In Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty's 33 years on the force, he can't remember an officer being as outgunned as Katie Lawson was Aug. 29.
Lawson was aiding a county sheriff's deputy on a drunken driving call when she was ambushed and shot multiple times by a suspect wielding an AR-15 rifle â€" a civilian version of the M-16 military assault rifle. She survived in part by pulling her police-issue .45-caliber pistol and firing back. Her shots chased off the suspect who was no more than 20 feet from her squad car and had fired 26 rounds.
Police believe Hector Escalante, 18, pulled the trigger in an effort to free his father, who had been arrested by the sheriff's deputy. Escalante's mother, Vilma Escalante, 52, and brother, Alex Mercado, 17, are also charged in the case.
So how does a teenager get an AR-15?
Police don't know, and Citty said he'd like to see the law changed to make it harder for criminals to get such weapons and easier for police to trace them.
Gun rights advocates said new gun laws aren't the answer.
“This has been proposed before, and it has been soundly rejected every time,†said Charles Smith, executive director of the Oklahoma Rifle Association.
A federal ban on assault weapons outlawed the AR-15 and other semi-automatic versions of assault rifles, along with high-capacity magazines. That law expired in 2004. The AR-15, along with semi-automatic versions of the AK-47 and other popular assault rifles, can now be purchased legally.
Citty said he supports an individual's right to own a gun, but he sees no practical reason why someone needs an AR-15 or similar weapon.
Investigators tracked the gun used to shoot Lawson to a dealer in Tulsa. That sale is traceable because gun dealers are required to track who they sell to. The original buyer later went to a gun show with a sign around his neck advertising the rifle for sale.
From there, police can't track who bought or sold it. The law does not require private gun owners to keep paperwork showing who they sell their guns to.
“We have no idea how many hands it went through before it got to the person who ultimately used it on Katie,†Citty said. “There are just more and more assault rifles out there, and it is becoming a bigger threat to law enforcement each day. They are outgunned.â€
Lawson was shot six times. One shot grazed her cheek and went through her ear. Two more hit her in the left buttock. She was shot once in the right calf, and two more bullets were stopped by her bulletproof vest. Normally, a vest will not stop an AR-15 round.
Investigators believe the vest stopped the bullets because they were slowed down when they went through her squad car's door.
Citty said the perception that criminals only use stolen weapons is a myth. He said roughly 40 percent of the guns officers seize in large-scale busts are stolen. Many others are sold legally to people who act as gun dealers to gang members and other criminals.
Unscrupulous gun sellers often either don't ask questions when selling firearms or know they are selling to felons and do it anyway, Citty said.
“I don't quite understand why we don't require some form of title like we do when we purchase a vehicle for somebody,†Citty said. “It would benefit law enforcement tremendously when the guns are stolen or used illegally.â€
Gun rights advocates have long opposed government registration of firearms. Smith said requiring individual gun owners to keep paperwork showing who buys their guns is an infringement of the Second Amendment.
“That's a situation that borders on registration,†Smith said. “I think most of the individual firearm sales go to legitimate law-abiding citizens. Any responsible firearm owner who sells a gun will note in his own records who it was sold to.â€
Citty said officers are running into guns at a much higher rate now than they did 20 years ago, even on routine traffic stops. He said there has to be a balance so that people can exercise their right to own a gun without subjecting officers to military-style weapons in the hands of criminals.
