufacturers than Glock to another platform would be greatly appreciated. Not saying that Glock is not being considered, am just wanting feedback on how that transition went. Thanks.