Havre police to get new rifles

Havre police officers will be getting eight new files that will be in their patrol cars.

The 14 MR KeyMod 5.56 caliber rifles will replace outdated rifles — some of which date back 30 years.

Police Chief Gabe Matosich told Havre City Council Monday night that the city has a variety of rifles in its patrol cars now.

In addition to the age of the rifles, he said, problems can develop if the officers have a different rifle every night based on which patrol car they are assigned to.

With the purchase of the new firearms, “each of the officers will have the same rifle,” he said.

Money for the project is coming from a federal program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant.

The need for new rifles became clear when the city was involved with a daylong standoff with a suicidal man on 1st Street in August 2014.

In their review of police actions during the episode, he said, there was unanimous agreement that new rifles were needed.