Sheriff's Department Seeks Riot Gear

San Diego County sheriff Bill Gore is back shopping for riot gear. This time the FBI veteran is in the market for nineteen 40mm pump-action “multi-launchers.” Made by Penn Arms of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the town made famous by a groundhog, the devices are favored by law enforcement for SWAT and crowd-management operations using tear gas and pepper spray. “The 40mm grenade launchers feature a rifled barrel vs. the 37mm’s smooth bore, and the 40mm grenades/munitions are smokeless,” notes the website Defense Review. “The 40mm’s accuracy potential allows an operator to put the munition exactly where he needs to, whether it be the upper corner of a window or a specific spot on a hostile subject’s body — from a (relatively) safe stand-off distance.” Long gone are the days when all a county lawman needed was his cheap and trusty six-shooter. The PGL-65 models sought by Gore are quoted at about $3000 per unit online.