A northwest Iowa sheriff is conducting a fund drive to raise money to buy new guns. Osceola County Sheriff Doug Weber says the handguns he and his deputies are carrying today are 17 years old. "It’s recommended for police duty weapons to be replaced about every eight to 10 years," he says.
"We’ve been having some problems with (their 17-year-old handguns), parts wearing out." According to Weber, the problems recently became evident during target shooting practice. "We were on the range a month ago and one of the officer’s guns just wouldn’t fire. It didn’t jam or anything, the trigger mechanism just wouldn’t work, wouldn’t fire," he says. "You can imagine if that happened on the street and you need that weapon, it would be life-threatening for the officer, for the public."
To raise money, the sheriff and his staff have collaborated with the Pizza Ranch restaurant in Sibley. Local residents can get a coupon for $10 worth of food at the Pizza Ranch. The restaurant will then donate $5 for each $10 coupon used to that fund for new guns.
"Whatever we’re doing out there, we need to have equipment that works properly when we need it," the sheriff says. They’re about half-way to their goal of raising $3,000.