The FN FiveSeven being called a "Cop Killer" gun by the Brady gun nuts...

Here's an interesting FACT FILLED letter written by a police officer and sent to the Brady people:

Mr. Shanks,

I'm writing in reference to the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Alert titled, "Cop Killer Gun Available to the Public." I appreciate your concerns for my safety, for I am a police officer with the City of Phoenix, Arizona. However I feel I need to point out some inaccuracies in your news bulletin.

You state that, "In 2003, there were 1,866 officers assaulted in the United States with firearms." That is true, however it's very disingenuous to not continue on to say that this represents only 3% of all assaults on officers (2003 UCR). You will see this is a very small number when compared to the 46,842 assaults involving personal weapons (feet, fists, etc.), 8,059 involving other dangerous weapons (bats, clubs, etc...), and rounding out the bottom of the spectrum 1,074 assaults involving Knives or other cutting instruments.

Maybe you should have stated instead that only 45 Officers were killed in 2003 with a firearms. 34 of those were killed with handguns, and of those 10 were killed with their own weapon. Of those 34 killed none by vest penetration. The 4 officers that were killed by vest penetration were killed by .223 caliber (2), .300, and 7mm caliber rifles. The FN Five-seveN has killed no one.

You also state that the manufacturer advertises that the firearm, "will perforate 48 layers of Kevlar up to 200 meters." That may be true, however this is as advertised to the military and law enforcement while using SS190 armor piercing ammunition. Maybe you should focus on trying to ban the ammunition instead of the gun? Never mind, that ammunition is only available to military and Law enforcement. You see the BATFE has rule for selling ammunition, especially AP ammunition (see Below):

The classification of all ammunition is governed strictly by the definitions presented in the GCA. Specifically, as defined in 18 U.S.C. Section 921(a)(17)(B), the term "armor piercing ammunition" means-
1. a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or
2. a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.


This type of ammunition is not commercially available. However if you were to purchase this handgun you would be able to buy SS196. This is the only type of ammunition available for commercial sales for this weapon. It uses a Hornady 40gr V-max bullet and leaves the barrel at 2100fps. Interestingly enough this bullet was fired from a FN Five-seveN with a 4 3/4 inch barrel and did not penetrate a Level II vest (by the way most officers like myself wear a level IIIa vest).

You state that this weapon "comes with THREE 20 ROUND MAGAZINES--That is 60 rounds of police body armor piercing ammunition!" Well, no. That means it comes with 3 x 20 round magazines, as for the "police body armor Piercing ammunition(!), well I covered that in the above paragraph.

Also stated is "Because the range and accuracy of this weapon a gunman could easily hold an entire shift of law enforcement officers at bay for hours, making it almost impossible to engage with typical law enforcement service weapons." The accuracy of a weapon is dependant on the trigger puller behind it, not the weapon itself. Most weapons are extremely accurate with the right shooter. I can also tell you I've seen someone with no weapon keep cops at bay for hours just behind a closed door. You don't advocate getting rid of doors do you? An officer with an issue Colt Carbine can easily place rounds on target against someone with one of the FNs. Rifle are inherently more accurate and a more forgiving weapon to shoot.

Lastly sir, you state, "The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence believes there is no place in our society for this weapon." Sir, its time to be honest. The Brady Center believes there in no place in our society for ANY type of firearm. All, I repeat ALL, studies have shown that gun control does not deter crime/gun crimes. Since the U.K. and Australia have banned the ownership of most guns the crime rate has soared. Why is it that gun friendly states have the least amount of Crime? I'll make a deal with you. I won't try and take away your constitutional 1st amendment rights to print and distribute your safety alerts full of half-truths and omissions, and you don't mess with my 2nd amendment right to own any type of gun I want. Is it a deal?

sincerely,
Adam Frost
Phoenix Police Dept.