Ammunition Shortage Squeezes Police Nationwide

Saturday, August 18th 2007, 2:03 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Troops training for and fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are firing more than 1 billion bullets a year, contributing to ammunition shortages hitting police departments nationwide, including those in Oklahoma.

An Associated Press review of dozens of police and sheriff's departments found that many are struggling with delays of as long as a year for both handgun and rifle ammunition.

The pinch is blamed on a skyrocketing demand for ammunition that followed the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Oklahoma City, Capt. Steve McCool says officers cannot qualify with AR-15 rifles because the department does not have enough .223-caliber ammunition. That's the same kind of round fired by the military's M16 and M4 rifles.

Last fall, an ammunition shortage forced the department to cancel qualification courses for several different guns.