ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – The St. Charles County Police Department is introducing a new aiming system for sidearms that officers carry to protect themselves and the public.
A system called Red Dot intends to sharply reduce the chances of an officer hitting the wrong target when he’s forced to open fire.
”With this new Red Dot system, we are not focused on the target, so we can see what’s in their hands, so it eliminates the mistake of target-shooting that guy holding a cell phone or a bottle of water.”
Captain David Cathey says it’s good for the officer and the public.
“It keeps them safer too because if I’m accurate, and I hit my target, I’m not hitting something else, if I shot into a vehicle or something like that. I know I’m hitting what I need to hit.”
The police department is spending about $79,000, but the system is from Aim Point USA. A Red Dot actually appears inside the weapon, and the officer focuses on that.
Police departments have already used it on rifles for years. St. Charles County decided adapting it for sidearms makes a lot of sense too. Police say it increases accuracy by around 80 percent.