El Paso Police Training With M4 Assault Rifles

El Paso Police will soon be equipped with brand new assault rifles.

They’re supposed to keep officers on par with increasingly sophisticated criminal trends.

Officers just started training with the M4 assault rifles, which are bigger, more accurate, and if need be, they can go through bullet-proof gear.

“It allows you to engage somebody and to end a deadly situation from maybe a safer distance,” one officer said. “It allows us to respond to high risk incidents that endanger the public.”

Police don’t want to scare anyone. The weapons – typically only for SWAT team members – will now be carried by every El Paso Police officer.

“The public has nothing to fear about the El Paso police department getting these rifles,” One officer said.

More than 1,100 heavy assault rifles were bought by city officials with federal grant dollars.

But don’t expect to see police officers carrying the new weapons across their chests as the Mexican soldiers do across the border.

“They should have nothing to fear of us going to their door and carrying a rifle. It’s not a tool that’s going to be carried on their body at all times,” the El Paso Police officer said.

“Every El Paso Police officer will need to take a 20-hour training session before taking these rifles to the streets,” an officer said.

Part of the training includes recreating real-life situations to learn how and when to use the rifle.

“It’s just one of the tools the officer will have at their disposal to utilize.”

And while sophisticated weapons such as Ak-47s continue to be used directly across the border, police are quick to say that is not the reason the rifles were purchased.

But if any violence should spill over, they say they they will be ready.