All full-time Louisville Police Officers are now carrying new sidearms which were purchased with drug seizure funds, reports Chief of Police Sean Holdiness. Holdiness stated that the department recently purchased 21 Glock Gen 5, Model 45, 9 mm semi-auto pistols. These sidearms will replace the Glock Model 22 & 23, 40 S&W caliber weapons which have been in service with the department for a number of years.
The firearms were purchased from Southern Connection of Ridgeland, MS who issued the lowest bid for the purchase. Holdiness stated that the department was able to trade in the old model Glocks and some older shotguns and keep the purchase price at $4K.
The new Glocks come with a hard-shell plastic case, three magazines and interchangeable grips to help customize the weapons to the individual officers.
For a $50 set-up cost, and $10 per gun, Southern Connection also laser engraved the Louisville Police Dept. badge on the top of the slide. Holdiness, whose background is with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, said that all of their firearms were engraved which made them easily identifiable, and added a sense of pride in carrying a weapon with the department’s marking.
Holdiness picked up the guns on Friday, October 4, and all officers have qualified with the new weapons.
In addition to the new sidearms, LPD recently received a donation of 11 in-car cameras from Gulfport PD who were upgrading their equipment. Holdiness said there was no cost to the City for the cameras, and they are better than the ones that had been in the patrol cars. And the Mississippi Dept. of Homeland Security has issued new cameras, video equipment and investigative technology to the Department at no cost.
To replace 13-year-old computers, Louisville PD will be receiving new modems and external antennas and 12 new laptops for the patrol cars, six desktop computers, through a lease program with ADSI.
And Holdiness stated that the Department has applied for a Rural Community Development grant through the USDA which will help to fund new vehicles, if approved. He added that the Dodge Chargers are impractical and hopes to eventually add some Dodge Durangos to the fleet.
